“Sorry.”
“It’s okay. I don’t need that kind of confusion in my life right now anyway.” I hoped I wasn’t the kind of confusion Justin wanted. I shivered, remembering his words last night as he touched my ring, and hoped he wouldn’t bring it up again.
47
Ryan
I was pissed that my mother wouldn’t leave me alone. I’d slept late into the afternoon and my head was throbbing. I didn’t want to deal with her. She’d probably called me ten times in half an hour and hadn’t left a message, of course.
“Have you talked to my mom today?” I asked Katie, digging through my bat bag for an aspirin.
“No, why?”
“She keeps call—” My phone rang again before I could finish.
“What, Mom?” I answered.
“I need to see you.”
“I can’t.”
“It’s important. You need to come alone.”
“Are you being held hostage?” I asked sarcastically.
“No.”
“Then I’m not coming.”
“It’s about Annie.”
I paused. My mother had been more supportive recently, but because my time with Katie was ending soon, I figured she’d present some last-ditch effort to keep me from going back to Annie.
“Unless you’re giving me your blessing—” “You’ll have it, the question is, will you still want it when you leave here,” she said.
“I’ll be there in an hour or so,” I said and hung up the phone.
“Everything okay?” Katie asked.
“I don’t know yet.” I glanced at her. “Hey, I’m sorry about last night.”
“You feeling okay?”
“I feel like I’ve been run over by a Brinks truck,” I said, walking back to my room.
Even though I wanted to crawl back into bed, I brushed my teeth, threw on some clean clothes, and drove to my parent’s house.
My mother was sitting on the patio outside, which wasn’t like her. I dragged the metal chair noisily away from the table and sat down hard, releasing an exasperated breath. A glass of red wine and a manila envelope sat on the table
“What are you doing out here?” I asked.
“It’s a nice evening. I thought I’d watch the sun set.”
“Hopefully the paperwork you promised for my trust is in that envelope.”
“That’s not what it is, Ryan, but after seeing what’s in here, if you still want to marry Annie, I’ll give you my blessing, as promised.”
“That’s just too easy. You’ve fought me about Annie for over a year. Now you’re giving up, and letting me have my way?”
“I’m not giving up, but I think you might after seeing what’s in here.” She held up the envelope.
“Okay, I’ll bite. What’s in the envelope, Mother?”
“Proof.”
“Proof of what?”
“I want you to know that I wasn’t looking for this, nor had I hoped that Annie would behave in such a coarse manor. I was only making sure you and her didn’t have any contact, as agreed.”
“Enough,” I halted her. “What is it?
“I had you both followed by private investigators—” “You what?”
“I told you I would make sure there was no contact between the two of you.” She laid the envelope in front of me. “I never expected this.”
I humored her, picked up the envelope, bent the clasp, and pulled out the contents, which was a handful of photographs. Each one was more disturbing than the next. “It’s not her,” I muttered. “This can’t be her.”
“It is her. They went away together. Look closely,” she instructed. I studied the photographs until I saw something in one of them that made my blood boil, filling me with rage. My fists tightened as my eyes filled with tears.
My mother reached across the table and put her hand on mine. “I intentionally kept the more graphic ones away from you, but if you need to see them…”
“Burn them,” I ordered as I stood up. “These too.”
“I’m very sorry, Ryan. I know how much you—” I held a hand up to cut her off. I didn’t want to be reminded of how much I loved Annie. I blindly pushed away from the table.
“Where are you going?” she asked.
“To confront her about this.”
“You can’t see her yet. There are two weeks left per our agreement.”
“If that is her,” I said, pointing to the photos. “Then I’ve lost everything anyway.
48
Katie
I was rocking Jacob to sleep, so I didn’t answer when my phone rang the first time. After the fourth time it rang, I knew something was wrong. I laid Jacob down and answered.
“Where’ve you been?” Valerie’s tone was sharp.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, skipping her question.
“My plan didn’t go as planned. Ryan’s on his way to find Annie. If he talks to her, everything will be ruined.”
“Did he say where he was going to look for her?”
“No, but I imagine his first stop will be Justin’s house.”
“Did you try to stop him?”
“I couldn’t protest. It would have made him suspicious.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“Figure out how to fix it, or start packing,” she said and hung up.
49
Justin
I had to go back to school in the morning and wanted to spend my last night at home with Annie. After leaving the Inn, she came around, but didn’t spend another night at my parent’s house. I’d expected her to stay the whole week, but I guess bringing up wanting to sleep with her made her afraid to.
I’d taken Annie to dinner. She mostly talked about Ryan, how excited she was that she’d get to see him soon. I felt she’d done it for me, to reiterate that she was committed to him, and that she and I would never happen. I wanted to puke.
I parked on the street in front of my house, behind Annie’s car, and got out with her. She leaned against the driver’s side door and smiled at me. She was so beautiful that looking at her and knowing she was going back to Ryan mangled my insides.
“Thank you for dinner. I’m glad I got to spend tonight with you,” she said.
“Me too.”
Annie opened her arms to hug me. I enveloped her, holding on tighter and longer than I should have, but I wanted to breathe as much of her in as I could, feel her as long as I could. So I’d never forget her scent, or what it felt like to be in her arms.
She giggled. “I’m not leaving the country.”
“Just changing cities?”
“Maybe,” she answered quietly.
“You’re moving in with him, aren’t you?” Last night, Pam told me about the house key Ryan had given Annie on her birthday.
Her eyes flickered to mine. “If I do, it won’t change anything,” she said.
It would change everything.
“I know,” I lied, then smiled at her. She was breaking my heart, choosing the wrong guy. “All I want is for you to be happy, Annie.”
“Thank you.” She half smiled, her doey-brown eyes absorbing me. “I want you to be happy, too,” she said and brushed her hand through my hair.
I swept my thumb over her cheek, and then warily leaned closer and pressed my mouth to hers for a goodbye kiss. She didn’t shove me away, but I had a feeling it was because she knew what the kiss represented for me.
Before I pulled away from her, we were about blinded by bright headlights. We broke the kiss and watched the car parked in the middle of the road, headlights still blaring at us. The car sat there a minute, then the driver backed up, turned around and peeled away, leaving tire tracks in the road. Neither of us mentioned it.
“I’ll see you,” I said. Annie smiled and got into her car. I walked inside so I wouldn’t have to watch her leave.
50
Ryan
I drove to Justin’s, my heart pounding, fists clenched so tightly around the steering whe
el that my knuckles were white. I was nervous, afraid of what I would find. I knew my mother. She was capable of anything. In order to get her way, she’d stoop all the way to the ground if she had to.
I wanted what she’d shown me to be untrue, something she’d staged to make me hate Annie, and keep me from going back to her. I wouldn’t believe what I’d seen in those photos unless I heard it from Annie.
As I neared Justin’s house, I saw Annie’s car, and she and Justin leaned against it kissing. Rage surged through me. His hands on her, her mouth on his. For a moment, I thought about driving into them or getting out and pounding the hell out of Justin for touching my girlfriend. But she was allowing it to happen.
My phone rang again. I’d already ignored two calls from Katie. “What?” I answered.
“It’s Jacob!” she cried. “I’m afraid there’s something wrong. He has a fever. I wasn’t sure what to do. I went to your mom’s house for help. I need you to meet me, please.”
I watched Annie and Justin for another moment, my headlights illuminating their betrayal.
“I’m on my way.”
I threw the car into reverse and backed almost all the way down the street before turning around and speeding away.
51
Katie
I felt like shit for using Jacob to keep Ryan away from Annie, but I was too invested in keeping him for Jake and me to let her have him back. I was close to winning him over. I could feel it.
After I hung up with Ryan, I called Valerie.
“I’m on my way over,” I said.
“I hope you don’t think you’re moving in with me,” she complained.
“I’ve convinced Ryan to meet me there. He thinks Jacob is sick.”
“What’s wrong with Jacob?” she asked, concerned.
“Nothing,” I said solemnly.
After a beat, I heard Valerie smile. She was probably beaming with pride. “There’s hope for you yet, Katherine.”
52
Ryan
When I walked into my parent’s house, Katie and my mother were watching Jacob sleep in a compact crib they’d set up in the living room.
“Is he okay?” I asked.
“I’m sorry. I panicked,” Katie explained. “He’s never had a fever before. It scared me.”
“It was low grade, completely normal. He’s starting to teethe. I’ve given him something for it. He’ll be fine.” My mother patted me on the arm.
“Thanks for looking out for him.”
“I remember the first big scare I had with you as a baby. I’m glad I was able to help.”
I looked at Jacob. He was sleeping peacefully; as he’d been the first time I’d seen him, before walking to the kitchen to stare out the door, where the photos my mother had shown me once laid.
“Did you speak to her?” my mother asked.
“No. I didn’t need to. She was kissing Justin when I got there.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t intend for this to happen.” I was sure she was full of shit, but didn’t feel like arguing with her.
“I don’t want to see her again. Would you mind taking care of this for me?” I asked, removing the watch Annie had given me, taking one last glance at the inscription, soaking in that the words were a lie, before handing it to my mother.
“If that’s what you want.”
“It is. I need to be alone for a while.”
“Of course.”
I snatched a bottle of scotch and a tumbler from the bar and went downstairs to get shitfaced drunk. After what I’d just seen, I didn’t want anything to do with Annie Reynolds ever again. I had tried so hard to make everything work out for us. Getting along with Katie, having a relationship with Jacob, retrieving the contents of my trust early. I’d done it all for her. Us. And she’d pissed it all away on Justin Bishop.
53
Katie
Valerie returned to the living room with two glasses of wine. “Congratulations,” she said, handing one of them to me. “That couldn’t have played out any better if I’d orchestrated it myself,” Valerie beamed.
“What just happened?” I asked.
“You won, that’s what.”
“How?”
“Ryan going to see Justin actually helped our cause. Then Annie unknowingly sealed our fates tonight.” Valerie smiled and sipped from her glass.
“Could you be a little less vague, please?”
“The less you know, the better. Have your wine, and then go downstairs in half an hour to help Ryan to bed. I’ll look after Jacob for you tonight, so they’ll be no need for you to come back upstairs until the morning.”
I hated feeling guilty. I hated that his win, didn’t feel like any win I’d ever experienced. I knew it was because it hadn’t been earned. Someone had cheated to achieve it, but it was too late for me to do anything about it now.
“Any responsibility you’re feeling in the matter will melt away, trust me,” Valerie said. “This is what’s best for Jacob. He’ll have a complete family now. Everyone will be much happier moving forward.”
I wasn’t sure about that. I knew Annie wouldn’t be happy, and as much as Ryan loved her, I imagined that he wouldn’t be happy either. But my window was open and I had to climb through it and seize the opportunity waiting for me on the other side.
54
Ryan
I poured myself a drink and quickly finished it, barely giving it time to scorch my throat. I puckered my lips and blew out my fuming breath. Then poured another and finished it faster than the first. I gasped from the stinging burn in my throat, but I was desperate for the ache in my chest to become numb.
I went to my room and removed the black velvet box from the drawer of my dresser. I snapped the lid open and stared at the ring I had chosen to propose to Annie with, and then took a swig of the scotch.
I left the empty glass on the dresser, grabbed the bottle of scotch from the bar, carried it by the neck to the couch, and sat down.
I sat the open box beside and stared at the stone, remembering how the salesgirl had swooned over it. She’d promised that any woman would love to have a ring like that on her finger.
Any woman.
I took another shot and looked back down at the ring. Feeling disgusted and foolish, I snapped the lid shut, then continued to drink until I didn’t care anymore.
Later, after I was good and drunk, I heard Katie’s voice.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“Fine.”
“Let me help you to bed,” she offered. I took her hands and she pulled me up from the couch. I wrapped an arm around her shoulders and walked with her to my bedroom.
I took my shirt off and slung it across the room, then sat on the edge of the bed and looked at Katie standing in front of me. I didn’t think. I just reacted.
I wasn’t gentle when I kissed her. She didn’t care. She matched my aggression, pulling herself closer and began undressing.
Blurry eyed and not caring, I let her. And then, just like the first time we’d slept together, I let Katie take control so I wouldn’t feel like I was to blame. So I wouldn’t feel like I’d asked for it, even though deep down, I had.
I was sorry and regretful after the first time, but tonight, I would regret nothing. I wanted to make it so that Annie was no longer the only girl I’d allowed in this bed with me. I wanted to drown every memory I had of us together. She was probably on top of Justin right now anyway and didn’t care who I was with or what I was doing.
55
Annie
I’m not sure why, but I wasn’t entirely surprised to see Valerie at my door. I figured she would try to pull something at the last minute to keep me from Ryan.
“Hello, Annie. May I come in?” she asked.
“Of course,” I answered. “Would you like to sit?”
“No. This won’t take long.”
“Good.”
“Ryan asked me to meet with you on his behalf to return these. She held out a small bag. I took it and l
ooked inside. I was suddenly terrified that Ryan really had sent her. The necklace I had given him for Christmas and the watch I gave him our last night together were tucked inside the bag.
“Why is he giving these back to me?”
“He’s moved on, Annie,” Valerie said stiffly. I smirked. This had to be one of her tricks, and I wasn’t falling for it.
“Ryan was adamant about not seeing you again.”
“Are you saying he sent you to break up with me?” I questioned, still convinced this was a trick.
“I imagine he would have sent me, even if he were still in town.”
“A week before our separation ends—that’s convenient. Where did you send him?” I asked, still not believing her.
“I don’t think you understand me, Annie. Ryan doesn’t want you anymore. I didn’t send him anywhere. He went on his own, and very willingly,” she said.
“Where’d he go?”
“Hawaii.”
“Hawaii?” That was so random that I laughed, but stopped when Valerie held up the morning newspaper for me.
“He’s on his honeymoon,” she said frigidly, but a hint of bliss still swirled in her voice.
I looked at the photograph of Ryan and Katie staring back at me. The caption underneath read, Ryan Lucas Mullins and Katherine Antonia Hardwick were married yesterday at sunset in a private ceremony in Holly Springs… “He married her,” I mumbled before I felt my brain disengage, severing my connection with reality. I could think of nothing more devastating.
“Yes,” Valerie answered sharply.
“Wait,” I said, my voice faint. “Holly Springs, isn’t that where—” “Yes, it is, and the ceremony was absolutely beautiful,” she gushed. “Exactly the way you imagined your own wedding there would be. “
“You’re lying. Ryan wouldn’t have married her there. He wouldn’t have married her at all!”
“Yet, he did. Now, I’d like to have that back.” She pointed to my ring. I wrapped my fingers around it, as if protecting it from her.
Breathe (Sway Part 2) Page 12