Rhys

“I saw Viv last night,” I tell my therapist, Maura, the next day. I’m seeing her daily, because I need to.

“How did that go?”

“Bad, then a little better.”

“Care to elaborate?”

I chuckle, but tell her what happened. She listens, nodding a few times, before shaking her head.

“You’re making me nervous,” I admit.

“Matt is a great guy, but I think either he gave you bad advice, or you took what he said the wrong way.”

“You don’t think I should be friends with Viv?”

“Of course, you should be friends with her. But, you left things in a bad place with her in Wales, and now you’re putting her in the friend-zone the first time you see her. She’s got to be a saint for agreeing.”

“She is. And I guess I just needed to do something—say something—to try and connect with her.”

“You didn’t tell her you were talking to me, did you?”

“No. I’m not ready.”

“I don’t want you doing anything you don’t feel you can, but I have to caution you to be ready for the consequences. Your friends in this building know you’re seeing me, but the woman you love doesn’t. It’s going to hurt her if you wait too long to tell her, and she realizes she was the last to know.”

“They won’t tell.”

“No, but eventually you’ll have to.”

She’s right, but there has to be a way to make it better for both me and Viv. “Can it happen here, with you?”

“Yes, but it may not make a difference to her. I’ll be here to support you, and advocate on your behalf, but it’s up to you to make amends if it she’s hurt. I just want you to understand that.”

“I do.”

The rest of the session goes well, as we talk about what I’m doing to help myself cope with letting my past go. It’s intense, but soothing, and I feel like I’ll one day be back to the way I was before everything bad happened. Back to when Viv and I were teens, and the actions of others forced us apart. Now, I’m the one who’s doing that myself, but I’ll make it better. I have to.

“How’s your day going?” Rhieve asks when I join her for lunch later.

“My session went well.”

“Good. Viv’s here, starting work today.”

“I know.”

“Oh. I didn’t know Reina talked to you about it.”

“She didn’t. Viv told me last night.”

“Last night?”

“Long story short, we’re friends.”

She puts down her fork, and pins me with a glare. “Please tell me you didn’t give her a ‘let’s be friends’ talk.”

“It wasn’t like that.”

“Why are men so stupid?” she asks, groaning.

“You and Calum were friends first.”

“When we were kids, and you’ve already been friends first with Viv.”

“Yeah, but we need to get that back. The trust, and all.”

“You sound like you’re trying to convince yourself, which just goes to show what a bad idea this is.”

“Well, what’s a good idea?”

“You honestly want to know what I think?”

“I do.”

“Instead of asking her to start over as friends with you, ask her to officially be your girlfriend for the first time. Act like you’re thirteen again, and wanting to hold her hand.”

Whoa. Sometimes my sister really gets it. Probably more than sometimes, but I’m not going to tell her that. I will tell her what I think right now, though.

“You’re right.”

“Took you long enough to realize it. You should’ve come to me first.”

“Yeah, yeah. You’re the best. Blah, blah, blah.”

“You realize how often you live up to the annoying little brother stereotype, right?”

“Just keeping you on your toes, Sis.”

“Calum does that enough for everyone. You just worry about you and Viv.”

“I do. I worry all the time,” I admit, getting serious again.

“She’s upstairs in Stella’s closet, picking out some work clothes.”

“If you don’t mind me ditching you, I think I’ll head up there to see if I can help her choose something for our date.”

“Date?”

“It was supposed to be just a movie with a friend, but I like the idea of a first date much better.”

“So do I. Go get your woman, little bro.”

I kiss her forehead before taking my tray to where it goes. As I take the elevator up I try to plan what to say, but in the end, I decide to just bare my heart to Viv. She already owns it, so it should be easy. Yeah, I’m not dumb enough to believe that, but a guy can start to hope, can’t he?

Viv

I’m in Stella’s closet, choosing work clothes, but coveting the fun and flirty dresses I see on another rack. If the situation was better, I’d be asking for one to wear tonight. But, it’s just a movie with a friend. I have to keep reminding myself of that, because it feels like so much more.

“You can have some of those dresses you keep looking at,” Stella tells me with a smile.

“Those are date dresses, and I won’t be going on any dates.”

Her assistant, Kevin, waves his hand at me. “You could have a date in seconds. Half the cafeteria had their tongues on the ground when you were in there earlier.”

“I don’t want any of those guys.”

“Good.”

I turn to see Rhys standing in the doorway. His hair is messy, and he’s in jeans and a t-shirt. He looks like the boy I fell in love with, and I have to grab the clothing rack, so I don’t grab him.

“Rhys, did we have an appointment?”

He speaks to Stella, but doesn’t take his eyes off mine. “No, I’m here for Viv.”

“Viv?” she asks, but I don’t look her way. All I can do is nod. “Kevin and I will give you some privacy.”

“Do we have to?” he asks.

“Yes.”

Once the door closes, Rhys moves to stand directly in front of me. “Hi.”

“Hello.”

“I made a mistake last night.”

My face falls as I wonder what he did. Was he with someone else? “Another woman?”

“What? I told you there was no one but you. How could you even think that?”

“This isn’t easy for me, Rhys.”

“I know, and I’m trying.”

“So am I.”

“We can’t move forward if you’re not going to believe me when I tell you something.”

“Doling out little bits of information to me isn’t making it easy for me to believe you.”

“I’m just going to go now, because this isn’t going at all like it was supposed to.”

“Yeah, just run from me again, like always.”

“That’s not fair, Viv.”

“None of this is fair, but if you’re going to keep running every time we hit a rough spot, you might as well just stay away.”

He turns his head away, and I see the tic in his jaw as he holds back from saying more. “Have a great life.”

“You too.”

And then he’s gone. Again. Only this time, I’m pretty sure it’s the end.

“Are you okay?” Stella asks, rushing back in.

“No, but I’m going to have to be.”

“Rhys looked really upset, if that’s any consolation.”

“It’s not, but thanks. I know he loves me, but he can’t get past himself.”

“From what I’ve heard, he’s struggling.”

“He is, but so am I. Everyone seems to forget that.”

“We’re not forgetting, but we’re prioritizing. Right now, he needs more help than you do. That doesn’t diminish what you’re feeling, but it does come into play.”

“He wouldn’t even tell me what’s going on, so I’m not feeling as generous right now.”

“I understand.”

“Thanks for the clothes. I think I’m done for now, and I’m just going to head over to my office.”

“Of course. I’ll have the clothes taken to your apartment.”

“I appreciate it.”

I head straight to my office, and slump over my desk, resting my head on the surface. This is all such a mess, and a part of me wishes I’d never upset the balance of my old world. If I’d just left things as they were, I’d still be miserable, but I wouldn’t have the hope I’d felt when Rhys said he still loved me.

The knock at my door forces me to lift my head, and clear those thoughts out of it. “Come in.”

“Hey, Viv. I’m about to go out, and check on one of the women we have in hiding. Reina thought you might like to come along,” Jade asks, as she walks in.

“Oh. Sure. That would be great.”

She tilts her head, sighs, and then nods. “We can talk after, if you’d like.”

“Talk?”

“Yeah. I think we need to, but I’ll explain later.”

“Okay.”

I don’t know what she needs to talk to me about, but it sounds serious. Then again, she often looks serious when I see her. There are times, when she’s with her husband, Nate, where she’s absolutely glowing with happiness and laughter, but most of the time, she’s pretty intense. It’s intimidating, and I expect that’s the point, but I’m not sure I want all that intensity directed at me.