Fear Games

6. You Can't Get Rid of Me

RACHEL

It was a few nights later, and I was just getting ready to take a seat and drown myself in more wine when a knock came at the front door. The kids were all here, including Calix—not like any of them would knock anyway. I sighed, putting down the bottle that I'd just uncorked, and made my way to the door. When I opened it, I was met with a somewhat pleasant surprise.

"Isaiah," I said. "What are you doing here?"

He smiled at me weakly, his messy dark hair blowing in the wind. "It's been a while. I figured I'd come by and see how things are going. I know that with Eden's death..." His voice trailed off, like he didn't know what to say. There was a part of me that forgot all about him—including that he was in the dark about Eden being alive. Sometimes it was hard to remember that the rest of the world thought she was dead.

I wondered for a moment if I should tell him the truth. Then I said, "Do you want to come in? I just opened a fresh bottle of wine."

"Oh, so you're a wine drinker, huh?" he asked, his smile returning. "Red or white?"

"Red, of course," I said.

That got a decent grin out of him. "Cool, I'm down. As long as you don't get too drunk on me."

"Hey, I've been trying to stay as sober as I can through all of this." Which was somewhat of a lie, but figured we'd leave that to his imagination. I stepped aside and allowed him to come into the house, then walked into the kitchen as he followed behind me. He sat down at the table without a word as I reached into the cabinet for another wine glass for him.

"So, seriously," I said as I poured our wine, "what brings you by? I can't imagine that it was just because you wanted to see me." As much as I wished that were the case, I had to be realistic with myself. Isaiah and I were very much a thing of the past. Drake, my ex-husband who was recently giving me a difficult time, was proof of that.

"Why is it so unbelievable that I actually came by to see you?" Isaiah asked. "Maybe I just wanted to make sure you weren't dead. Or that your kids are safe."

"You would have heard on the news if we died," I said. "We're still trending all over the internet."

"Maybe so. But I still want to make sure that you're safe. I really do care about you, Rachel. I always have." His words struck me directly in the heart, and for a brief second tears started to form behind my eyes. But I closed my eyes to make sure the tears didn't fall, then turned around with the wine glasses in my hand, giving Isaiah his.

I took the seat next to him at the end of the table. I said, "I've always cared about you, too. You know, that whole time you were in prison, I always wondered what life would have been like if we ended up together."

"It would have been different, for sure," Isaiah said as he took a sip of his drink. "But we never would have been together if Noah hadn't killed himself back then. At least I don't think we would have."

It was something I'd given a lot of thought, too. There was no way of knowing how things would have turned out if Noah had lived, or if his crazy brother Ryan hadn't started the Fear Games, or if Daisy hadn't given Ryan the idea. Maybe Isaiah and I would have ended up together. Or maybe Noah and I would have. Or maybe I still would have ended up with Drake and had Emerald and Calix. Either way, I was grateful for my children—just not how the rest of my life had turned out.

It took me a few minutes to realize we were sitting in complete silence. I took a big gulp of my wine and slammed my glass down on the table. Finally, I said, "Isaiah."

He looked me in my eyes—those eyes I remembered from almost twenty-two years ago—and he whispered, "Rachel."

"Do you think there's a future for me? A future for my family?" It was a morbid question, but it was one that needed a serious answer.