Falling Star: Book 2 of The Orion Series

Insufferable Jealousies

"I don't know," I tell Orion truthfully. "I don't know if your mom knows."

He lets out a long, slow breath, and closes his eyes. Then he opens. "Do you know if they have our cell phones?"

"I'm sure we have personal affects bags here somewhere..."

Orion calls a nurse in. They do, in fact, have a bag with his clothes. He rummages through it, making a face at the dried blood.

"Jesus..."

He fishes out his phone from his pocket. The screen is smashed. His eyes go wide. "Holy fuck..."

"We flipped a few times I'm told..." I mumble, rubbing the back of my neck and being unable to look at him.

"Uh, lets hope it turns on..."

It does. Very gingerly he unlocks his phone, trying not to cut his hand on the screen. After a few tries he's able to pull up his contacts list. He puts his phone on speaker as it rings.

"No way I'm putting all that glass to my face..." he mumbles. "I don't need anymore fucking stitches--"

"Hi Orion!"

Fuck. She had no idea. I helplessly watch my fiancee immediately dissolve into babbling hysterics, forced to watch probably the most difficult call Orion has ever made in his life.

~

"Thanks for coming," Jake says to Orion and I as we hold hands by the door.

It's night and dark out. All of the other guests had left. Orion and I had stayed behind to help clean up. To my slight annoyance, Ben and Amy hadn't offered to help. Then again, if I was in a fresh relationship, I'd be fucking over cleaning, too.

"See ya later, hot stuff," Jake says with a wink to Orion.

Orion laughs. "Shut up, dork."

I see red. Before I can stop myself, I've punched Jake in the mouth. He's slumped against the wall, looking bewildered. He shakes his head a moment and then looks pissed.

"What the fuck Tristan!" he screams at me, rightly so. "What the actual fucking fuck?"

I can't reply. I'm equally enraged and mortified.

"I was kidding!" Jake snaps at me. He then gingerly opens and closes his mouth, it popping several times.

The popping makes me snap out of rage. But before I can utter any sort of apology, Orion is shoving me out the door. Once we're in the street he grabs me by the bicep, veritably yanking me down the street.

"What was that, Tristan?" he says to me in a low deep voice that's shaking.

I look at him. As we pass underneath streetlights I can see how absolutely upset he is. A part of me is proud of him; a year ago he surely would have been screaming at the top of his lungs, ranting like a lunatic, possibly crying. This display of self-controls is impressive.

The other part of me wants to just dig myself a hole to go crawl into.

"I knew there was something going on between you two," he says nastily. "Did you guys have a fight? Come on, out with it."

"No."

"Did he say something to you tonight?"

"N-no!"

"Did he do something tonight?"

"No!" I say as he unlocks the door to his house, shoving me inside.

I see what Orion did suddenly. The second we're inside he slams the door and whips me around to face him. The old Orion is unleashed.

"Well if he didn't fucking do any of that," he hollers at me, "then why did you do that?"