Mallory
Gasps rippled across the wedding guests. Tony was rooted to the altar. Reid looked paler than a ghost, his eyes fixed on his ex-girlfriend. It was painfully obvious that neither of them knew that someone died because of the crash.
"What gives you the right to say that?" Cleo spoke up furiously, glaring at Nina. "You've ruined a happy day for Tony and Kennedy."
At last, Nina came to her senses. She looked around the seats, seeing unfriendly eyes boring into her. Shaking her head, she stepped backwards down the aisle, tripping on her heels, and she fled. The guests erupted, getting up from their seats to follow her, else they scattered.
I turned my attention to Reid, whose eyes were wild. He looked like he stopped breathing. I crouched in front of him, taking his hands in mine. I rubbed them, trying to get him to look at me. "You don't actually believe her, do you?" I asked him, shocked.
Slowly, Reid shook his head at the ground, his eyes unfocused. Then he stood up without warning, looking lost and scared. "I have to go."
"Reid?" I begged, but he was already walking away. I rushed after him, silent tears running down my face, only to be stopped by Nick grasping my wrists. I glared up at Nick, incoherent in my distress as I protested, "Reid needs me."
"He needs space for a minute." Nick countered. He stared into my eyes, trying to discern the truth of my answer to his next question. "Did you know about what Nina said? Is it true?"
I shook my head, incredulous and bewildered in my shock. "I have no idea. But Cleo definitely knew."
Nick nodded silently. He stepped away and sighed, running a hand through his midnight hair. "I'm happy that you're happy. But I feel obligated to say that your relationship with Reid used to be co-dependent. Don't let it become like that again."
I smiled bitterly, turning to look at the ruined altar. It was so beautiful in the morning light, but the events of the day ruined any lasting beauty. "It's too late for that.
"It's never too late." Nick insisted. He sounded so worried that I genuinely considered what he was asking me to do. He was telling me to keep Reid at a distance. Maybe Nick wanted me to leave Reid alone, give him space to breathe.
But that wasn't my way of helping my friends. Letting them help themselves, letting them struggle along in the wake of the heartbreak they initially created. I needed to do something; I needed to act now.
I turned back to Nick, tears running down my cheeks in silvery trails. "I love him more than my life. I can't let Reid suffer alone."
I saw how my words hurt Nick. He reared back, then clenched his jaw abruptly. "Fine. Just something to think about, anyway." he forced out.
I stared at him for a moment, brushing the skin of my arm with my fingertips. "I didn't want things between us to end badly."
Nick thought about my words for a moment in silence, then he said hesitantly, and more calmly, "I agree. Friends?"
I nodded briefly. "Friends."
I gave Nick a tentative smile; I received a crooked smirk in return. It was more than I expected. Nick straightened the lapels of his blazer, looking away to survey the altar.
"After all, if you were Reid's world, he was the sun you revolved around."
I almost thought he was talking to himself, but Nick glanced at me with a faint smile. I was choked up by the sheer beauty of his words. His poetry was subtle, but it struck my heart with striking precision.
Nick and I stood together in silence, and I wondered for a moment how things would have turned out differently. If I never spoke to Reid that night in the club, and we'd never met in the café the next day because of Cleo. If Brent never changed from the sweet, selfless boy I thought he was.
I saw our timeline wrap itself around us. Nick and I's past was bigger than us. So many pieces of the same puzzle, aligning themselves in each moment of our lives.
I sighed, tilting my head as I looked at Nick. "You don't know how sorry I am. I never wanted to hurt you."
Nick smiled ruefully. "I expected this, honestly. Those two years together were good, but we were living on stolen time."
"They were good years spent. But I have to go now." I told Nick. The tone of my voice said this wasn't a question.
"Don't let him slip through your fingers." Nick advised. He watched me run from the altar, out of the hotel entrance towards the woods overlooking the hotel.
I never saw Nick slide onto the floor, once he knew that I was gone forever. His tears fell to the floor, trickling through the grass like how the Lake was surely running through Capricorn Woods to this day.
Nick curled into himself helplessly, staring at the desolate wedding arch opposite the empty chairs.
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When I walked past the beach cabana, I was distracted by seeing Cleo inside. She hugged her knees to her chest, staring at the horizon. I approached her, and she glanced up at me. Her cheeks were smeared with tears. "I don't want to push my problems on you, Mallory." Cleo told me, drawing in a steadying breath.
"You're my best friend. Who else will you talk to?" I asked quietly. "You can tell me whatever you want. I'll never get overwhelmed, I promise."
She sniffed, wiping her face with her hands. I hugged her carefully. "You've supported me so much. Let me help you." I murmured against her shoulder.
Cleo closed her eyes, thinking to herself. "I kissed Nina two years ago. Twice. On the day that you and Reid went on your last date."
The day that we parted by the Lake. "How did that happen?" I asked, completely shocked.
Cleo thought about it. "It's fuzzy, but I remember that Nina went to see Reid that day. She kissed me outside his parents' house."
I bit back my annoyance, knowing that Cleo needed me. "You deserved better than that, Cleo."
"I thought Nina cared about me." Cleo said softly, looking vulnerable. "But I guess she just used me. It was just a few kisses, anyway."
I stared at her, my anger dissipating. "Was it strange seeing Nina with Reid?"
Cleo smiled sadly, looking down at the floor. Her long, straight hair waved in the breeze. "Yeah. But it was worse for you."
I took her hand. "Your feelings are just as valid."
Cleo glanced up at me, her eyes warm. "Thank you, Mallory."
I chuckled, brushing her hair away from her face. "There's no need to thank me. You know I'd do anything for you; including chasing Nina with a pitchfork."
"What are you going to do about Reid?" Cleo asked, watching me. "Make sure he knows that Nina said it out of spite. There's a grain of truth there, but the rest of her speech was bullshit."
I just sighed. "I'm not counting on Reid understanding that." I watched the flowers wave in the breeze, thinking. "Nina was always running after him, wasn't she? Even then."
When I was sure that Cleo was okay, I left her to return to the wedding. But I walked down the golden shore determinedly until Reid came into view.
He was sitting by the sea again, his long legs dipping into the water, barefoot. He glanced over at me as I approached, his brown eyes brightened by the sun. Water dripped off the tips of his hair, like he'd splashed it over himself.
"I need to talk to you." I said carefully, looking down at him.
He stood up and brushed himself off, looking down at me. "I know a place."
Even though we were right next to a hotel, there was a secluded forest overlooking the beach. Maybe it reminded Reid of the Lake, so he took me there, holding my hand the whole time. When we found a good place to sit, he glanced at me. "This okay?"
"More than okay." I answered gently. We sat down, and I hugged Reid. He let me put his head in my lap, and I ran my fingers through his hair.
He closed his eyes, sighing as he moved his head closer to my stomach. "What a day, right?"
"Tell me about it." I muttered, looking into his eyes. "How are you feeling?"
Reid thought about it. "Exhausted. Honestly, I'm seconds away from breaking down."
"That's normal, considering what Nina said." I replied cautiously.
Reid opened his eyes, looking at me with a passive expression. "Do you look at me differently now? Knowing that I caused someone's death?"
"It was an accident." I told him defensively, but Reid shook his head out of stubbornness.
"Accident or not, I did it. If I wasn't there, on that road, it wouldn't have happened."
"There's no point in thinking like that, Reid." I refuted. "The crash did happen, and you have to face it."
Reid flinched, moving away from me. "I don't think I can, Mallory. You're so much stronger than me. That's why I wasn't able to deal with this properly."
I realised what he was trying to tell me. "You're breaking up with me, right?"
He attempted a sad smile, running his hand through my hair. "We never got a chance to be together in the first place."
"One night was enough." I agreed softly. I thought to myself as we settled into silence, staring at the trees. "I think I've found what was wrong with us."
Reid looked up at me. "What was it?"
"I was always waiting for you to disappoint me. Sometime, you were going to hurt me and I was trying to accept it before it happened."
"Anticipating something that never came." Reid said softly. "It was the opposite for me. I saw it, but I questioned if it was real."
"I think we need to stop worrying. Real or fake, too fast or too slow, we had something." I said. There was a dissent in my heart, vying for letting go or clutching onto Reid. My changeable needs were clawing at my sanity.
Reid stared up at me, looking miserable. "I keep on hurting you, Mallory. I'm sorry."
"But you never meant to, Reid." I said softly. "You got hurt first."
He didn't reply, but his expression was becoming determined now. After a moment, he spoke again. "I don't want this to happen to you again, Mallory. There's only one way to make sure of that."
"You're asking me to let you go." I said calmly. I didn't cry or ask for clarification because this time, I knew this was the end. I never dreamed that Reid and I would reach an end to our relationship, other than death. Some part of me wanted to hold onto him.
But time and time again, fate proved that we weren't meant to be. I couldn't love Reid until he got the space he needed to process the accident. He had barely any time to understand that he'd lost four years of his life before everyone descended on him. Everyone in Reid's life prioritized what the accident meant to them, rather than what it meant to him.
I felt terrible. I had been the opposite of a caring girlfriend, let alone friend. The mature thing to do now was to let Reid go. Reid placed his hand on top of mine. "We'll never be free until we move on."
I exhaled quietly, looking up into his face. Memorizing every feature and storing it in my head to look at later, for when I no longer had him. "Alright then."
At the last second, Reid turned to glance back at me, a sad smile curving his mouth. I watched him as the breeze blew through our hair. "I'll be seeing you."
I watched Reid stand up and walk away, but it only hit me when his back disappeared into the trees. He left me, and he didn't even look at me once.
Anger and frustration ripped through my heart. I got up and threw things around the clearing; stones and sticks, mostly. When I was too tired to carry on, I sat on our bench and cried.
When Cleo found me, she didn't say anything. She just picked up the pieces and carried my heart back home.
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