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Chapter 17
Summer 2001
Russell
It didn’t matter how much things had changed these last few weeks, the fact that Casey was here changed everything. Willow spent years pining over him, and even though she’s told me many times over that she loves me, I still have that same fear I had six years ago. I slipped my key in the lock, and when the door swung open, my brother was standing there.
“Hey, Bro!” Casey held out his arms as if he wanted a hug.
“What are you doing here, Case?” I grumbled.
“Can’t I come to see you? Mom said you were spending the summer here. I thought I’d cheer you up.” He grinned, and I shot him a glare.
“What do we have here?” He peered around me, and motioned to Willow.
“You know her.” I sighed. “That’s Willow Archer.”
“Wait. Little Willow from down the beach? Haven’t you grown up nice?” His brows bobbed before he looked back at me. “Guess you don’t need cheering up after all. It’s true what they say…” He began to walk away.
“What’s that?” Willow pipped up from behind me.
Casey grabbed a beer out of the fridge, “The best way to get over someone is to get under someone else.” He twisted the top off the bottle and flicked the cap at me.
“Nice Case, real nice.” I rolled my eyes.
“What’s he talking about?” Willow stepped up beside me.
“Nothing.” I shook my head. “How long are you crashing?” I went to grab my own beer.
“Just for the weekend. Corrine had a baby shower to go to.” He flopped down on the couch and tossed his legs up on the coffee table. “You two do whatever. You won’t even know I’m here.” He took a huge gulp.
“I don’t know about that,” I muttered. “Sorry.” I shrugged as I stepped around Willow.
“It’s ok. I’m crashing too, kinda.” She smiled before going to take a seat near Casey. I don’t know what he said, but she laughed, and I saw red.
ooooooooo
Willow
I wasn’t sure what to make of the whole situation. Russ was acting weird, and Casey was being a bit of a dick. I shook it off. I haven’t seen them together in years, and I’m sure the dynamic has changed over time.
We sat in the living room while Russ pretended to clean for most of the afternoon. It was weird. We engaged in small talk, but then it turned into how I ended up here. “He didn’t tell you about Megan, did he?” Casey sighed.
“Um, who’s Megan?” I leaned closer and lowered my voice. I felt like I was betraying him, but the fact that Casey brought it up concerned me. If this Megan was important, why hadn’t Russ told me about her?
“His ex-fiancé.” Casey leaned in. “They dated all of college, and then he proposed after graduation. They were supposed to get married this fall, but she called it off three months ago.” My stomach sank as Casey began telling me about how in love Russ and Megan had been. How he gave Russ Taco because he’d get more attention living with Russ. How he thought they’d have babies before he and his wife did.
I thought I was going to be sick. Visions of Russ and this woman started filling my head. The future that Casey talked about played like a movie, making me feel more and more as if I was an outsider. I didn’t know what she looked like, but that didn’t matter. I began to hate her.
“I better go.” Casey slowly stood, grabbed his beer, and made his way toward the deck. He must have been saying something else, but I didn’t hear it.
“Uh, ok.” I watched him for a moment before turning to see Russ grab the vacuum. “What are you doing?” I scowled as he plugged it in.
“Cleaning. Somebody has to do it.” He glared at me as if I was his mother or something.
“Right now?” I stood and placed my hands on my hips. “I was kinda hoping you’d talk to me since I seem to have pissed you off or something.”
“Me?” He pointed as his chest. “You seemed pretty cozy with my brother over there. I bet that was the plan all along. Come here and wait for him. I know he’s the one you always wanted,” he barked and then laughed almost manically. “I must be a world class idiot to fall for this bullshit.”
