Page 86 of It Could Happen
Rachel catches on to her comment and glares at her. “You can go to hell, Leslie,” she snaps. “I’m so sick of you thinking you’re better than everyone else.”
“What did you say?” Leslie demands, jumping to her feet.
“Caroline, I have to talk to you in private,” Rachel says, her voice shaking.
“Just say it in front of all of us,” Leslie shouts. “I’m not going to stand by and let you manipulate Caroline, like you always do.”
Caroline gently puts her hand on Leslie’s arm to calm her down.
“Everyone needs to settle down,” Jeannie says, not moving from her position on the couch.
Erica hasn’t said a word, but I can see the fury flaring in her eyes. All of a sudden her wrath explodes catching everyone off guard. “Are you finally going to tell Caroline that you slept with Christian?” Erica yells. “Is that what you want to talk to her about? And what about me? Leslie’s right—go ahead and say it. Be honest with yourfriendsfor once.”
Silence falls over the room as everyone tries to make sense of the news that just came to light.
“Wait, what?” Leslie asks.
Jeannie has sat up and put her feet on the floor, a look of utter shock on her face.
Caroline hasn’t moved a muscle, and I continue to hold my breath as I watch this scene unravel.
Erica’s eyes fill with tears as her whole body starts to shake. Leslie jumps to her side and wraps her arms around her.
“I’m so sorry, Caroline,” she wails, her lips trembling. “I didn’t want this to happen. I promised you I wouldn’t ruin this weekend and that I’d be here for you. Once again I’m letting my problems interfere with my responsibilities.”
“Maybe we all should sit down and talk,” I suggest.
“Rachel?” Caroline asks, ignoring me.
Rachel inhales deeply. “It’s true. Christian and I got together several months ago. At first we agreed it was a one-time thing, but the universe had other plans. We never meant to hurt anyone by falling in love.” She pauses and clears her throat. “I’m sorry, Erica.”
Holy crap.
“I don’t understand,” Caroline says, her voice calm. “How could you do this to Erica?”
Rachel shifts from one foot to another. “I didn’t plan for any of this to happen. And I definitely didn’t want it to come out this way … or this weekend.”
Leslie looks like she’s about to explode but, to her credit, she keeps her cool as she continues to console Erica. Jeannie still looks like a deer caught in headlights. I guess that’s expected since she’s been out of the loop this whole time.
“I think you need to leave,” Caroline says firmly. Surprisingly, there are no tears in her eyes.
Rachel opens her mouth to say something but closes it quickly. She starts to move toward the door then stops.
“Can we please speak privately?” she asks.
Caroline closes her eyes and shakes her head.
Rachel takes the hint and picks up her clutch bag. I watch as she heads toward the door and doesn’t look back before making her exit.
We all remain quiet as Caroline walks toward the french doors and out onto the balcony.
Erica continues to sob quietly on Leslie’s shoulder. Leslie makes eye contact with me and motions toward the balcony. I give her a nod and walk outside to join Caroline.
She’s standing by the railing looking out over the view, which is even more spectacular than mine.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m not sure,” she says. “Everything feels so out of control right now.”
