“Yeah, like… a little movie reel you’re making. Something I can flip back on when I’m old and boring. Something that’ll remind me about the life I actually lived. You get it. You and that Red guy are totally into each other. I’m sure you were having the time of your life before I showed up.”
“He’s a good guy.” I bite back a smile as I think about Red and those big, rough hands scratching against my skin.
“No, none of these guys are good. That’s the best part. They’re all messed up and totally bad.” She takes a sip of water from the bottle she’s been carrying. “Before I ran off to get this story, my life was so boring. I mean… I was doing stories about returns at the candle shop in town. Now, I’m chasing a giant bad boy covered in tattoos with dark brown eyes.” She sighs. “Ugh… life is way more interesting this way.”
The bed creaks as she tosses herself onto the mattress, popping a few M&M’s into her mouth as she lands. The blue bedspread wrinkles and the pine side table wobbles out of place.“Wait, these are customized… with little wedding bands. Are you getting married?”
“Was,”I sigh, desperate to not have this conversation. “Now I own fifty bags of custom M&M’s and a wine-stained wedding dress.”
Her jaw drops. “Oh shit, that sucks. You want to talk about it?”
“Not really,” I say, opening my own bag of matrimony chocolate. “I was so depressed a few days ago, but I don’t know, I’m sort of happy things happened the way they did. If they hadn’t, I’d never have met Red, and he’s incredible.”
“Oh God.” She gasps and sits up from the bed, staring toward me like I have three heads. “Youlike him, like him. It’s not just a one-night thing. Girl…”
“What?”
“You can’t fall for the red flag guy. That’s when things go sideways. They’re just for funzies. It’s an‘in and out before the devil even knows you’re there’kind of thing.” She leans forward, her voice softer as she says, “Seriously, these guys are all trouble. Trust me. I’ve been following one for months now. Fire’s fun to play with ‘til you get burned, ya know?”
I let her words ramble around in my head like a lost hitchhiker ready to cling to anything in motion, but the flags she waves stay stuck and resonate with a reality I didn’t have back at the cabin.
Red can be sweet, kind, thoughtful, fun, and exciting, but for how long? How long can he be that man? Can he be that man outside of the cabin doors? Can he be that man when he was raised to be violent and dangerous?
I drag in a deep breath and let it out slowly, just in time for a knock to hit heavy on the door. Maci jerks like she’s been shot, before jumping and flattening herself on the floor behind the bed. “I’m not here.”
I’m not sure hiding under the bed will save her from much, but I guess it’s better than nothing.
“It’s okay,” I sigh, pressing my eye to the peephole. “It’s my ex.”
“Shit.Youwant to hide, andI’llanswer?”
“Sort of,” I groan, rolling my shoulders forward, “but I have a feeling this conversation is coming to me no matter what I do to avoid it.”
“Fair enough,” she says, opening another bag of M&M’s. “I’m right here if you need someone to dramatically throw themselves in front of emotional bullets.”
I smile, drag in a deep breath, and slide into the hallway with the man I thought was my forever.
It’s funny how you can look at someone and think they’re everything, then completely lose every feeling you’ve ever had for them in less than twenty-four hours. Love is fragile like that, I guess.
“Mae.” Rick sighs and tries to lean into me for a hug, but I flinch away. He smells like that sour cologne I hate. I always begged him to try something else, but he likes the scent of whatever it is. “Okay… I get it. You’re upset. You should be.” He stares down at the ground and drags in a heavy breath. “It’s over, ya know. I ended things with her.”
“Oh, wow.” I fake an overly gregarious grin as a light flickers in the long hallway. “That’s so great of you. Too bad I don’t give a shit.”
“What?”He truly doesn’t seem to understand why I’m not happy he ended things with his mistress.“I thought this is what you wanted.”
“What I wanted?” I say under my breath. “You should’ve stayed with her. I don’t want anything to do with you ever again.”
“It’s been two years, Pook. I made one mistake.”
Pook.God, I hate when he calls me that.
Blood boiling, I drag my gaze up to his, studying the puny biceps, receding hairline, and weak chin that I once somehow found attractive. “A mistake? Rick, if Netflix did a docuseries on cheaters, you’d take the cake. I found pictures of your mistress on our wedding day. There’s no coming back from that. You need to leave.”
He steps toward me as though he’s somehow now going to assert his dominance. “This isn’t over, Pook. I still love you and I know you—”
The elevator door rings, and the doors slide open. A moment later a giant rounds the corner, fists balled as though he doesn’t need the context of the conversation to know he doesn’t like it.
Without question, thought, or pause of any sort, Red hammers his fist into Rick’s jaw, launching him into the back wall of another room.
