3. A Shocking Twist

ELLIE

The thing is, getting information on Beck Ryder shouldn't be the hardest thing on earth. He's the most popular guy on campus, and he's the star quarterback of a very famous college. Everything should be right at your disposal.

But by the time I settle down at my laptop the next morning and started to dig through his socials, it took only five minutes to realize that I've never met a more private person in my life.

Every single social media account of his was private, which didn't make any sense of me because I assumed that he was a social butterfly who would want everyone watching him. I check his I*, his T*****r, F******k, and every other social media platform I could think of. I even checked P*******t, but there was nothing I could work with.

What in God's name was he hiding?

I sank into my seat, realizing that this was going to be more difficult than I initially thought. It shouldn't be this hard though. He's the most popular guy on campus. And yet there's no trace of him anywhere. What could be the reason behind this? Why would Beck want to keep his identity hidden?

Maybe I was looking at this the wrong way. If I couldn't get any information from him directly, then I could look for other sources. I leaned forward once again, and I searched up Salma Gonzalez on I*. I recognized her profile picture immediately, with the luscious hair that could make anyone jealous. As expected, she had over 20,000 followers, which didn't surprise me at all. I wasn't really interested in her followers today. I was more interested on her dating life.

I didn't even have to scroll too far before I got what I needed. Three weeks ago, she posted a picture of her and Beck at a baseball game, with her arm around his shoulder as she kissed him on the cheek, while he stared intently at the game and barely paid her any attention. He looked handsome, if you could ignore the massive douchebag sign on his forehead (surely I couldn't be the only one seeing it, right?). I now knew that he was a Mets fan, and he was very passionate about the team. But that wasn't nearly enough. I couldn't get him to sleep with me by wearing a hat with his favourite team on it.

I kept on scrolling, and there were lots of pictures of the two of them together. In most of them, Salma was basically throwing herself at him. But in others, he seemed genuinely happy. He smiled like I'd never seen him smile before, and he looked exactly how you would imagine a male model would. By the time I reached the bottom of Salma's page (which went all the way back to 2015), I had a decent understanding of Beck Ryder.

First of all, he loved his motorcycle. Salma had a ton of pictures in her highlights where she was sitting on it in a very exaggerated sexual manner, usually with very short skirts that were right on the cusp of showing you her underwear. Beck didn't seem to mind, and it was obvious that he loved that bike more than himself.

Secondly, he loved burgers. I counted six pictures where he was stuffing his face with a double cheeseburger and some fries, and I wasn't surprised since he was such a buff guy.

And lastly (perhaps most importantly), he was really into anime. That would be my ticket in, since I had a little bit of knowledge in that area. There was an anime convention coming up in a few weeks, and there was a high probability that Beck would be attending. Salma had posted two pictures where they were together at the convention for the past two years, and I didn't think the fact that they were currently broken up would stop him from attending.

That would be when I made my move. I had to plan it out perfectly, and get close enough to him that I would have a foot in the door, but not so close that I would creep him out. I just needed him to hear me out. I wasn't going to take advantage of him. I fully intended on letting him know what I wanted, and asking him if he was up for it. Knowing the kind of person he is, there was no universe where Beck Ryder would turn down an opportunity to get his dick wet.

I marked the date of the convention in my calendar, then I headed downstairs for breakfast. Aunt Carol was in the kitchen when I walked in, wearing the same robe from yesterday but with her hair pulled up into a messy bun this time. She turned and smiled at me as I walked in, then she remembered what happened yesterday and she bowed her head in shame.

"Morning sweetie," she said, handing me the plate of pancakes while avoiding eye contact. "Do you have any classes today?"

"Not really," I replied. "Professor Lambert had to cancel due to an emergency, so I'm basically free for the day."

"Oh," she said. "That's... nice."

I set the plate down on the kitchen island, then I took my seat and said, "So are we going to talk about what happened yesterday, or are we going to pretend it didn't happen?"

Her eyes turned bright red, and she turned around slowly and stared at me with pleading eyes.

"Please don't think I'm a slut," she said. "I promise it's not what you think."

"Aunt Carol, it's fine," I said. "You don't need my permission to do... that with anyone."

"I just don't want to spring something like this on you," she said. "Jason is a really nice guy. We're not just fooling around."

I bit back a laugh at the irony of it. Here was my aunt worrying about fooling around with a guy, while that was exactly what I was trying to do. If she knew what was on my laptop right now, she would probably send me straight to the psych ward.

It should be easier to give me my meds if I was living in the hospital, right?

"Do you love him?" I asked, looking up at her.

"I don't think we're there yet," she replied. "He's a nice guy, and I enjoy our time together. But we haven't really spoken about the future that much. We're just... with the flow. It's been so long since I dated anyone, and I don't know if I'm ready for a committed relationship just yet."

"Right," I said, shoving a bite of pancakes into my mouth. "Well, as long as you're happy, I'm happy."

"Thank God!" she exhaled, walking over and hugging me. I melted into her touch, savoring these moments of affection as much as I could. I didn't want to tell her about the doctor right now. It would just make her cry, and she would make me cry as well. I didn't want her to treat me any differently. I wanted this, to just have her hug me and pretend we were a normal family. Any mention of cancer would just destroy these precious moments we had, and I wanted them to be my last memories of her before I go. I don't want my last memories of her to be in sympathy, while she looked at me like I was a fragile piece of art that could break at any second. I wanted her to love me the same way she always did, and the same way I loved her.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" she asked, pulling away from me and holding my shoulders. "You're crying."

"I'm fine," I said, sniffling and wiping the tears with the back of my hand. "It's just allergies."

"I'll pick you up some meds on my way back from the store," she said. "Just stay in bed with the humidifier on."

"Thanks," I said, just as the doorbell rang.

"That must be the paper," she said. "Could you please fetch it for me? I can't leave you unattended in the kitchen while the fire is on."

I rolled my eyes as I slid off my seat, and I headed for the door. Sure enough, it was the paper. I bent down to pick it up, and when I looked up, my heart nearly flew out of my chest when I looked over at Mrs Hendrick’s house. The moving truck was gone, and there was a “For Sale” sign on the lawn.

That wasn’t the part that made me want to disappear though. It was the fact that there was a woman dressed in a smart suit standing in front of the house and looking exactly like what you’d imagine a realtor to look like.

And beside her was none other than Beck Ryder.

***