And there we were, Charlie, Sarah and me, all standing in my now very-wet foyer.
Sarah’s smile fell when she saw Charlie, and her eyes flicked to mine and back again, all color draining from her face. “Oh… I’m sorry, I didn’t realize…”
“No, no,” Charlie assured her, holding her hands out. “Please, don’t be. I just stopped by unannounced. Don’t tell me I’m crashing your lesson… again.” She smiled at that, and Sarah tried to return it, though it looked a little more like a grimace.
“Well, actually—”
“Yes, we really should get started,” I interrupted Sarah, who gave me a perplexed look as I turned my attention to Charlie. “Thank you for coming by, though. I appreciate it.”
Charlie’s little mouth popped open in an o, but she closed it promptly, nodding with a glance in Sarah’s direction before she looked at me again. “Of course.” Her eyes surveyed me then, as if she’d just realized I was in my sweat pants and an old t-shirt. I knew she was trying to put the pieces together, because she knew I wouldn’t dress like this when I had a student expected. “I’ll let you two get to it, then.”
I avoided her questioning eyes, helping her into her coat and passing her the still-dripping umbrella when she was back on my porch. She said a goodbye to Sarah, wishing her luck with today’s lesson, and then just as quickly as she had come, she was gone again.
I shut the front door, locking it behind me like it would prevent any other unwanted guests from showing up. Then, I leaned my back against the door with my eyes on my bare feet, letting out a long sigh before my head fell back with a thud. I stood there for a beat, not wanting to meet Sarah’s heavy gaze for fear of what I might find there. And when I finally did, it was exactly what I expected.
She didn’t look at me with pity, or with sorrow or empathy. No, there was only one expression she wore when my eyes found hers.
Disappointment.
And it was the worst one of all.
Sarah
“I brought soup,” I said after a moment, holding up the reusable bag I’d had hanging from my shoulder.
Reese was still standing at the door, his back pressed against it, feet planted in the puddles of water my clothes had left on the hardwood floor and heavy breaths wracking his chest as he watched me like he knew everything I was thinking. I tried to smile, to at least level my expression, but I knew I was doing a terrible job of trying to hide the question I needed to ask.
“I’m not actually sick.”
I cocked one brow. “No shit.”
At that, Reese let out a loud breath, kicking off the door and crossing to the kitchen. “It’s not what you think.”
“How do you know what I think?” I probed, following him. He disappeared inside his refrigerator as I threw the grocery bag on his kitchen island, and when he returned, he held a beer in his hand.
“Maybe the fact that you’re wearing your disappointment like a full face of makeup.” He cracked the beer open, swigging half of it down in one gulp before he leveled with me again. “She just showed up, okay? I didn’t invite her, and she was here for all of five minutes before you got here.”
I crossed my arms, shifting my weight to one hip as I waited for more — not that he owed it to me. I was honestly surprised he even acknowledged Charlie’s presence at all before I brought it up, and I wasn’t even sure I would have.
It wasn’t my place, even if I desperately wanted to know.
Reese sighed. “Look, I know it looks bad. I fake sick and cancel our lesson and then you show up, and she’s here, and…” He stopped, shaking his head like it didn’t matter before he took another drink from the can. “Why are you here, anyway?”
“I was trying to be nice,” I said, and I couldn’t place the annoyance that slipped through in my statement. “You said you were sick, and it’s raining and gross outside, so I thought maybe you’d like some soup delivered.”
“You’re my student, Sarah. It’s not your job to bring me soup when I’m sick.”
My nose flared, chest hollowing at the way he threw that in my face. Like we weren’t friends. Like everything I thought we’d shared together was all in my head.
And maybe it was.
“I didn’t realize being your student meant I couldn’t also be your friend, but thank you so much for reminding me.”
With that, I turned on my heel, abandoning the bag I’d brought with me on his counter. I convinced myself I didn’t care as I stormed across the living room to his foyer, Rojo trotting behind me all the way to the front door. I didn’t care that he didn’t want me there. I didn’t care that he’d cancelled our lesson, faked that he was sick, and then I’d found him with Charlie.
So what, he was with the same married woman who’d broken his heart, the one he’d been pining after for two years.
So what, they were alone, doing God knows what before I showed up.
So what, I’d looked like a fool, bringing him soup to be nice only to find I had interrupted… something.
So what.
My neck was hot, teeth clenched together so tight I knew I’d give myself a headache if I didn’t release the tension, but I couldn’t find it in me to care. I had my hand on the front doorknob and a string of curse words ready to let loose in the safety of my car when Reese called from behind me.
“Sarah, wait,” he said on a sigh, his footsteps heavy as he crossed the house.
I paused, hand still gripping that knob. I didn’t turn at first, debating whether I should adhere to his request or rip that door open and get the hell out of his house.
But the way he said my name wouldn’t let me leave.
I turned, hand still on the knob as I faced Reese. He stopped a few feet from me, running his hands back through his disheveled hair — which was down and flowing to his shoulders for the first time since I’d met him. He let his hands fall back to his sides with a thwack, his eyes searching mine, begging me for something — understanding, perhaps? Or maybe just for me not to go. Either way, that look pinned me to the spot, and I traced the pain that was etched into every inch of Reese’s face. It twisted up the longer he looked at me, his hands reaching up again to fist in his hair, throat constricting with a heavy swallow.
“I’m sorry,” he finally croaked out. “I’ve just had a really rough day and… please, stay.”
My shoulders fell at his words, chest squeezing at the desperation underneath them.
“Please?” he asked again when I didn’t respond, taking a few tentative steps toward me.
Rojo looked up at me, too, her eyes wide and pleading, and I chuckled when she nuzzled my leg.
“Y tú, Rojo?” I said, bending to rub behind her ears with both of my hands. I glanced up at Reese, who was smiling down at us now. “I kind of regret begging you to get a dog now.”
Reese threw one fist in the air. “With our powers combined, we—”
The air went out of him in an oof as I yanked one of the throw pillows off his couch and chucked it at his stomach. He caught it easily, grinning when it was in his hands.
“You’re making me soup,” I said, standing and making my way past him back into the kitchen without another glance.