by Emma Vikes
And then the one driving was him. His hair was different now, no longer the unruly black curls that I remembered. The side of his head was shaven and the middle portion was tied neatly in a man bun. No longer had the wild, untamed black curl that every girl had vied to run their fingers through. When Megan introduced me to them, I saw his gray eyes widen in shock but now they were hidden behind black sunglasses. But I could feel him glancing at me through the rearview mirror every chance he had.
Beside me, I felt Megan nudge my shoulder. She had hung up on Carole. “You okay?”
Megan and I used to live beside each other when we were younger, in the same average neighborhood in Irving before her mother died and they had to move into a cheaper apartment. Before she moved, we made a pact to see each other every year until I had to move for college and she went to beauty school. When her Dad got sick, she called me, crying because she had to give up on beauty school. She had been back in Irving since then and then when I got pregnant with Max, I came back to Irving and met up with her. But I never really told her the whole story about Max. We’d kept in touch after I went back to college and then went to law school, and even when Max and I moved to Miami.
I nodded my head, not bothering to plaster a fake smile on because I knew that Megan would see right through it. “Just tired from the flight, I guess.”
“I think it’s best we should head to Elle’s hotel first to drop them off. I’m sure Max is just as tired as his mother.”
I watched as his hands clenched tightly on the steering wheel but he nodded his head, remaining quiet. Megan narrowed her eyes. “Is there something bothering you, Leo? I’ve never seen you tongue-tied.”
Megan’s voice was teasing and beside Leo, Everett lowered his iPad, a wicked grin on his face too. He glanced at Megan and me briefly, his gaze lingering on me a little longer. “I think he’s annoyed that someone so pretty is already taken. Leo doesn’t like it when he sees something he likes but can’t have.”
Everett glanced at me again, a small smile on his face but the respect and distance clear in his eyes. This was a guy who knew and understood boundaries. For a moment, I wondered if Leo had grown to be as mature. “Maybe it’s something I already had.”
His words made my heart drop and silence filled the car. Even with black sunglasses on, I could feel the piercing gaze of his gray eyes. I turned away and met the question in Megan’s eyes. “Is there something that we don’t know about?”
Before Leo could answer and drop a bomb on my best friend, I interfered. “Nope. I’m not entirely sure where he was going with what he just said.”
Upfront, Everett cocked his head to the side. “You used to live in Irving?”
I nodded my head. There was no point in denying that part. “Yes. Megan and I used to be neighbors before they moved. We kept in touch and remained best friends through. You know, some people just know how to keep in touch and don’t leave without explanations.”
I shouldn’t have gone there because my words seemed to have made Megan and Everett suspect more but I couldn’t really help myself. I’d played out this scenario numerous times in my head and I’d always told myself that I needed to keep myself in check, be calm and collected and not act like the girl that he had disregarded and left in an unfamiliar lake house. But as much as I’d like to believe that I’d prepared myself for this, the bitterness was uncontrollable.
Leo stopped the car, putting the station wagon on park. He removed his sunglasses from his face and turned to me, his gray eyes bright with playful intensity. He cocked his head to the side and for a moment, my mind flashed to the very first time I met him. Leo had a subtle beard on his face and I was certain it was trimmed professionally. After all, Steve Maddock pays his photographer well.
“We’ve arrived at your hotel, Ellie.” My heart skipped a beat when he dropped the nickname. Beside me, I could feel Megan staring back and forth between Leo and me, suspicion radiating off of her. I swallowed, my fists clenched but I held Leo’s gaze. Just because he was here right now, at this moment, his charm in full display didn’t change the fact that I woke up alone in that bed, almost seven years ago.
“Mom!” Max whined beside me and his voice was enough to break the trance, I turned my attention on him, but not quick enough not to catch the flash of disappointment in Leo’s eyes.
“Yes, baby?”
“I’m tired,” he pouted and I smiled at him, kissing the top of his head. I opened the door and unbuckled him from the extra car seat in the station wagon. Megan got out with us and linked my arm with hers while my other hand held Max’s. She flashed me a look, the suspicion clear in her eyes as she dragged me to the lobby of the hotel. I knew that there were probably a million and one questions running in Megan’s mind right now but she knew that this wasn’t the place to discuss it.
I left Max with her while I checked-in with the receptionist. “One room reservation for Eleanor Black.”
The receptionist took my ID and checked her computer and I watched as she glanced at my ID for the second time and typed in my name again. There was a flash of uncertainty in her eyes and then she turned to look at me. “The reservation is scheduled for the second of August, Miss Black. The room is unavailable.”
Eyebrows rose in surprise as I stared at her. “I booked a room five days ago. You sent me an email of confirmation.”
She chewed on her bottom lip. “I’m really sorry, miss, but we don’t have any more rooms available.”
I opened my mouth to argue but Megan called my attention. “Elle, what’s going on?”
With a glare, I snatched my ID from the receptionist’s hand and went to my friend. “They don’t have any more rooms available and apparently, the one I reserved, isn’t available until August 2. It doesn’t make sense. I had my secretary make the reservation five days ago! I should check with their manager.”
But before I could demand their manager, I felt a small hand grasp my arm and I turned back to Megan and Max. “Mommy, I’m really sleepy.”
My heart dropped and I looked at Megan. “What’s the nearest hotel from here?”
Megan rubbed Max’s arm as she responded to my question, “There’s one, two blocks from here but I’m not sure if there are rooms available too. Max is already tired, Elle. Maybe he can sleep at the boys’ rented townhouse and we can look for a hotel for you two?”
“The boys?”
She smiled at me apologetically. “I would offer for him to rest at our house but Milo’s mom is already staying at the guest room. Morgan’s staying with her boyfriend at this hotel and my brothers wouldn’t be here until the day before the wedding. Julian won’t be arriving until tomorrow so I’m certain there’s a room available with them.”
I wanted to decline because staying with ‘the boys’ meant staying with Leo and being in one house with him. It was already too much that he happened to be the brother of the man that Megan was marrying. “Maybe we should just look for another hotel.”
Her right eyebrow rose. On her lap, Max was quietly snoring. “Your son’s already asleep, Elle. If you’re declining because you have beef with Leo that I don’t know about, then that’s so immature for someone like you. If I was in your position, I’d rather make sure that my son’s comfortable before I figure things out.”
I hated how it was so easy for Megan to put me in my place. With slight indignation, I took Max from her arms and carried him back to the station wagon. Everett saw us coming and he ran to me to get Max since my little boy was getting heavier by the day and it was a struggle for me to carry him. I flashed him a grateful smile. “Thanks.”
He didn’t reply but just nodded instead and he set Max back into the car seat he was in earlier. Leo had Atlas in his arms, rocking the baby back and forth but his eyes were glued to me as I neared. “Is it okay if Elle and Max stay with you guys tonight? There was an issue with her reservation.”
“Maybe not for tonight. Maybe I can find another hotel. I just need to get Max to bed now.
He was so excited about this trip and to meet Violet, he barely got any sleep last night.”
“What’s wrong with the reservation?” Everett asked, pulling the sleeves of his shirt up to his elbows.
I shrugged and sighed. “My secretary must’ve misheard the date or day of my trip. We were initially meant to take the first flight tomorrow but my schedule was free so I had it changed. I was certain I told her about it yesterday but don’t worry. I’ll just find another hotel while Max naps.”
Leo didn’t say anything and Megan took Atlas from his arms, playing with her little boy. Leo’s gaze was still fixed on me. Everett nudged his shoulders and the brothers exchanged looks and for a moment, I wondered if Leo told Everett about us while Megan and I were inside the hotel. But if he did, it didn’t seem to change the way Everett treated me.
We boarded the station wagon again and Leo drove us to the AirBnB townhouse they rented. It had three rooms and Everett carried Max to the first room that he opened the moment we reached upstairs. Atlas had fallen asleep so Megan couldn’t really help us with our bags but Leo managed to take everything out from the back of the station wagon and had placed everything in the living room.
Once I was certain that Max was settled and that he was hugging his favorite stuffed penguin, I returned to Megan downstairs. “He usually sleeps for an hour and a half. I think he’s exhausted so it might be longer. If we start now, I think we can look for another hotel.”
Megan was sitting on the couch, Atlas on her lap. He was playing with the ends of her hair. She stood up, carrying her son in her arms and shook her head. “You have to rest too, Elle. You might be as tired as Max. And you do have a reservation.”
“It won’t be available until Thursday,” I said, my eyebrows furrowing, unsure of where Megan was heading with the conversation.
She nodded her head. “I know. Stay here with Max for the night. When Julian arrives tomorrow, I’m sure one of them is willing to bunk in with the other or sleep on the couch. After all, aren’t my soon to be brother-in-laws gentlemen?”
Megan was eyeing Leo who was standing on the other side of the room, cleaning a camera in his hands. Everett was standing at the top of the stairs, shaking his head in amusement. He jogged down the stairs and flashed me a smile. “I’m sure Leo’s more than willing to let you stay in his room for two nights. Right, Leo?”
Leo didn’t say anything and Megan handed Atlas to Everett. She walked closer to me, pulling me in for a hug. “I’ve missed you so much, Elle. And we’ll catch up later at dinner. I have to go home now and prepare everything. Everett’s coming with me to pick up the rental car and get you guys lunch. Rest for a little bit, okay?”
I hugged her and said goodbye to Atlas, kissing his little hand and watching Everett and Megan board the station wagon again. I was still yet to meet her fiancé but I had a feeling that he was a good guy, given how nice Everett had been to me all morning. Behind me, Leo cleared his throat and I closed my eyes, realizing that they’d left me alone to deal with him.
If Everett was nice, I wasn’t certain that the same adjective described his brother.
“Ellie.”
The nickname used to make my legs turn into jelly and always made me fold. But right now, all it did was send a spike of irritation through me. I let out an annoyed breath and turned around. Leo was at the other side of the room earlier but now he had crossed it and was right in front of me when I turned around. I took a step back, surprised with the closed proximity.
Leo reached out and then stopped midway, the uncertainty flashing in his eyes. “Ellie, we need to talk.”
He was staring at me, gray eyes that I had loathed for years because he left me in that lake house alone with only a note to tell me he had to go, no explanations or whatever. “There’s nothing to talk about, Leo.”
I pushed past him, wanting to head to the room that Max was in so I could relax on the bed. I felt like I’d been tensed the moment I got to Chicago because Leo was the last person I expected to see. When the invite said that Megan was marrying Milo Hudson, I thought that maybe it was a different Hudson. But nope, Milo just happened to be Leo’s older brother.
His hand was on my wrist, tugging me back so I would turn to look at him again. “Ellie, I...”
“Stop calling me that,” I said, my voice dropping and the cold rage I’d bottled up for him simmering in the pit of my stomach, “and we have nothing to talk about, Leo. You made it clear to me the moment you left me alone in that lake house, with only the key to return to the owners and a note telling me that you had to go.”
Leo dropped my hand and he looked down, his eyebrows furrowed and I knew that he was trying to come up with an answer, or a way for me to allow him to explain. “If you’ll let, I’ll explain to you why I had to go.”
“You had that opportunity with Steve Maddock.” He looked at me after I said that, the surprise evident in his eyes. I knew. I saw him being approached by Maddock at his gallery before we left for the lake house. I was aware that there must’ve been a proposition since they had seemed to be in a serious conversation. Leo tried to take a step forward, his hand reaching out for me but I took a step back, refusing to be touched by him. If I had a choice, I wouldn’t even be in the same place as him.
“I wouldn’t have stopped you if you told me. But all the talks about how I meant something to you were lies because had I meant anything to you, I would’ve gotten a decent goodbye.”
CHAPTER 3
Leo
Had I meant anything to you, I would’ve gotten a decent goodbye.
It was as if her words were on repeat in my mind, a broken record continuously playing the same line over and over again. And as if that wasn’t enough to torture me with guilt, my mind kept flashing back to that night. The way we defied nature and went on the canoe, despite how the wind continually challenged us, rocking us over and over, our clothes clinging to our bodies, her brown hair almost black because of the rain and the way she kissed me, her heated skin under mine.
I clenched my fists when another memory tickled my mind. The way she looked as she slept quietly at dawn when I was scribbling a note. I could’ve written ‘goodbye’ and left it at that. But no, I was stupid and cruel enough to simply give her the number of the person who owned the lake house so she could return the key. There wasn’t anything else written on that piece of paper other than that and I knew that I should’ve written something else but I didn’t have it in me to do so.
With a sigh, Everett wasn’t here so I didn’t have anyone to have a beer with me. I’d much rather sit with someone nursing a cold beer and wallowing in my guilt even if that person was Everett and he would only insult me as we drank. But Everett wasn’t here. After he brought us lunch, he called an Uber to drive him to Milo’s since Megan asked him to help, leaving me, Eleanor and Max in the house. Eleanor took a nap right after lunch to get away from me.
The camera dangled in my hands and I stared at it. How many times had I chosen my passion over everything else? I dropped college to pursue photography despite the warnings by Milo and Mom. I’d always said that there were too many beautiful things in the world that needed to be captured by camera because who knew when the time would come that it would all come to pass and we could never rely on mere human memory.
Photography was my comfort zone, the safe haven I’d created for myself to escape the cruelty of the world. The cruelty of my guilt. I positioned the camera closer to my face to take a shot. It was brand new, the newest version that Canon could offer. The package arrived yesterday but I didn’t have the time to test it because I had a scheduled photoshoot to do.
My finger was poised on the camera, pointing it towards the sky. I was waiting for the sun to set and the sky to turn into a whirlpool of colors, purple, blue and orange, gradient and swirling colors, different yet still beautiful. I was about to press my finger on the shutter when something hit me on the back of the head, the camera falling from my hands, clanking on the pavement. Fr
om the corner of my eyes, I spotted the orange ball resting just a couple of inches beside my foot.
“Shit!” I yelled, picking it up quickly and running through everything. The lens was alright, there was no damage or scratches. The camera was functioning well still but the rapid thumping of my heart, the fear that it brought me lingered and I quickly turned around, ready to yell at Everett.
Wide gray eyes stared back at me, the fear so clear in them. His curly brown hair was even more unruly now, almost like an afro. He backed away from me and I smoothed my features so the annoyance didn’t show. “I...I’m...I didn’t mean to!”
His voice was small and high-pitched and it seemed as if he was a scared animal ready to bolt if I made a move. He looked so much like Eleanor, save for the gray eyes and curly hair. “I’m sorry! Did I break the ca...came..camera?”
Max’s voice was filled with fear and tension and when I took a step forward, he recoiled back. “Max, calm down. I’m not angry.”
He blinked. Once. Twice. He opened his mouth to say something and then clamped it shut. His hand flew to the back of his neck, nervously rubbing on it as he stared at me, his gray eyes still wide. “I’m sorry.”
My eyebrows furrowed as I gauged his reaction. “Does your mom get mad at you?”
It was a stupid question. When I met Eleanor, she could barely hurt a fly so it was impossible for her to be angry and reprimand her son in an extreme way. But the fear in Max’s eyes was clear as day, as if he was waiting to be hit or something. Maybe...but I didn’t really want to go in that direction. He shook his head quickly. “No. Mom never hits me. She makes me face the wall when I’m making too much trouble.”