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“Hey, Macie. Noah,” Rhys said, holding his hand out to shake his.
“How are you doing, man?”
“I’m good. Thanks. This is my friend, Carrie. Carrie, this is Noah, Macie—and my ex-fiancé, Riley.” He motioned toward me, staring hard again.
“It’s nice to meet y’all,” she said, smiling.
Noah and Macie returned her politeness, but I didn’t. She focused back on me, recognizing how much we resembled, although she said nothing about it. She didn’t have to. The expression on her face said it all. She was blown away.
Macie cleared her throat, and I looked over at her. She was shooting arrows at Rhys with her eyes. Then she went into full best-friend mode.
“Carrie, please excuse me for what I’m about to say. It’s no reflection on you, darlin’.” Macie focused on Rhys again. “What in the hell kind of fucked up deal is this? You got a clone of Riley?”
“Macie, really?”
“Yes, really. And another thing… I understand Carrie is in Cypress Hills to gather facts about its history for a TV report, so why are you dancing with her at a bar?”
Rhys shook his head angrily and then looked at Carrie standing beside him. “I’m sorry, but we need to leave.”
“She does, for sure!” Macie continued, pointing at Carrie. “Rhys, you’re such a stubborn ass. Deep down, you know Riley didn’t do you wrong by Chad, so stop this nonsense!”
“Bye.”
He took Carrie by the hand and led her to the exit. I turned around and laid my head on the bar, fighting back tears.
“BFF, I’m sorry, but I could not just stand here and not say something to Rhys. He deserved everything he got from me,” Macie said.
I took a deep breath and looked up at her. “Please take me back to my momma and daddy’s.”
CH 44 - #maybe
Riley
Song: “Rockland” by Gracie Abrams
WHEN I RETURNED from Cheers and Beers, my parents were sacked out in the living room. After walking over to them, I grabbed the remote off the table between their recliners and turned off the TV. Then I woke up my momma and daddy and told them to go get in bed. A couple of minutes later, I was lying in mine, hugging a pillow and crying into it.
I’d made another big mistake by coming to Cypress Hills this weekend. It didn’t matter that I had the best intentions. They’d blown up in my face.
Macie texted me after she and Noah made it to his house in Longview. She told me that she loved me and would check on me tomorrow. I sent back a thumbs-up emoji.
I wasn’t upset at her for how she had handled seeing Rhys and Carrie together. It was all in my defense, and I appreciated it. But the resemblance between Carrie and me had me upset. I knew it was nothing more than a coincidence, but wow. Just fucking wow.
I wondered if Rhys had imagined it was me when talking to Carrie, dancing with her, and whatever else they had done. Seeing them together twice today, I was sure they’d had sex. Body language didn’t lie. Especially Rhys’s.
I fell asleep and woke up a little after midnight. I knew it was a crazy idea, but I wanted to drive around, listen to music, and think. So I quietly left my momma and daddy’s, got into my car, and started cruising through downtown, which didn’t take long. Then, I hit the backroads.
Another crazy idea came to me, but I talked myself out of doing it. I couldn’t drive by Rhys’s house, even as much as I wanted to get a glimpse of it. What if he was awake and outside for some reason and then spotted my car? That wouldn’t be good. I’d be so embarrassed.
I was still driving around when 2:00 a.m. arrived and decided to throw caution to the wind. I headed to Rhys’s, running my thumb over the beautiful sapphire and diamond engagement ring he’d given me the whole way there.
When I reached the dirt road leading to his house, I slowly turned onto it after turning off my car’s lights. Then, I noticed the glow of the string lights on Rhys’s patio in the distance. A moment later, I saw movement. It was Rhys. He was sitting at the table—alone.
I continued watching him, getting more choked up by the second until I couldn’t take it anymore and started backing up. Goosebumps suddenly covered me from head to toe as two ethereal images appeared a few yards in front of my car. I slammed on the brakes, keeping my eyes on Joseph and Rosalie. I’d never seen them before but knew it was them because Rhys had shown me their picture.
They waved at me to follow them, turned around, and began floating toward Rhys’s. Seconds later, my car shifted into drive on its own and moved forward as my heart raced and my hands trembled.
When Joseph, Rosalie, and I had almost reached Rhys’s house, they vanished. I looked back at Rhys, still sitting on the patio, and saw him looking over his shoulder in my direction. He walked up as I was parking next to Black Betty.
