In case you didn't get the chance to read the Eternal Starling deleted scene on the Scavenger Hunt, I've posted it below. Happy reading! :)
In an early draft of
Eternal Starling, Evie’s ex-boyfriend, Loser Luke, was a central character. As
I started revising, I realized my plan for Loser Luke wouldn’t work, and I got
rid of him. This was the scene where Luke shows up in Gunnison. The scene happens
while Evie, Alex, Jasmine, and Zach are at dinner in chapter 4.
I was in the
middle of telling everyone about how the horn on my car had started honking on
its own the other day when I heard a male voice say, “Evie?”
I recognized the
voice and hoped it was a figment of my imagination. The look on Jasmine’s face
assured me it wasn’t. Crap. I slowly turned my head. Alex read my expression
and seemed puzzled as he glanced toward the voice.
“Luke?”
I said with a mixture of surprise and disdain. My war with Luke Woods over his
cheating had lasted three months and had already gained legend status in White
Sulphur Springs. I hadn’t seen him since the high school graduation party when
I dumped a glass of Sprite on his head after he told me he still thought I
looked like a marshmallow, but I had a pretty face and he’d hook-up with me
anyway.
Luke
got up and came over to our table. He put his arms around my shoulders in a
kind of half-hug from behind. I cringed at his touch. Alex bristled next to me
as he watched Luke with a slight sneer.
“I
didn’t think I’d run into you tonight,” Luke said.
“Well
you’re the last person I expected to
see,” I answered, using the opportunity to wiggle out of his grasp and turn
around so I could talk to him more easily. “What are you doing here?”
“I
came down to look at some apartments. School starts soon and I didn’t want to
end up with a crappy place to live.”
I
shook my head as his words sank in. “Wait, you’re moving to Gunnison?”
Luke
smiled. “Yep. Remember? I applied to Western
State when you decided it
was the college you wanted to go to.”
My
eyes widened. “Yeah, but that was a long time ago. I didn’t think you’d end up
here!” He shrugged. “I liked it
the best.”
I
gave him a fake half-smile. “Great. That’s just great.”
“What
are you guys up to tonight?” Luke asked. He looked around the table noticing the
ratio of girls to guys. His eyes fell on Alex, who was smiling, but the muscles
at his jaw were working hard. I could tell Alex wasn’t happy, but he was still
stubbornly confident. A flicker of anger appeared in Luke’s eyes. I was sure he
was jealous, who wouldn’t be after assessing Alex.
“We’re
just eating dinner,” Jasmine said, trying to intervene.
“How
is it?” Luke asked, his eyes never leaving Alex’s. Alex returned the same cold
stare.
I
jumped in. “Probably about the same as the food you’re eating.” I thought maybe
if I was talking, Luke would shift his attention to me and the stare-off
between the two guys would end.
Alex
decided to use this moment to make his dominance known and reached toward me,
putting his arm around my shoulders. Luke stepped back. I wasn’t comfortable
with either of them trying to claim me. This wasn’t the jungle; there was no
need to mark their territory, but you wouldn’t know it by the way the two of
them were acting.
“Do
you know what your schedule’s going to be like?” Luke asked me.
“Pretty
much.”
“Maybe
we’ll have some classes together,” Luke said, winking at me. Alex immediately
moved his hand lower on my back, snaking his arm around my waist.
If
we did have classes together, I would change my schedule. “Yeah, maybe,” I
answered, still watching the silent struggle going on between Alex and Luke, and
still just as bothered by it.
“Well,”
Luke said, finally taking the hint that he wasn’t welcome at our table, “I’ll
talk to you later, Evie. Have a good night.” I nodded, and Luke walked back to
his table, glancing over his shoulder at Alex and me.
Once
Luke was out of earshot, Jas said, “Well, that was awkward.”
“Yeah,”
I agreed, “it was.”
Alex
seemed to be analyzing the three of us and our expressions, then he grabbed the
check the waiter had left and went up to the counter to pay for our food. Zach
started to follow him but Alex told him not to worry about it, he was buying
everyone’s dinner.
As
soon as Alex was out of earshot, Zach was the first to speak. “I thought they
were going to kill each other.”
“It
wouldn’t have been much of a fight,” I scoffed. “Have you seen Alex’s arms?”
“Luke
is still looking at you, he’s been watching you since he got back to his
table,” Jasmine said.
I
shrugged and sipped some of my water. “I’m not the one who cheated. Luke’s just
mad that I found someone better than him.”
“Does
Alex know about him?” Jas asked.
“No,”
I winced. “We haven’t really gotten into dating history specifics yet.”
“Well,
you’ll have to now,” Zach said, laughing.
“Thanks.”
“You’re
welcome,” he said. “It’ll be a fun ride home for you.”
***
We pulled up to a
stoplight and Alex turned to me as he rolled his tongue over the inside of his
cheek. “So. Was he an old friend?” he asked.
I
hedged for the second time tonight. “You could say that.”
“What
would you say about him?”
“His
name is Luke and he’s an idiot.” I smiled unconvincingly.
“He
seemed especially interested in you,” Alex pointed out.
I
sighed. I didn’t want to get into this, but saw no way around it. “We . . .
used to date.”
“That
was obvious,” he frowned. “You could have at least introduced me as your
boyfriend.” Alex sounded hurt.
“Sorry,”
I said, feeling bad I’d already hurt his feelings. I really needed some sort of
girlfriend handbook. “We just decided we’re in an official relationship four
hours ago. I wasn’t thinking about it.”
He
seemed to accept my answer, though he wasn’t happy. “How long did you date?”
“Not
long, a few months. Then I broke things off.”
“Why?”
“We
had a difference of opinion involving a cheerleader. What’s with the
interrogation?”
Alex
sighed and seemed to relax a bit. “Sorry, I’m just on edge. The guy seemed
pretty intense about you.”
I
raised my eyebrows and gave a short laugh. “Have you looked in a mirror
lately?”
The
corners of his mouth twitched. “Point taken.”
“What
was with all the alpha-male, this-is-my-woman crap you were pulling?”
Alex
shrugged. “I just thought the kid should know you weren’t interested.”
“The
‘kid’ is only three years younger than you, and I could have told him I wasn’t
interested without all the posturing.”
“Yes,
but you didn’t.” Alex’s voice was reproachful. I felt guilty, but I was pretty
new to all this serious relationship stuff, like having to consider how
something would affect another person. Real relationships are kind of a pain.
