Sweet Torment(13)

"You can if you want. I made plenty."

Well, damn. There go my leftovers. "You don't need to get on the road back to school?"

"You know we always have time to eat. Unless the two of you don't want us to interrupt."

River needs to shut up about what he saw before Owen comes in and overhears. "Drop it, River."

"Take it easy. I was making a joke. But seriously, you better be glad Owen didn't see your rehearsal. He'd have lost his shit."

Believe me, I know. "Where is Owen?"

"Oh damn. I got sidetracked when I overheard your rehearsal and forgot to tell you about what's happening outside. Owen ran into a girl on the way in. And not just any girl. It's the girl who was with the girl."

Every muscle in Claudia's face furrows. "What you just said doesn't make a bit of sense."

"It does and Bram knows exactly who I'm talking about."

"The girl with …  the girl. Holy. Shit."

"I know."

"Would y'all stop talking in code and tell me what the hell is happening?"

"Rewind to about three years ago. We were having a homecoming party at the apartment. One of my classmates shows up and brings along her friend from another college. Owen and the friend hit it off and spent the night together."

"And now he's trying to hook up with her friend? Eww …  he's such a gross peen."

"It's not like that. He really liked the girl he spent the night with but she disappeared before morning. He didn't get her number and he has no idea why she took off without a word. He's been going crazy trying to find her for the last three years."

"Sounds like a real-life Cinderella story. But I don't understand why he hasn't searched for her online. Seems like the most logical thing to do."

"That would have been ideal if he knew her last name or where she's from. My classmate, Kelly, wouldn't give him any information about her friend when this happened three years ago. He's hoping he can convince her to tell him something since it's been so long. Anything that might help him find her." 

"This girl is the one who got away. Literally. It's romantic yet sad at the same time."

"You don't even have to be the romantic kind to feel sorry for Owen."

Claudia places her hand over her heart and sighs. "I had no idea. Shit, I feel bad for my brother."

"Well, hopefully it's been long enough that Kelly will stop withholding the girl's information." River comes away from the window. "But from what I can tell, things aren't going well."

We all jolt when the front door slams. "You aren't going to believe this motherfucking shit. Three damn years later and that bitch still won't tell me anything about Arden."

Owen's eyes are wild and he looks ready to lash out. Without thought, instinct commands me to put myself between Claudia and him. "What was her reasoning this time?"

Owen is pacing the floor. "Same thing. She says Arden thought I was a dick and never wants to see me again. I don't believe she said that. Not for a minute."

"Maybe Kelly has some kind of vendetta against you. Girls can be vindictive. Maybe she wanted to hook up with you and she's mad because you chose her friend over her. Scorned women have long memories." Claudia's theory isn't improbable. Some women do crazy shit when they're rejected.

"None of this makes sense. We had an awesome time together. Got along great. We even left the party and went to my room so we could talk without being interrupted. We talked and laughed for hours."

"I think it may be time to consider that she just wasn't as into you as you thought." River needs to watch what he says to Owen during this volatile moment.

"No fucking way. We talked the first half of the night and fucked for the rest of it. I made that girl come at least three times. Trust me when I say that she was into me and everything I was doing to her. Big time."

Claudia covers her ears. "Ew, ew, ew. I'm your sister. You cannot talk about that in front of me."

"Sorry, sis. I shouldn't have said that for you to hear but I'm just so damn frustrated."

"I can tell how much you care about this girl. Is there anything I can do to make it better?"

"Nah. I just want to get back to the apartment and crash."

"No way we're leaving before I get some spaghetti." River can be a real asshole sometimes.

"I don't care anything about eating. Get it to go."

"Can I take some with me, Claud?"

"I haven't cooked the noodles yet but I'll pack up some meat sauce for you. All you'll need to do is boil some noodles."

Owen chuckles. "You've obviously never seen his lack of skills in the kitchen."