Chapter 24 #2
“Well.” She slapped her hands against her thighs. “Food’s got another hour or so, the pool’s open, everyone’s out back.”
I clicked my tongue. “Dammit, I knew I should’ve brought a swimsuit.”
Right then, Lani walked through the back door, her swimsuit dripping with water as she grabbed a beer from the cooler.
She yelped as Lisa whacked her with a towel, ushering her back outside.
“I have a swimsuit at mom and dad’s! Go put it on!
” My younger sister yelped louder when Lisa smacked her thigh with the towel again. “Okay, okay! I’m going!”
I laughed as Lisa muttered something about ‘the damn kids still ruining her floors.’
“Come on, I’ll walk with you.” My mom nudged me with her elbow. “It’ll be nice to swim. They miss you. We all do.”
I followed her back out the front door, her arm linking mine as we crossed Lisa’s front yard into my parents’.
The old tire swing swayed gently in the wind, another piece of rubber hitting the grass underneath.
“God, that old swing. Mom, you gotta get rid of it. It’s single-handedly killing the environment. ”
She chuckled, hitting her hip against mine. “I’ve kept it for good reason, you know?”
“Have you?” I deadpanned, rolling my eyes. “Even if I have kids, I’m never putting them on that thing. It’s on the verge of deteriorating next time it rains.”
She laughed with me, coming to a stop in front of the oak tree. “Maybe. But it’s just—It’s too important.”
I stared at the tire, tilting my head as if a new angle would help me see whatever magic she did. “I don’t see it.”
“Of course, you don’t.” She had a small, knowing smile on her lips.
“I think you’re losing it, woman. What are you talking about?”
Her smile grew as she looked from me to the tire, wiping at the sweat forming on her forehead. “That swing… It’s where every single one of my kids fell in love for the first time. I can’t get rid of something like that. Even if no one will ever sit on it again.”
“Mom,” I laughed, “No, what?”
I knew for a fact my first love didn’t happen until college, and it definitely wasn’t on that swing.
“No, it’s not. Not for me, at least.”
My mom hummed, shaking her head subtly. “It was. Even if you two didn’t realize it was happening. I knew every time you sat on that swing, you would eventually end up together. He’s been in love with you for such a long time, Sloane. I’m surprised you haven’t seen it before now.”
My face twisted with confusion. Rhys and I just started dating. And it’d been real for less than twenty-four hours. “What are you talking about?”
She smiled like she was replaying whatever memory she was going on about in her mind. “Senior prom, specifically. Rhys asked you to be his date on that swing, right?”
“Well, yeah. But—” My heart pounded in my chest as I tried to recall every single detail from that night. “—we were just friends.”
The truth about our situation sat on the tip of my tongue. I wanted so badly to tell her that the two of us had only recently developed feelings for each other.
“You were crying. That dumb boy—what was his name? The one that broke up with you?”
I exhaled a sharp breath, the memory of that night coming back to me. “Yeah, Logan. We dated for a couple of months. He was supposed to be my prom date, but he broke up with me instead.”
She nodded slowly, turning slightly so she was looking at me.
“Rhys had just gotten home from baseball practice, I remember. I was sitting at the dining room table with Lisa. He threw his bag down, looked out the window, and instantly started out the door when he saw you crying.” She shook her head, laughing softly.
“Lisa stopped him before he got too far, told him to let you have a second. That you’d just been dumped and were sulking over the fact that you were going to prom alone. ”
“Jeez, rub a little more salt into the wound, please.”
She laughed a little before moving on. “You know what he did next?”
“No,” I responded quietly.
“He went to the phone, called that brunette girl he was dating at the time… Gosh, what was her name?”
Oh my god. I wanted to scream. Why were the names of people I knew in high school so crucial at the moment? “Chantel,” I answered calmly.
“Ah, yes. Chantel. He called her right up. Broke up with her right then on the phone.”
What?
I took a sharp breath, shaking my head. “No, she broke up with him after practice, at the field. Rachel told me she saw the whole thing.”
“Well, of course, his sister covered for him. He couldn’t let you know he was in love with you.
Shit, I don’t even think he knew it himself.
But he just broke up with that girl, and Lisa and I were both too shocked to pick our jaws up from the floor to stop him from crossing the yard.
We both stood and watched through the window and…
We knew. Whether you two did or not. That’s love. ”
My heart galloped in my chest as I tried to make sense of it all. Why would Rhys break up with her? He used to gush about Chantel, how much he liked her, and how he couldn’t wait to take her to prom. She already had her dress and everything.
We were so young. At that age, I assumed all love was forever. The way he talked about Chantel, I assumed she was it for Rhys.
When he came out to the tire swing, he looked so upset. I thought his story was true.
He’d sat across from me, our knees touching as we swayed back and forth, and then he asked me to prom. Of course, I said yes. Rhys was my best friend. And up until right this second, I thought he was completely heartbroken as well.
It didn’t make sense. He couldn’t have loved me this entire time. Surely, he would’ve said something by now or made it more obvious, right?
My mind was racing, looking back at every little interaction, trying to piece together whatever I’d been missing this whole time.
“He did that for me?”
My mother smiled, gently patting my cheek. “Why do you look so surprised?”
I huffed out a laugh. “Because he liked her. He talked about her nonstop. All the time, Mom.”
“Yes, well. He might’ve liked her, but he’s always loved you more.”
Her words echoed through my brain as I tried to remember everything that happened that night.