Page 5 of Riverside Reverie

“Afraid to rip off the Band-Aid?” She arched a brow and tilted her head. She had been saying for years that I should break things off with Scott and be single for a while, enjoy college life to the fullest. She never really liked him.

“Yeah. I guess you could say that. I should have ended things with Scott years ago, but I was afraid to.” All the excitement I’d once felt for him seemed to have remained behind in the halls our old high school, and that was perfectly alright.

Even before Brinley had sent the photo, I’d been considering breaking things off with Scott.

My patience for his laziness and lack of interest in our relationship had already worn thin. I just hadn’t been sure how to go about breaking up with him. Confrontation wasn’t really my forte, and my aversion to drama had me dreading it.

Our relationship had never been the stuff of romance novels, but Scott had been more creative about dates when we were in high school. At least then, he’d taken me out for meals and to the movies. After graduating, his idea of a date had been to have me watch him play Call of Duty until three in the morning. He had zero interest in going out when I was home, unless it was to drag me along to one of his friend’s parties.

“You really should have; he was never at your level,” Jasmine said, shooting me a knowing glance before turning her attention back to the road.

“Tell me about it,” I sighed. “He never put in the effort.” When I first started university, I’d made frequent trips back every other weekend to do laundry and to see him, but Scott had put zero effort in us. I’d ended up spending my time with him doing homework while he played videogames and all but ignored me.

At first, I’d been so focused on my studies, I hadn’t even realized what was happening between us. Not consciously, anyway—or perhaps I knew, but again, just didn’t know how to end it. Eventually, I’d stopped going as frequently, opting to stay at the dorms instead and save my parents’ the trip.

I didn’t think Scott would be bothered by this, after all—he never called me out for it or asked why I’d stopped coming as much. Our relationship really hadn’t really felt like a relationship in years, and as he’d tossed that at me, I couldn’t blame him for finding something else to fill that void. We both knew it never had to be my sister, though. That was one betrayal he could have spared me.

“He didn’t deserve you, that was obvious from the beginning,” Jasmine said, shaking her head. “I feel bad you wasted all that time with him.”

“He didn’t distract me from my studies or my goals.” I reminded her, pausing to collect my thoughts. “He complained about that, you know, when I told him things were officially finished between us. He said, ‘Good, you cared more about school and your future than you did me anyway’.”

“Because he wasn’t your future, and you both knew that. You just didn’t want to admit it.” Jasmine scoffed. “Forget about that loser. You need to find someone adventurous, someone to sweep you off your feet and give you the experience of a lifetime.”

“I’m not looking for someone to sweep me off my feet, and I’m not even adventurous!” I pointed out with a laugh as I tucked my copper hair behind my ear. My finger brushed against the gold of my heart shaped daith piercing. Jasmine had one too, we’d gotten them the summer we’d turned sixteen. It was the most ‘adventurous’ thing about me.

“Not yet, but after this trip you will be,” she said confidently. “You’ll get the camping bug—then you’ll want to do it all the time!”

“Don’t count on it,” I sighed, rolling my shoulders. I detested bugs and dirt, and I was certain there’d be plenty of that where we were going.

“Just you wait. You’ll be eating your words by the end of this trip,” she giggled. “You’re going to love it!”

“We’ll see.” Secretly, I hoped that Jasmine was right. I hoped that I’d love every minute of it, that it’d be the distraction I needed away from the crummy bits of my life. I hadn’t felt like myself lately.

But I was determined to not sulk this weekend. I wasn’t about to allow Brinley another win. Me spending the next several days away from her miserable would be just that, letting her cruelty have the upper hand—again.

“I think,” Jasmine drawled, wiggling her eyebrows at me, “that you’ll love the experience so much, you’ll decide to move to Sudbury and be my new roomie. Wouldn’t that be fun?”

“You’re looking for a new roommate?” My curiosity was a little piqued.

“Actually, yes. The student renter moved out at the beginning of July, and the room is still available if you want it. They don’t usually start looking for new renters until closer to September, but I could talk to Desmond, tell him to let you have it.”

“I don’t know…” Rooming with Jasmine would be easy—we’d always gotten along. She was just as serious and focused as I was when it came to school and work, but she knew how to unwind, too. I’d forgotten how to do that, and living with Jasmine would remind me how to have fun again.

It sounded like a better option than my current predicament. I didn’t want to commit to the idea, but I could always check out local job listings and see if any clinics or hospitals were hiring. It wouldn’t hurt to broaden my job search several hundred kilometres, especially if it meant putting more distance between myself and Brinley.

* * *

The drive to the French River was a long one from Guelph, where we’d grown up and where both of our parents still lived. We filled the rest of the time with reminiscing conversations, laughter, and music. She updated me on how her parents and three younger sisters were doing, and we laughed about the time the two of us had stumbled in after a few too many drinks at a semi-formal after party when we were in grade eleven.

Jasmine was the eldest daughter of the Mayor of Guelph. The Kade’s had been politicians for many generations, and although Mayor Kade was about as modern and chill as politicians came, it had been a risky thing for us to do. Even though we had been honest about where we were and we’d returned before Jasmine’s curfew, we’d gotten into a lot of trouble afterwards. If our giggles hadn’t been the thing to give us away, Jasmine’s parents could smell the alcohol on us, and they weren’t impressed. As the eldest of four girls and the daughter of a politician, an example had to be set. For the rest of that summer, Jasmine was grounded and had to do community service. She chose to volunteer at a sleepaway camp up north.

The Kade’s had informed my parents of my misdemeanour too, but mine were laxer about it. After all, Brinley drank in excess; every weekend, she’d stumbled home past curfew, drunk. My minor drinking experiments had always seemed so tame, comparably.

Jasmine’s punishment had worked more effectively to discipline me, as I’d had to spend an entire summer without my best friend, and she’d had the best time at the sleepaway camp. After that incident, the two of us got a hell of a lot wiser about drinking.

My phone dinged with a message, and I absently picked it up. It was a new Snap from my sister. It wasn’t even nine o’clock and she’d already started in with sending Snaps directly to me. She’d sent Snaps of her and Scott together so often that seeing them together had lost some of the initial sting.

The Snaps were always cross-posted to her stories, adding double the fuel to the gossip mill. Back home had been churning with Brinley’s latest escapades. I’d received more “hey girl, just checking in” messages from former high school classmates than I cared to admit, all of them fishing for information on the latest Kennish sister drama. Some were my old friends, curious but authentic, relating to the pain of being betrayed, but most were Brinley’s minions, fishing for insider information that I wouldn’t give. She was looking for a public reaction, but she wouldn’t get it.

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