The Fates (Book II)

7.11 - Other Side

First off - a great big THANK YOU to all of my dear readers who said congratulations on graduation and left other lovely comments on the previous scene!! It means a ton to me! :D

No longer replying to every comment has been a difficult adjustment for me already, and I miss you all terribly :( But as explained in the announcement at the end of the last upFate, I'm only doing this because it's really necessary for my health, hehe :P So again, I hope you understand, and please know how grateful I always am!! :)

And remember that I will still read all comments, as long as Wattpad gives me a notification, and will still try to reply to any that require responses (for instance when a reader asks a question)! I promise I'm not abandoning you guys!! Lots of love always ❤️

Anyhoo - without further ado - let's check in with the Campions on their honeymoon, and also get a glimpse into Ryder's perspective on the night they first met...

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Scene 11: Other Side

A.D. 2015

"He's amazing, Lacey! Honestly, I have no idea why I didn't start crushing on him years ago. He's such a sweetheart, totally adorable..."

Lacey beamed, balancing her cell phone gracefully between ear and shoulder for a second as she fumbled through her luggage for her favorite swimsuit. "I'm so happy for you, Tess. For both of you."

Of course, she wasn't about to tell her best friend that the reason this connection with Dan hadn't formed years ago was because... because Lacey had only made the match more recently. Lacey wasn't even fully ready to acknowledge this strange superpower in herself, let alone to mention it to anybody else. Least of all the very lovers she had put together.

"I'm so happy, too!" Tess chirped, shamelessly channeling her inner teenage schoolgirl. "I mean, we're not official yet or anything, but we have sort of been dating. He's really amazing... Anyway! How's the honeymoon?"

"It's been lovely, thanks. Mykonos is gorgeous," Lacey gushed.

The two continued with their chatter in this manner for a little while, the pitter-patter of shower water running in the distant background, on Lacey's end. Ryder often liked to take long showers. Only once had Lacey ever tried to join him. Never again, after that one awkward, ill-fated attempt.

By the time she and Tess had hung up, the water was still running, of course. Lacey slipped into her seashell-pink bikini, all set for another sunny day of their honeymoon out on the beach, tying the strings at the sides into tight little bows. Blinked blankly at her reflection in the hotel room's full-length mirror after doing so. Wishing she could tie up the loose ends of her life just as easily... but no.

She shrugged into a strapless cover-up and then sat on the edge of the bed, idle for a while. Eventually took up her phone. Ended up scrolling through her address book for no reason.

Dan Hollis. She bit her lip as her thumb hovered over his name in her contacts list. Obviously Tess was happy - but was he? He had to be, Lacey assured herself. Otherwise Tess's spirits surely couldn't be so high, if Dan didn't feel the same way about the relationship... right?

As if with a will of its own, her thumb rose from the screen of her phone, for just a split second, then landed back down. Tapped the name underneath. Before she could think twice and cancel the call, the other end began to ring. So she held the phone up to her ear, held her breath.