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Girl, tell me about it.
Fine. I didn’t love him, but I had reconsidered my entire “no men ever” rule for him, which was a lot.
I closed the door behind me softly and pressed my back to it, closing my eyes. I was in trouble. Big trouble.
“Hey, Cosmos.”
Rhyland’s words pulled me out of my weird mood. I opened my eyes. He was standing in front of the mirror, getting dressed.
“I’m taking you out tonight.”
“But Grav—”
“Is already asleep,” he finished for me. “And Jolene insisted on babysitting her. Come on.” He made a face. “It’s time to look lovey-dovey. For my deal, yeah?”
I nodded. He needed this win desperately.
I got ready and slipped on a tight red dress. When we walked out of the house, we looked like two awkward teenagers passing Jolene and Bruce in the living room. They were watching Wheel of Fortune like it was 1993.
“Have fun, kids!” Jolene called out.
“Keep it in your pants, mister,” added Bruce.
A chauffeur drove us into the nearest nondescript town, where we drank our beers silently. We could both feel it all coming to an end. Bruce was pacified. The deal was likely going through. And there really wasn’t any point in doing more bonding.
Rhyland’s phone danced on the counter of the bar. His mother again.
I sighed. “You’re going to have to deal with your parents sooner or later.”
“Wanna bet?” he drawled sarcastically, taking a pull of his beer. “They fucked me over real good and nice. Now it’s my turn. Whatever they want, it’s a favor. And I’m fresh out of fucks when it comes to their problems.”
“What if one of them has health issues?”
Rhyland shook his head, holding his beer by its neck between his index and middle fingers, eyes wandering to the football game on the screen above our heads. A rerun. “If one of them was about to kick the bucket, they’d spend all their time together and not invite me to say goodbye. Ever since I was a kid, they’ve always had this…possessiveness toward each other. I remember Dad always butting into our hugs every time I embraced my mother. He wouldn’t really let me touch her. And as I grew up, I think he kind of…almost competed with me for her. Teaching me his craft, passing along his skills, was mainly to keep me busy and away from her.”
“That’s sick,” I said quietly.
He nodded. “I grew up feeling like a voyeur in my own home. Love and affection were a currency, and I was hella poor.” No wonder, then, that he’d grown up becoming richer from that very same coinage.
Three beers in, we called it a night and stumbled back to our waiting car.
“I could get used to this.” I put my head on Rhyland’s shoulder and closed my eyes, only for a few seconds. When I opened them again, we were parked in front of the ranch.
I moaned groggily and scooted out of the back seat of the Escalade, murmuring my thanks to the driver. Rhyland snatched my hand in his and led the way. At first, I thought we were heading for the door, but then he took a sharp turn left, and we were stomping on dry summer land and mostly eaten grass.
“Where are you taking me?” I yawned into the back of my hand.
“You’ll see.” His voice sounded strangely strained, and that woke me up from my power nap.
We trudged in the pitch-black, Rhy lighting the way with his phone flashlight. Then I saw it, like a beacon in a sea of nothing.
The wishing well.
Rhyland’s grip tightened on my hand. Then we were right next to it, the now-cold stones pressing against the front of my thighs. The metal jug jingled softly to the swoosh of the wind.
He placed his phone screen down on the lip of the well so that the light touched the silhouettes of our faces. There was urgency in his expression.
“Bruce was right,” he said solemnly.