Reality crashed over her, and she dropped her toast onto the plate. ‘I should go.’
‘Let me drive you,’ he said.
She lifted her eyes to his. ‘I thought you had to get to work.’
‘I do,’ he said. ‘Do you want to walk?’
Not in the least. ‘I have a car here. A rental.’
‘You feel okay to drive?’ he asked.
‘Yes,’ she croaked. Spending more time with Brody would only add to her hangover.
Brody eyed her, and the silence stretched on between them as he finished his breakfast. They walked together out of the apartment, down the narrow hallway and staircase to the street.
While they weren’t talking about last night, there were plenty of things she wanted to say, but she couldn’t force her mouth to form the words. She supposed it was better that way.
Reen grabbed on to all her years of hiding her feelings, and by the time she and Brody reached her car, she already had a smile on her face, even though she was slowly dying on the inside. ‘Thanks for watching out for me. I promise I’ll never do it again.’
‘Never say never,’ he said, shoving his hands into his pockets.
She played with her keys, but even outside, the sound rang in her ears, forcing her to stop. ‘I’m not sticking around very long—’
‘It was good to see you. Even for a little while.’
She cleared her throat. ‘You too.’
They stood there, staring at each other, neither of them knowing what to do. Reen wasn’t about to force Brody into an awkward hug, even though it would have been nice. All she could do was think of his girlfriend, and that was enough to propel her legs toward the car. She’d come back home to say a final goodbye, not to leave a trail of destruction in her wake. It was for the best. Though, she couldn’t help watching Brody retreat down the sidewalk through her rearview mirror.
#
When Reen arrived at Rose’s place, an older woman opened the front door of the house.
‘Can I help you?’ she asked. She was a petite woman with permed hair. The sun reflected off her glasses and shone brightly into Reen’s eyes.
‘I’m Rose’s sister,’ Reen said, shielding her face. ‘I’m staying with her. I have a key.’
The older woman adjusted her thick glasses up the bridge of her nose. Her eyes narrowed as she took a better look. ‘Reen. Yes. I remember you.’
Reen shielded her eyes. Familiarity filled her, but she couldn’t place the woman.
‘Mrs. Collins,’ she said, placing a hand against her chest. ‘I was the school secretary.’
Reen didn’t think it was possible to feel any smaller. The older woman hadn’t aged a day since Reen graduated. ‘Mrs. Collins.’
She winked at Reen. ‘It’s good to see you again, Ms. Barros.’
Reen remembered her well. As much as she remembered teachers sending her to the principal’s office often. ‘You too.’
She gave Mrs. Collins a quick wave and headed up the wooden stairs attached to the side of the house.
Between the heat from the morning and the sun, Reen practically fell inside the apartment. She opened her mouth, feeling the stale, nasty aftertaste of beer. She walked through the space, heading straight for the bathroom. As she brushed her teeth, Reen made her way around the apartment, thinking that it was perfect for Rose. Everything in each room called out as something her sister would have. Even the romance novels on the side table by her bed. Mom loved reading those, and in typical Rose fashion, she tagged along with whatever Mom did.
Rose was content to live her life in this place. She was okay with being boring and doing the same things day after day. Brody was the same way – thought he hadn’t always been. When they were together, they would talk about all the places they would travel to in the future. Between his multiple jobs in town, she knew his roots had dug deeper into the sand, anchoring his life to The Burrow.
Even though Dad’s death had rocked her entire world, Reen was happy she’d left when she did. Otherwise, she might have ended up pregnant with Brody’s kid and unable to escape the same life her parents had lived.
Once she finished brushing her teeth, she tossed the toothbrush into her bag and dropped it on the table. It was time to go. Her humiliation might follow her from town, but she didn’t intend on coming back to see the outcome.
The effects of the aspirin and hydration invigorated her, and she went to the refrigerator to see what Rose had to eat.
A picture caught her eye, held against the surface of the freezer by a magnet. She swallowed. One summer, their neighbors snapped a photo of their family on the beach. Reen was ten at the time. Mom and Dad stood behind her and Rose, Mom’s hands on Reen’s shoulders, squeezing them and making sure she didn’t stick her tongue out. Reen couldn’t help a ghost of a smile crossing her lips. The sight of her family, together and happy, brought back so many memories for her. Years of them flooded her mind. She didn’t dare touch the photograph, reminding her of a different time in her life. It seemed like eons ago that she and her family were together on the beach.
Reen glanced around the rest of the room and peered into the small living space. There weren’t a lot of photographs, but most of them were of their family. Mom and Dad’s wedding photo sat on the coffee table. Scattered across the room on other surfaces were the few portraits they’d taken together at the mall around the holidays when Mom used to be obsessed with making memories with their family. That had come full circle, as she’d ended any photographic proof of their family after Dad passed. It was as if Mom didn’t care about anything after that. As if he were the string keeping their family together.
Reen’s stomach churned, and she wasn’t hungry anymore.
The ghosts of her past clung to this place, even though it wasn’t where she’d grown up. It was as if Rose had transplanted the memories to this confined space.
She had to get out.
Even though Rose’s place was air-conditioned, the throwback to her past made Reen’s entire body prickle with sweat. She had to get out. She sent a quick text to Rose, letting her know she was leaving.
Rose replied right away as if she’d had her phone in her hand already.
‘I’m at The Siren. Come by to say goodbye.’
She hadn’t thought to ask Brody where he was going to work that morning. If he was going to The Siren, Reen wasn’t up for seeing him again so soon after their goodbye.
Instead of typing a response, she checked flights on her phone, and there was a seat open on one in four hours. It was just enough time to get to the airport and out of The Burrow for good.
Reen typed her reply. ‘Is Brody there?’ She wasn’t up for another awkward encounter.
‘Is something wrong, dear?’ Mrs. Collins called from the front doorway.
Reen moved her hair off her face and glanced at the woman. ‘No, Mrs. Collins.’
When had standing outside become a crime? She got into her car and turned it on, blasting the air conditioning, hoping Mrs. Collins got the hint. The older woman went inside her house, but Reen saw the fluttering of her curtain against the front window.
Reen’s phone pinged.
‘No,’ Rose responded.
Reen tapped her phone against the