Page 39 of Forever to Fall
Her parents.
Beckett.
But none of them could help her now. She was angry at her brother for a situation that wasn’t his fault; a situation that could have been straightened up with a little honesty.No, Ev. Please don’t take Nana’s ring, the last token of my girlhood fantasy.
She couldn’t reach out to her sisters, who were busy with their own lives and families. Not to mention, they would scold her for not being upfront with their brother, who let’s face it, needed to be spoon-fed details he didn’t want to hear. Emily was already disappointed in her, and she knew Sophie would follow suit. Those two were peas in a pod when it came to casting judgments on their little sister.
And she certainly couldn’t go to Beckett, the source of her heartbreak and unease. Were they making a mistake by sneaking around?Probably. Was she a total lunatic to stay at the farm and nurse him back to health?Certainly. Would she get her heart broken again?Most definitely.
After retrieving her car from work—how did anyone ever survive before rideshare apps?—she spent the day fumbling around. She avoided the diner, instead eating dry cereal on the couch while Fernando slept in her lap. She mindlessly rubbed his belly as she binged Colin Firth’sPride and Prejudicefor what felt like the trillionth time. Maybe she should just move overseas and find her own Darcy. But then she’d have to pack and attempt to get Fernando in his crate, and that seemed like a lot of effort to be disappointed by men with accents.
When the streaming service asked,Are you still there?, Mallory jumped into action. She couldn’t handle another moment in her apartment with her fat cat and cliched moping. She couldn’t turn to family for support, but she certainly had a friend who would help her.
So as the sun hung low in the sky, she eased her car down a road she’d only traveled a few times. When she arrived at her destination, she hoped her friend would be there, because Mallory was about to lose her cool and needed a shoulder to cry on.
Checking her phone before she got out of the car, Mallory found missed calls from Beckett, a text from Evan with a meme of a cat stuck in a tree, and a photo of Tyson in the siblings’ group chat. It also showed the time was too late to show up at a friend’s house uninvited, yet here she was.
Mallory pulled herself from the car, walking on shaking feet to the door. She took a deep breath and rang the bell, hoping she wasn’t about to get scolded for being irrational. Fortunately, she didn’t have to wait long for a reply.
A bleary-eyed James Gibson answered the door, clad in his signature paint-splattered T-shirt and jeans. “Mallory?” he asked, leaning against the doorframe with a worried expression. “Is everything okay?”
Mallory let out a cackle that sounded far too demented to her own ears. “Um, not really?” she asked, even though it was clearly a statement of fact. She was having a nervous breakdown. Sweat pooled under her arms, and a surge of heat flamed her cheeks, despite the cool evening temperatures.
Before James could finish opening the door, Alice was there. “Who’s at the door?” she asked as her footfalls grew nearer.
Mallory exhaled, her knees wobbled. “Alice?” she asked, voice cracking.
“Holy crap, Mallory!” Alice exclaimed as she pushed past her boyfriend and threw her arms around her friend. “What’s going on?”
James dutifully opened the door wider and ushered both women inside. “Take her to the living room. I’ll get some drinks.” Whether it was from nerves or concern, Mallory was grateful for his quick thinking and privacy.
By the time she and Alice were settled on the large couch, James appeared with two glasses of water, a bottle of Riesling, and a box of Oreos. “I have no idea what’s going on, but I thought this would cover any situation in Buckeye Falls.” He turned to leave and added over his shoulder, “if I need to call any of my connections in New York to bury a body, just let me know.”
“Thanks, babe,” Alice said, a smile tugging on her lips.
“You’re a saint, James,” Mallory added as she wiped a snot bubble from her nose. Yeah, this was truly not her greatest moment. Despite always being a fan of the artist, Mallory saw her bestie’s boyfriend in a whole new light. He was truly a god among men.
Alice wasted no time pulling the cork from the wine and filling both glasses to the brim. “Before you say anything, I need to know. Are you physically hurt? I don’t want to ply you with booze if you’re about to have a medical issue.”
“I might die of a heart attack by the time I’m done telling you this story, but the wine can only help speed up the process.”
Her friend pressed her wine into her waiting hand, hiding her signature smirk behind her own glass. “Then get talking. And before you worry, there’s a guest room with clean sheets with your name on it. James is on deadline, so he’ll be in the studio all night. It’s just us girls.”
Mallory slugged back a third of her wine, then covered her mouth with a belch. “Sorry about that,” she muttered. “And I’m sorry to just randomly show up here at nine thirty.”
Alice waved her off and sipped from her glass. “Screw the hour, Mal. I’m worried about you. What the hell is going on?”
Rubbing the back of her neck, she willed herself to calm down long enough to form coherent sentences. Mallory felt like she was living in a carnival ride, her emotions rolling back and forth without her consent. “Remember when you came to the hospital last year? When you thought James was cheating on you?”
Alice nodded slowly, reaching for her glass to take another sip. “Yeah. Not my finest hour.”
Mallory frantically gestured to her current state and snorted. “Yeah, I’m not here to judge you on that.” Motioning toward the rear of the house where James’s studio was, she added, “And clearly it all worked out and you had no reason to worry.”
“I suspect you’re telling me this so I go easy on you?”
Shoulders slumping, Mallory sighed. “Yes, please. I’m about to dump two decades of drama in your lap, and I need your help.”
Alice leaned over to grab the pack of Oreos. After ripping the wrapper with her teeth, she pulled out a handful of cookies and handed them to Mallory. “Start talking,” she ordered.
