Reclaimed Hearts: A second chance, forced proximity romance

Waves of Uncertainty

Iheld the envelope in my lap the entire car ride back to Reid’s house. He seemed visibly less tense than he had been on the way to the mansion, which was nice.

Another clue had to be in this envelope. Would I be able to solve this one? Would it take me as long as the first one did? Would I let Reid help, like I asked in the library yesterday? Checking the dollhouse had been his idea. I came up with the playroom, but didn’t have a clue what to look at once we got there. The only reason I had the envelope now was because of his quick thinking.

Reid pulled into the garage and turned the car off, but neither of us moved. We both stared straight forward, the air becoming thick.

I took a deep breath, wanting to break the tension, but also not sure what to say. Apologizing for Declan and his behavior didn’t seem right, nor was it something I wanted to do. Thanking Reid for saving the day by suggesting the dollhouse didn’t feel right either. He wouldn’t want to be thanked for that, anyway.

The only other thing I couldn’t get out of my mind was the look on Reid’s face as he stared down Declan at the cafe. How he looked like he wanted to tear Declan apart, just for touching me, not to mention the stress Declan had caused before Reid arrived.

“Marlowe…” Reid started, cutting through the silence. By the tone of his voice, I could tell where the conversation was going to go.

I sighed and hung my head, awaiting his comments. Even though I loved that he was honest with me, it still hurt sometimes.

“I’m only saying this because I lo—because I care. But Declan Storms? Once again, why?”

My heart skipped several beats when he started to say what I thought he was about to say. But he corrected himself. He cut himself off before he got the word out.

He also didn’t give me a moment to explain, not that I had come up with anything. At this point, even I was confused as to ‘why Declan Storms.’

“You trusted him, Mars. You don’t trust anyone. And you told him about the scavenger hunt, thinking he wouldn’t tell everyone he came across? He’s not a nice guy, no matter how charming he tries to appear.”

These were all things I had realized too, and didn’t need him pointing out to me. I came up with the same conclusions on my own and didn’t need Reid driving them in. I could beat myself up perfectly fine, thank you.

I also could have come up with a million different retorts then, but I stopped myself before letting any out. There was no need to sling negativity back at Reid when all I wanted was to tell it to myself.

My bottom lip quivered for a second before I tucked it in, chewing on it so I didn’t give myself away.

“I made a mistake,” I murmured. Whether the mistake was trusting Declan, going out with Declan, or purely crashing into Declan in the first place was to be determined.

If this had been about anything other than a Covington scavenger hunt, I would naively assume that Declan was really, truthfully, trying to be helpful.

But that couldn’t be the case anymore. There was no way he brought in all those friends for an actual brainstorming session. They wanted something. And Declan thought I’d just hand it over to him.

None of that answered Reid’s question, though. Why Declan Storms?

I stayed quiet as bigger questions crossed my mind.

Why not you, Reid Bennett?

Or, more importantly, why not me?

“Earrings, check. Bun, check. Lipstick, check,” I muttered to myself as I glanced in the mirror. “Envelope, still untouched on the dresser. Check.” I sighed, staring at the envelope I put there two days ago, after leaving Reid’s car full of sadness instead of being giddy over finding another clue.

We hadn’t spoken since then, not besides some hellos and goodbyes. I thanked him for still making me coffee every morning, though

I also hadn’t heard from Declan since the cafe. He hadn’t texted, and I didn’t have the guts to message him myself. Not after what happened. The thought of letting it go, moving on with my life, and never talking to him again crossed my mind several times.

“Noodle! Off!” I shouted as I pushed him away from me. He had sprinted into the room and tried to jump on me as I sat on the bed putting my flats on. He had his paws on the comforter, full of grass and dirt. Reid must have let them go play in the backyard.

He had done a good job of living up to his promise of staying out of the way. The promise he made when he told me not to leave.

I had no idea what he was up to, but I was about to be late. Grandmum called me at the last minute to help work. The Covington family was having Eleanor’s private funeral today, and that meant lots of people coming from all over the country. They were coming back to the island, and most would be staying in the mansion for the weekend. We needed to open more rooms and freshen everything up.

The celebration of life for Eleanor would be in another month or so, when the town could get everything together. More than likely, the entire island would want to show up, so large-scale accommodations needed to be made.

As I stood outside the employee entrance a bit later, I knew I wouldn’t be able to get through this shift easily. Though I doubted I would see many people, just knowing the reason behind why I was getting the house ready was hard enough.

I had been in the mansion twice since Eleanor’s passing, but this time, it felt more real. Especially with Grandmum on my case, making sure I cleaned every bathroom and guest room to utter perfection for the extended Covington family.

I made it through and only shed a few tears, mainly when I passed by the painting of Eleanor and found her niece, Rebecca, staring up at it. I didn’t bother her, but I did pause for a moment, taking in the scene. Rebecca was now the oldest living Covington on the island. She was in Eleanor’s shoes.

As soon as I finished all my duties and checked out with Grandmum, I headed outside to my bike. Digging in the backpack I brought with me, I quickly swapped out my work shirt for a tank top over my sports bra, stuffing the work shirt in my bag.

Right as I kicked off and started down the long, winding road that led from the mansion to Covington Crescent Boulevard, my phone jingled. It startled me, making me wobble, but thankfully I kept my balance and pulled over into the grass before grabbing it from my bag.

Declan:Party happening now. Can you come, Crash?

I paused. My initial reaction was a resounding heck no. He also betrayed my trust. Like Reid had mentioned, I didn’t trust people easily. By all means, I should have either ignored him, blocked him, or responded with a simple, one-word sentence—no.

I already had made an entirely new list in my phone of all the reasons I never wanted to see Declan Storms again. The first being the humiliation from the cafe. Numbers two through five were personal opinions on what I was now assuming was a facade he put on for people.

But before I could answer, another message came through.

Declan:I’m sorry for what happened the other day at the cafe. I truly thought having more people to help figure out the clue would be for the best. I didn’t realize my friends would be obnoxious beasts like that.

Declan:Please forgive me? Come hang out. We’ll have some fun, promise. Besides, I have something for you.

He what? Why would Declan Storms have something for me?

My phone buzzed one more time before I could answer Declan.

Norah:We’re headed to the mainland to grab Liam and Livvy! We’ll text you when we get back. Hope you’re having fun working, lol!

She attached a picture of her, Caleb, and Emma all leaning into the center of Norah’s mom’s SUV. With all of them together, there would have been no way they would have fit in the tiny sedan she normally drove. The one she bought used for only a few thousand dollars and was being held together by hopes and dreams.

My heart fell. They thought I was still working, which wasn’t a bad assumption, as I had just gotten off. But it meant they left me out of picking up Liam and Livvy. I would have loved to have joined them all, even if we would have been a little cramped.

Except… I clicked on the picture again and zoomed in.

It looked like the car would have already been cramped, whether I went or not.

Because sitting in the third row seat, looking out of the window, probably attempting not to be in the picture at all…

…was Reid.

I clutched the phone so tightly, my hand cramped. It was only a matter of time before he migrated back to the group. I just hadn’t been prepared for how I would feel when he did, and I wasn’t a part of it. I wasn’t quite angry, but definitely hurt. It almost felt like a betrayal, even though it really wasn’t. Being left out because they thought I was at work wasn’t really being left out.

But still. It stung seeing him in the back of the car, like he was trying to hide from the picture. Did he not want me to know he was with them?

That’s when I made my decision. If Reid could hang with them, I could hang with Declan and the other Baysiders. There was no one that said I couldn’t.

Me:I’ll be there in thirty.