Chapter 3 #2
I pushed out of the stairwell exit, immediately blinded by the morning light. My hand shot up to shield my eyes as I sucked in a breath of humid air, so deep my lungs ached in the process.
Date Rhys? Rhys? No. Absolutely not.
I plopped onto a bench next to the heavy metal door and buried my face in my hands.
There was no scenario in which this would work. None.
And I was even more overwhelmed than I had been the night before.
My head should be focused on the contract I was supposed to be reviewing for someone who paid me a lot of money to represent them in court.
But instead of being focused on my job, I was trying to figure out what the hell I was going to do about Rhys, not to mention everything else I had on my plate.
Before I could even get a second to compose myself, the exit door was shoved open with force, Rhys stumbling out and shielding his eyes in the exact way I had just moments ago.
He looked around for a second before his gaze landed on me, his expression softening. “Hey.” His voice was gentle as he took a seat, leaning forward to rest his forearms against his thighs while he stared at the ground. “I’m sorry.”
I let out a laugh void of any humor, unsure of what he was apologizing for this time. The drugs, the money to bail him out, forcing both of us into a fake relationship, ignoring me and every single one of my phone calls and text messages for months?
The list felt endless at this point.
Taking a deep breath, I sat up and leaned against the cool concrete of the building. Rhys used to be my best friend. Shit, I still considered him to be my best friend. And in a perfect world, I would do anything for him.
But this felt like too much.
On the other hand, Stu’s incessant and unwanted presence in front of my building every morning and night was annoying. And starting to get scary.
For some reason, even while we were together, the security guards at the front wouldn’t let him in unless I was standing there with him or in the lobby waiting for him.
When we were dating, it was a little annoying. Now, I was extremely grateful.
Fake-dating Rhys could get Stu off my back.
Hopefully.
Maybe.
And if it didn’t, at least I would have someone to witness his erratic behavior.
I exhaled a controlled breath before turning to Rhys. “I didn’t mean to storm out. That was incredibly unprofessional. I’m sorry.”
Rhys twisted his head to look at me. “Are you—” He laughed, sitting back and spearing his fingers through his dark hair. “Has our friendship seriously devolved to the point of you apologizing to me for being ‘unprofessional’?”
Despite the overwhelming weight on my shoulders, I laughed.
I laughed because it was the truth.
Everything felt off with him, and I hated it. I hated the awkwardness that hung over us, or how I wasn’t sure how to talk to him anymore.
Without knowing the reason behind his pulling away, Rhys was uncharted territory. He wasn’t acting like himself; he wasn’t Rhys. I didn’t know how to navigate this anymore.
Sure, for a few minutes, I could let myself fall back into my usual goofy self with him, but something wouldn’t let me fall back into it completely.
I was guarded against the one person I never thought I’d have to protect myself against.
His presence in my life had been scarce, and it hurt. If I let my guard down, it would be all too easy for him to leave again, and that just wasn’t something I could expose myself to with everything else happening.
“I don’t know what to say, Rhys.”
He sighed deeply, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed. I knew this look. It was Rhys holding back.
Whatever he wanted to say sat at the tip of his tongue, but his lips stayed pressed together.
“You really fucked up.” Not that he needed that repeated. He knew.
But the cynical side of me wasn’t done rubbing salt into the wound.
“I can’t do this without you, Pip,” he rasped. Vulnerability and desperation weighed heavily on his voice, and I could feel my resolve start to crumble.
Just like it always did when it came to Rhys.
A light breeze broke through the morning air, offering just a moment of reprieve from the dense, humid June air that was clinging to my skin. I pulled the thin beige fabric of my turtleneck, regretting my outfit choice for the first time today.
“Let’s go back in. You look like you’re about to faint.”
I scoffed. “It’s not the heat,” I replied, inhaling another fortifying breath.
There was a long stretch of silence before I finally spoke again. “Okay,” I said quietly. “Fine.”
Rhys stared at me in disbelief. “Really? I don’t-- I mean, I just... I don’t know. I don’t want to do anything to make you uncomfortable. I feel like I’m just making one bad decision after another. I don’t know how to fix it without you. I am... struggling to figure out life without you.”
My chest ached. “You never had to figure it out without me. That’s on you.
” He flinched from the harshness in my voice but said nothing in return.
He knew I was right. “But I think we’re past that point.
” Rising to my feet, I turned to face him.
“Cam thinks it’ll work. It’s my job to protect you and your best interests.
If Katie and Jeff are on board and think this is in your best interest, I might as well do what I can. ”
A small part of me hated that I was looking at this from such a clinical standpoint.
Rhys was so much more than a client to me. He was my best friend, and for lack of a better word... he was my soulmate.
There was a time when we did everything together.
We could read each other like a book. That hadn't necessarily changed. It just wasn’t as familiar as it used to be.
It was like looking through a foggy window.
I could still recognize the shadows of who I knew Rhys to be.
But it was blurry. The fine details were hidden by a layer of fog that he seemed content with keeping there.
In comparison, I was frantically trying to wipe it away.
The version of me that could recognize every little detail and movement as if it were my own would’ve dropped everything to do this for Rhys. The burned, scorned, bitter version of myself was still trying to process his sudden disappearance from my life.
Looking at this from a purely business perspective would give me a clear mind when it came to Rhys, not only his reputation but also his contractual obligations.
Rhys stood, his green eyes locking onto mine as he rose, towering over me in the process. “We’ll sign a contract. Something that gives you an out at any time. I don’t want you—” he paused, swallowing thickly, “I don’t want you feeling trapped or anything. This ends the second you want it to.”
I nodded, feeling small under the intensity of his gaze. “Yeah, sure.” Clearing my throat, I straightened the wrinkles on my blazer, my skin still sticky from the heat. “I’m the lawyer, remember?” I teased lightheartedly, earning a small smile from Rhys.
“I’m serious, Pip. The second it becomes too much, we’re done.”