Page 15 of The Other Side of Paradise
I shook my head in disbelief. “Conversation is a strong word for coming in here trying to gaslight someone about her boyfriend cheating on her.”
Aunt Helena’s voice climbed higher as she said, “I’m not saying it’s okay to cheat. Of course it’s not! But there’s a time and a place to do something about it! This is just reflecting badly on everybody and ruining the entire trip—”
I cut in, my voice straining. “I can’t believe you’re trying to make this like it’s Ryan’s fault,” I said, and Ryan snapped, raising her voice like I never heard from her.
“That’senough,” she shouted. “I’m going. I’ll see you at breakfast.”
“Ryan,” Aunt Helena said, but Ryan stormed away, no room for another word. Aunt Helena gestured after her. “You’re being so immature right now, Ryan!”
“Are you serious, Aunt Helena?” I said, stepping in between her and Ryan’s disappearing figure. “She just got stabbed in the back by her partner and you’re criticizing her? Do you haveshame?”
Aunt Helena cycled through a whole different range of colors, first white, then red, then vaguely green, like a self-satisfied human disco ball. Oscar gave me a frustrated sigh. “Stella,” he said. “Let’s listen to what Ryan needs right now. And it sounds like what she needs is to drop it.”
“I’msickof just dropping things and pretending nothing is happening,” I blurted.
“Stella,” Aunt Helena said, her voice dripping with disappointment, and it just pissed me off more. Used to be I’dshrink away and cower at that kind of thing, but I guess this trip was me letting go of all of this. Me learning to say what was on my mind, too. How about that? She shook her head before she said, “We’re really going to have to have a talk with you and your parents. I thought they’d already told you how to behave in public.”
I snorted. “And nobody ever told you how to behave in private, huh?”
That blow landed, judging by the way she looked at me like I’d just murdered someone. “Stella.”
“Shut up.”
Aunt Helena drew a long, shaky breath, eyes wide, quivering, fixed on me, before Oscar put a hand on my shoulder.
“Come on. This isn’t our issue to get involved in. We should get ready for breakfast.”
I shot him a horrified look. “You want me to just… mosey on along to breakfast with everybody, sit around a big happy table pretending like everything is fine?”
He shrugged. “It’s what Ryan would want. Less fighting over her. She’s got enough stress right now with Shane. Let’s not give her more.”
Jesus Christ. I was going to fucking lose it if I had to go along to breakfast. But maybe he was right—maybe they’d just go yell at Ryan more if they blamed her for me not showing up to breakfast. “Sure, whatever,” I muttered, turning away, hiding the quiver in my face. “Guess I’ll go get ready. Just need a minute.”
To go cry in frustration. Over someone who wasn’t evenmyboyfriend cheating. I didn’t know what the hell was wrong with me. A lot, probably.
Chapter 7
Allison
I’d kind of expected things to be going differently when I showed up at the climbing gym. It had seemed like a hell of a day on Ryan’s side—I’d had two separate members of Ryan’s extended family ask me during my shift on the front desk if I knew anything about her, and I’d lied and said I had no idea.Company policy prevents me from sharing guests’ personal information, including their locationwould have been the correct answer, but I knew these kinds of people well enough to know their heads would explode if I said something like that, so I just gave them my best sympathetic look and saidoh, I don’t know, but I’ll let you know if I hear from her.They went on insisting that it was serious and that she could be in a lot of trouble, and I doubted they’d have liked it if I’d saidoh, she doesn’t seem to be in trouble, she seems to be really enjoying her situation.
Except that apparently they were harassing Ryan, too—BB sent me a text early on in my shift telling me that the creepy ex-boyfriend and Ryan’s aunt had both gone around the bar trying to harass Brooklyn and that she wasn’t sure where Ryan was either, and to keep her alerted, and I passed it along tothe relevant people in management to make sure Ryan would be kept safe. Gavin was still on the clock when I showed up, finishing up an early shift, and he told me there had apparently been a big blowup at the beach side of the resort, by the volleyball court, where Ryan had fought with a family member who, from the descriptions, sounded like the angry aunt who went asking after Brooklyn at the bar.
Gavin also took special pleasure in grinning at me, leaning on the desk during a quiet moment, and said, “Your girlfriend was there, too, from what I heard.”
My brain fizzled out, and I glowered at him. “Shut—shut up. I don’t have a girlfriend. Who do you mean?”
“Miss Stella Valerie Bell, of course. Heard she was shouting down this aunt telling her she was out of her damn mind for trying to make Ryan get back with this cheating slimeball. Very exciting times.”
Oh… she was sticking up for her sister and telling her asshole family members to mind their own business. That was so hot…
I yanked myself back to reality. Judging by the stupid look in his eyes, Gavin knew full well where I’d gone for a second there. I scowled at him.
“Great, well, I’ll pass that relevant information along to BB,” I said, my voice pointed, “and that will be the end of that.”
He laughed, pushing off the desk and walking towards the back. “You get so embarrassed so easily. I can’t be held responsible for making fun of you.”
“This is entirely inappropriate for my supervisor.”
