Chapter 5 #2
Our team ended up placing second, narrowly defeated by the student council alumni in a final round about Gomillion High sports records.
As the crowd dispersed for dancing and more drinking, I found myself standing awkwardly beside Rhett, neither of us quite ready to join the festivities nor prepared to continue our interrupted conversation.
“I should check in with Bronwyn,” I said finally, gesturing vaguely toward the exit. “Make sure the bar’s running smoothly without me.”
“Sure,” Rhett nodded, though disappointment flickered across his face. “I understand.”
I turned to leave, but something stopped me, perhaps the memory of his hand on my knee, or the revelation about the statue, or simply twenty years of regret crystallizing into determination. Whatever it was, I found myself turning back.
“Rhett,” I said, my voice steadier than I felt. “Can we talk? Properly, I mean. Without interruptions or trivia buzzers or tipsy classmates?”
Relief washed over his features. “Yes,” he said immediately. “When? Where?”
I considered our options. The bar would be busy and any public place in Gomillion would mean constant interruptions from curious former classmates.
“My apartment,” I decided. “Above the bar. After closing tonight. Say, midnight?”
Rhett nodded, a smile breaking across his face like sunrise. “I’ll be there.”
With that settled, I made my escape, needing time to collect my thoughts before what promised to be a decisive conversation.
As I pushed through the gymnasium doors into the cool air, I pulled out my phone to text Bronwyn, only to find three missed calls and a series of increasingly urgent messages from her:
Where are you?
Mayor Hayes is here asking questions about that pin.
Moses, call me. NOW.
A cold dread settled in my stomach. After twenty years, was the truth finally going to come out? And if it did, what would that mean for me, for Rhett, for the careful life I’d built?
I was about to find out, it seemed. As I hurried toward Timbers & Tallboys, I steeled myself for a confrontation two decades in the making. Whatever happened, at least I’d no longer be carrying the burden alone. Rhett knew the truth now, and somehow, that made all the difference.
The light breeze caressed my face as I walked briskly through Gomillion’s quiet streets.
People walked on past minding their business, and in the distance, I could hear the faint sounds of music throughout town.
It was surreal, being back here after so long, walking these familiar paths with such different perspectives.
By the time I reached Timbers & Tallboys, my resolve had solidified. The bar was busy, as expected for a reunion weekend, but not chaotically so I slipped in through the back entrance, making my way to the office where I found Bronwyn pacing, phone in hand.
“Finally,” she exclaimed when she saw me. “Where have you been? I’ve been calling for the past hour!”
“Trivia game at the gym,” I explained, shrugging off my jacket. “What’s going on? Your texts sounded urgent.”
Bronwyn ran a hand through her short hair, a gesture that betrayed her nervousness. “Mayor Hayes came in looking for you. He was asking about the display behind the bar, specifically, that school pin.”
“What did you tell him?” I asked, my voice carefully neutral despite the anxiety churning in my gut.
“That it was just some old junk I’d collected over the years,” she replied. “But he didn’t buy it, Moses. He kept saying he’d seen it somewhere before, that it looked familiar.”
Of course it looked familiar. It had belonged to his son, the golden boy of Gomillion who’d gotten away with vandalism by blackmailing me into taking the fall.
“Did he say anything else?” I pressed.
Bronwyn hesitated, which immediately put me on alert. She wasn’t one to mince words or protect feelings.
“He asked if you and Rhett Callahan had been spending time together,” she finally said. “Said someone had seen you two at Yellow Branch Falls this morning.”
My blood ran cold. Even now, after all these years, the Hayes family was still monitoring my movements, still invested in the secret staying buried.
“What did you say?”
“That it was none of his damn business who you spent time with,” Bronwyn replied with a hint of fierce protectiveness that warmed me despite the circumstances. “But Moses, I think you need to be careful. Whatever deal you made twenty years ago, it seems the mayor hasn’t forgotten.”
I nodded slowly, processing this new development. “It doesn’t matter anymore,” I decided aloud. “I told Rhett the truth this morning. About the statue, about Soren, all of it.”
Bronwyn’s eyes widened. “You did? How did he take it?”
“Better than I expected,” I admitted. “He’s coming over tonight after closing. We’re going to talk.”
A slow smile spread across Bronwyn’s face. “Well, it’s about damn time.”
Despite the tension of the situation, I found myself smiling back. “Yeah, I guess it is.”
“So, what’s the plan?” she asked, perching on the edge of the desk. “Regarding Hayes, I mean.”
I considered my options. For twenty years, I’d lived with the shame of a lie, protecting someone who hadn’t deserved protection, damaging my own reputation and relationships in the process. I was tired of it.
“I think it’s time for the truth to come out,” I said finally. “All of it. I’m done carrying this secret.”
Bronwyn studied me for a long moment, then nodded decisively. “About time. You know I’ve got your back, right? Whatever happens.”
“I know,” I replied, grateful beyond words for her unwavering support. “Thanks, Bronnie.”
She waved off my gratitude with typical brusqueness. “Don’t get sappy on me now, Morley. Save it for your architect.”
I felt heat rise to my face. “He’s not ‘my’ anything.”
“Yet,” Bronwyn countered with a knowing smirk. “Now, get out there and do some actual work. I’ve been covering for you all day.”
I saluted mockingly but did as instructed, making my way to the main bar where a handful of reunion attendees who hadn’t been at the trivia were nursing drinks and reminiscing.
The pin that had caused such a stir sat innocuously on its shelf, a small piece of metal that had shaped the course of my life in ways I was only now beginning to fully understand.
As I moved behind the bar, falling into the familiar rhythm of mixing drinks and making small talk, my mind was already racing ahead to midnight, to Rhett, to the conversation that might finally set us both free from the past that had held us captive for far too long.
The hours ticked by with excruciating slowness. By eleven-thirty, the last stragglers were settling their tabs, and Bronwyn was shooing the kitchen staff home with leftover pretzels and fried pickles. By eleven-forty-five, the bar was empty save for the two of us, and I was a bundle of nerves.
“Go,” Bronwyn urged, practically pushing me toward the back stairs that led to my apartment. “I’ll close up. You have more important things to do.”
I didn’t argue, grateful for the extra time to prepare myself.
My apartment was simple but comfortable, an open floor plan with exposed brick walls, large windows overlooking Main Street, and furniture that balanced rustic charm with modern comfort.
I’d barely had time to straighten up and change into a fresh shirt when there was a knock at my door.
Taking a deep breath, I crossed the room and opened it to find Rhett standing there, looking slightly nervous but devastatingly handsome in the same blue suit from earlier, though he’d discarded his tie and opened the top buttons of his shirt.
“Hi,” he said, a tentative smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “Is this a bad time?”
“No,” I replied, stepping back to let him in. “It’s perfect timing, actually. Bronwyn just finished closing up.”
He entered, his eyes taking in my living space with obvious interest. “Nice place,” he commented, running a hand along the back of my leather sofa. “Very you.”
“Is that a compliment or an insult?” I asked, only half-joking.
Rhett’s smile deepened. “Definitely a compliment. It’s comfortable but stylish, unpretentious but high-quality. Like its owner.”
The warmth in his voice made something flutter in my chest. To hide my reaction, I moved to the kitchen area. “Can I get you a drink? I have a decent selection, as you might imagine.”
“Surprise me,” he replied, settling onto the sofa. “You always did have an intuitive sense for what I’d like.”
The double meaning wasn’t lost on me, and I focused perhaps too intently on selecting a bottle from my personal collection, a small-batch bourbon aged in port wine barrels, and pouring two fingers for each of us.
I handed him a glass and took a seat on the opposite end of the sofa, maintaining a safe distance while still facing him. We sipped in silence for a moment, the rich, complex flavor of the bourbon spreading warmth through my chest.
“So,” Rhett finally said, setting his glass on the coffee table. “Mayor Hayes came to the bar earlier?”
News traveled fast in Gomillion, as always. “You heard about that?”
Rhett nodded. “Vanessa texted me. She’s worried about you.”
“Seems everyone is,” I commented, sipping my bourbon. “Bronwyn told him to mind his own business, but it’s clear he’s concerned about the pin being displayed so prominently.”
“Are you worried?” Rhett asked, studying me with those perceptive eyes that always seemed to see straight through my defenses.
I considered the question honestly. “Not as much as I should be, probably. Twenty years ago, the idea of the truth coming out terrified me. Now...” I shrugged. “I’m tired of carrying this secret, Rhett. I’m tired of letting it define me.”
He nodded slowly, understanding in his gaze. “So, what are you going to do?”
“I’m thinking of calling a group meeting,” I said, the plan forming as I spoke. “Tomorrow, on the school lawn. Everyone who’s here for the reunion. Tell them the whole story, finally clear my name.”
“That’s... big,” Rhett commented, eyebrows raised. “Are you sure?”
“No,” I admitted with a short laugh. “Not at all. But I know I can’t go another twenty years like this. And after seeing you again...” I trailed off, uncertain how to articulate the sea change his reappearance in my life had triggered.
“After seeing me again, what?” Rhett prompted gently.
I took a deep breath, gathering my courage. “After seeing you again, I realized how much I’ve lost by letting fear dictate my choices. I don’t want to do that anymore.”
The silence that followed was charged with potential, with twenty years of unexpressed feelings hovering in the air between us. Rhett moved closer on the sofa, his knee now touching mine, his eyes never leaving my face.
“Moses,” he said softly, his voice rough with emotion. “I need to know something, and I need you to be completely honest.”
My heart hammered in my chest. “Okay.”
“That morning at the falls, you said you took the fall for the statue to protect yourself, not me.” His eyes searched mine. “But I need to know, was there any part of you that was also trying to protect me? To spare me from what would have happened if those photos got out?”
The question hit me like a physical blow, forcing me to confront a truth I’d buried deep for two decades. I had told myself it was purely self-preservation, that my actions had been entirely selfish. But that wasn’t the whole truth, and we both knew it.
“Yes,” I whispered, the admission feeling like both surrender and liberation. “I couldn’t bear the thought of your parents finding out that way, of you losing their support, your scholarship, everything you’d worked for. So yes, it was partly to protect you. Maybe even mostly.”
Rhett’s expression softened, a mixture of vindication and profound tenderness that made my throat tight with unshed emotions.
“I knew it,” he said quietly. “Even when I was angry with you, some part of me knew you wouldn’t have done what you did without a reason that made sense to you, without believing it was the right thing.”
He reached out then, his hand covering mine where it rested on the sofa between us. The simple contact sent electricity shooting up my arm, a visceral reminder of the connection that had never truly faded despite time and distance.
“Tomorrow,” he said, his voice stronger now. “At this meeting. I’ll be there, standing beside you. Whatever happens, we face it together this time.”
The promise in those words, in his steady gaze, broke something loose inside me, a dam of fear and regret I’d built over twenty years, crumbling in an instant.
“Rhett,” I began, but found I had no words adequate to express what I was feeling. Instead, I turned my hand beneath his, interlacing our fingers.
We sat like that, hands joined, eyes locked, the weight of our shared past and the possibility of a shared future hanging in the balance. Whatever tomorrow brought, vindication or scandal, forgiveness or rejection, at least we would no longer be facing it alone.
And for now, that was enough.