Ryder (Fallen Brook High School YA Series) Read online

  Contents

  Copyright

  Synopsis

  Dedication

  Playlist

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Epilogue 1

  Epilogue 2

  Also by the Author

  About the Author

  Connect with the Author

  Letter to Readers

  Copyright

  Ryder (Fallen Brook High School YA Series)

  Copyright © 2021 J.L. Wyer, Jennilynn Wyer

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, brands, media, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  All Rights Reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without the written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Proofreader: Paul W

  Cover: Image from Shutterstock

  Beta Readers: Maegan D., Lisa P., Kelly S.

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  Website

  http://www.jennilynnwyer.com

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  Synopsis

  The Fallen Brook High School YA Series

  PREVIOUSLY IN JAYSON, BOOK 1...

  My name is Elizabeth Fairchild and I am best friends with three guys: Jayson, Julien, and Ryder.

  Jayson and Julien, the silver-eyed twins who stole my heart when I was six years old. They call me their princess. I call them my princes.

  Ryder, the amber-eyed daredevil with a kind heart and easy smile. He is my moonshine and I am his starshine.

  We all live on the same street and go to the same school, Fallen Brook High. Since we met, I can't remember a day of my life that Jayson, Julien, and Ryder have not been by my side. We grew up together. We were a family.

  It's hard for a girl to be best friends with three guys, especially three guys who grow up to become handsome men.

  There's only one golden rule to follow: Never fall in love with your best friend.

  I just broke that rule — twice.

  I fell in love with two of them.

  What do I do now?

  ...

  THEIR STORY CONTINUES IN RYDER, BOOK 2…

  My name is Ryder Cutton and I’ve been in love with Elizabeth Fairchild since I was nine years old. But there’s a problem. My two best friends, Jayson and Julien Jameson, are also in love with her. Wait, it gets worse. After telling my best friends how I felt about Elizabeth, Jayson went behind my back and stole the girl of my dreams away from me. For the past year, I’ve had to stand by and watch as he gets to be her boyfriend. He gets her hugs and kisses, her smiles and laughter. Jayson gets everything that should have been mine.

  Do you know how hard it is to remain best friends with the girl you are still in love with but can’t have, and with the guy who was supposed to be your best friend but broke your trust by stabbing you in the back?

  They say that every story has a beginning. I say that every story can be re-written. Perhaps I didn’t lose the girl after all.

  …

  Meet the boys of Fallen Brook High School and the one girl they all fell in love with. Get ready for a roller coaster of a ride of a romance story that will leave you guessing what will happen next and wanting more.

  Reader’s Note: The Fallen Brook High School YA series is a High School & Young Adult spin-off of the New Adult, contemporary romance series, Fallen Brook by Jennilynn Wyer. The Fallen Brook High School YA series follows a similar story arc as the adult Fallen Brook series but has been edited and the content rewritten to be suitable for a YA audience and is recommended for ages 16+. It does contain some minor bad language and reference to underage drinking, intimacy, and social situations. Books 1, 2, and 3 end on a cliffhanger. The series concludes with an HEA.

  The Fallen Brook High School YA Romance Series

  #1 Jayson

  #2 Ryder

  #3 Fallon

  #4 Elizabeth

  #5 Hailey (Standalone)

  Dedication

  Shout out to all my YA readers.

  Thank you for your enthusiastic support and love for these characters.

  Playlist

  "The Distance" by Cake

  "Alive" by P.O.D.

  "Helium" by Sia

  "Wonderlust" by Will Post

  "Stitches" by Shawn Mendes

  "Beautiful People" by Ed Sheeran (feat. Khalid)

  "Circles" by Post Malone

  "Love Story" by Taylor Swift

  "Gone, Gone, Gone" by Phillip Phillips

  "Mr. Brightside" by The Killers

  "Hero" by Foo Fighters

  "Sugar, We're Goin Down" by Fall Out Boy

  "Blurry" by Puddle of Mudd

  "Good Life" by G-Easy and Kehlani

  "She Cries" by Will Post

  Chapter 1

  A New Beginning

  Elizabeth

  They say when you die, your life flashes before your eyes. You see a bright light and a warmth wraps around you. You feel at peace.

  I wouldn’t know any of that.

  Because I can’t remember a thing.

  I park my car in a parking space designated for visitors, reach over to grab my backpack from the passenger seat, and then climb out. I stare at the building in front of me. Fallen Brook High School. A school I feel no connection to. Something that should be familiar but isn't. Regardless of all that, I feel a pull to this place, as
if it's calling to me, beckoning to me like a Siren from Greek mythology. My only hope is that the outcome of being here is better than the fate of the Greek sailors who answered the Siren’s call only to be met by tragedy. And if there is one thing that I’ve learned since waking up in a hospital in Durham three months ago, it's that death doesn’t scare me. Apparently, I’ve already died once and came back to life.

  Feeling a bit self-conscious, I touch the pink tips of my long, blond hair that I dyed with red Kool-Aid the other day. Why did I color the tips pink? I have no idea. Bored, I guess. After I was released from the hospital, I'd been cooped up in Daniel's house in Durham for more weeks than I can count on both hands and feet. There was nothing for me to do other than a steady routine of doctor visits and MRIs to dull the boredom. And then, suddenly, ten days ago, Daniel announced that we were moving back to Fallen Brook so I could attend and graduate from my old high school. Yep. Today is the first day of what I've been told is my senior year. When Daniel told me, I had to take him at his word, because, oh yeah, I can't freaking remember.

  My nervous eyes dart from the school building to the rest of my surroundings. The trees are exploding with vibrant green summer leaves, and the grass is well-manicured and tended to. Several students are leaving the building through the two large glass front doors. An adult, perhaps a teacher, is struggling to carry a stack of books in one arm while balancing her Starbucks paper coffee cup in her other hand.

  My neurologist in Durham said coming back home would be a good thing for me. Maybe a way to trigger a memory or some form of recognition from my forgotten life. It's not like any of the weeks of psychotherapy, cognitive-behavior therapy, music therapy, hypnosis, or meditation I've had to endure have helped any.

  The day after I ‘woke up,’ Daniel explained that I had been in a freak car accident. I was driving down a road at the exact same time my parents were coming in the other direction. A drunk driver tried to pass my parent’s vehicle on the outside, but instead careened into the back of them, causing both cars to spin out of control. The drunk driver’s car bounced off my parent’s and rammed into my car as I was driving by. Seriously, I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried.

  My parents were killed on impact when their car smashed against a light pole. My car hit the guardrail on the other side of road. Apparently, the impact was hard enough to have my head smash sideways into the driver’s side window. The head injury is what put me in a coma for a couple of days and is why I have amnesia. When I ‘woke up,’ I had conveniently lost seventeen years of my life. My entire existence gone in the blink of an eye. The doctors say that I have a rare type of retrograde, dissociative amnesia that statistically has only occurred in one-to-two percent of the worldwide population. So, yay, me.

  And because life is not fair, the drunk driver barely got a scratch on him. However, he's currently sitting in Wake County jail awaiting trial.

  So, yeah. I'm now the girl with amnesia who lost both of her parents in the same night. I find it utterly ridiculous that I still remember how to play the piano and guitar flawlessly, or can recall some random movie, or know how to solve quadratic equations, but I can’t remember people, places, or events. Why would my brain retain some arbitrary things but not the ones that truly matter? Like what my mom looked like, or the sound of my dad's voice. Important things I should remember but don't.

  Anyway, Daniel, my uncle who I also have no recollection of, is my legal guardian now. I’ve been living with him for the past three months, and he has been taking care of me. Supposedly, I also have a sister, Hailey. No one knows what happened to her. She ran away from home with some guy the day of my and my parents’ accidents. That's why my parents were out driving that night; they were looking for her. Messed up, I know. And as cringeworthy as it may sound, I don't have feelings about any of it. Daniel has showed me some old pictures of my family. Hailey and I were really young in all of the pictures he had. I wanted so badly to feel something. Anything. But as I stared at me parents’ and sister’s faces, all I saw were strangers. There was no connection. Nothing.

  The ringing of my phone breaks me from my thoughts. “Hey, Daniel,” I answer once I see his name appear on my screen.

  “Hey, sweetheart. Have you gotten to school yet?”

  “Yep. Standing in front of it right now.”

  “I wish you would have let me come with you this morning and be your moral support.”

  Daniel and I met with the principal and guidance counselor yesterday, and they promised to make sure my first week back at school goes smoothly. I'm supposed to go to either of them if I encounter any problems, or if I just feel overwhelmed and need a break. I know Daniel means well, but I'm sick and tired of all the hovering and babying. I need to figure out my new normal. It's like starting life from scratch — I'm a blank sheet of paper. I'm curious to find out what story I write on it.

  “I'm good,” I tell him.

  “I'm still not sure about you driving by yourself. Did you have any problems getting to school?”

  Honestly, I think Daniel is more worried about me re-entering the real world than I am. I haven't come right out and asked him, but I think he's loaded. His house in Durham is huge, and he's been buying me everything I need without a second thought. New cell phone? Check. New laptop and tablet? Check and check. New clothes? Have a closet full of them now. New car? I look at the cherry red SRT Hellcat I just stepped out of and grin. Big fat check mark.

  “The drive was easy, and I promise I had no problems,” I assure him. Well, no problems today, I silently confess to myself.

  I started having minor blackout episodes a couple of weeks ago. It’s like I'll start to remember something, and then, bam, my brain shuts off. Literally. I know if I told Daniel about the blackouts, he would stick me back in the hospital and take away my car keys. My car is the only freedom I have had in months, and I refuse to give it up. I love this car. I know I’m being hypocritical, seeing as an impaired man who was drinking and driving killed my parents, but I just can’t give up driving. Not yet. I know that I’ll have to be super vigilant and extremely careful when I drive now. At least the car has adaptive cruise control and automatic emergency braking, so at least it should stop itself from plowing into another car or pedestrian if I do zone out while behind the wheel. Hopefully. Thinking about it more, maybe I should reconsider things. If the episodes get worse, I’ll stop driving. There. Decision made.

  “I need some independence, Daniel. You can’t keep me locked inside a gilded cage forever. I appreciate everything you've done for me. I really do, but I need to start doing normal things. I need to start having a life again. Figure out where new me fits in."

  Daniel sighs on the other end of the line. “I know, honey. I just worry. You're the only family I have left. We're it, Lizzie. We're all that's left of our family. I wasted so many years not talking to John, not visiting you and Hailey. Not being the brother, or the uncle I should have been. I'll regret that every day for the rest of my life. I just want you to be safe.”

  Okay, this has taken a turn for the morbidly depressing. "Hey, Daniel, I need to go. Don't want to be late for my first day and all."

  “Call me during your lunch break and let me know how you're doing.” I hold my eye roll from fully forming because I know he means well.

  “I will. See you later this afternoon.”

  “Bye, sweetheart.”

  I hang up and shove my phone in the back pocket of my frayed jean shorts. I slide my hand along the warm hood of my car and pat it like it's a puppy. When I first laid eyes on it in the dealer lot, there was something about the car that felt familiar to me. My heart pounded and adrenaline rushed through my veins like liquid fire. I begged and pleaded with Daniel that I had to have this car. Seeing it was the only time I had smiled since waking up in the hospital.

  “That’s a nice ride,” a male voice comments to me from my side peripheral. A guy my age with black spiky hair sidles up to my car, a wide grin on his face. He’s
wearing dark sunglasses, board shorts, and a T-shirt that exposes a half-sleeve tattoo on his right arm. He's got a freakin' tattoo!

  “Thanks. I like it,” I reply. I like his ink too.

  Facing me, he leans casually back against the car parked next to mine, like we’re two old friends stopping to chat. “Do you go to school here?”

  My eyebrow cocks up. “Isn’t that an obvious question?”

  He chuckles. “Yeah. Guess that was a stupid question. My name’s Trevor. Me and the fam just moved into town. We're from Roanoke. It's my first day.” He holds out his hand for me to shake.

  “Elizabeth,” I reply, taking his hand and shaking it. "It's my first day, too," I hear myself saying.

  He grins at me again before releasing my hand, then nods to my car. “Where'd you buy it?”

  “Dealership in Durham.”

  “Is that where you’re from?”

  “Are we playing twenty questions?”

  Trevor chuckles again. “Sorry about that. I tend to get nervous around pretty girls.”

  Now I really do my eye roll. Is this guy flirting with me? Perhaps, I should consider flirting back. Do I even know how to flirt? That thought makes me wonder if I ever had a boyfriend.

  Daniel hasn't told me much about my past life or if I had any friends. I guess he can't since he was never around while I was growing up. He never got a chance to know me in the first place. All he has are some old photos of when I was a little girl. I’ve asked him about the stuff from my old house, and he has promised to get everything shipped to Fallen Brook soon. Daniel hired a company to box and store the furniture and the contents from my childhood home. Those boxes are now sitting in some storage facility in Highland.