Hearts & Minds | WATTY Winner

Chapter 21 | Red Handed | Part 2

     The men looked on helplessly.

"Nora," Rainey sobbed. "Nora. Oh my god! Oh my god."

"It's going to be all right."

She continued to cry, her tears soaking into Nora's shoulder, who held on, grasping her tightly, barely registering the warm wetness. They waited for Rainey to calm, to get it out of her system, this first wave of devastation. And as it did, she began to become more aware of their surroundings.

"Nora," she said.

"I'm here."

"Nora."

"Yes? What can I do?"

"Did you know Theo is here?"

Nora wasn't sure if she should laugh or not. "I do know that."

She felt Rainey shift a little, although neither was quite ready to break their embrace.

"Where did you get that guinea pig from?"

"Alexis Rogers."

"What's that skank doing here?"

Theo laughed, but turned it quickly into a choking cough.

"Brandon!" Rainey's voice was muffle, stuffed up.

"Hello, Rainey."

"Did I ever thank you properly for the sketchbook?"

"You did."

"No, I mean, did I write you a thank you note? Nora usually reminds me because she says it's good etiquette."

"You did. You even drew a picture of me in a suit."

Rainey's grip on Nora relaxed a little. "You look good in a suit. That was my point."

Sam nodded and gestured to himself. "You see? I comprehended."

"Good." She inclined her head so that it touched Nora's.

"He lied to me."

"Oh, Rainey." Nora brushed back some of Rainey's hair sticking to the tears on her cheeks.

"Why? Why did he lie?"

"I don't know. Maybe we should ask him."

"I am such a stupid cow."

"No, you aren't," Sam said. "You're a lovely, smart, amazing woman, and he doesn't deserve you."

"Maybe he does if I'm too stupid to tell the difference between—between—" Rainey stopped talking and gazed at Victory nearly a hundred feet up in the sky.

"What, Rainey?" Sam asked. "Between what?"

She shook her head. "I don't know." She started to cry again, this time turning to Sam. She buried her face in his chest and sobbed. He put his arms around her. "I'm sorry I'm snotting up your b-beautiful suit."

"Don't worry about it."

Nora's heart was breaking for her sister, and tears wet her own face. She wiped them away, her eyes meeting Sam's above Rainey's head briefly. He whispered words of comfort into Rainey's ear. Nora turned to Theo, but he was studying Rainey and Sam intently, and didn't notice her.

#

     Sam offered to drive them home in their car, since he had taken a cab. While he went to get it from the parking garage, Theo took Pumpkin back inside the hotel and picked up their coats from coat check. Nora thanked him, genuinely grateful. She didn't think she could face going back to the party and the possibility of seeing Will Jones again. The fact he had not come after Rainey himself spoke volumes.

While Sam helped Rainey into the car, Theo touched Nora on the elbow.

"Are you sure you don't want me to go with you?"

"Thanks for offering," she said. "But don't you have to get back to the party?"

"Not really. I could come with you."

Nora waited for him to say more, but he didn't. She hesitated. Part of her, the crazy part, wanted to grab Theo and put him in a box so that she would always know where he was. She knew, despite her doubts, that she was falling in love with him. She didn't know if he felt the same way—if he actually could. But it almost didn't matter if he didn't love her now—she would make him love her. That was the non compos mentis part, the part that was buried deep under layers of real world experience and maturity.

The rational part, which she most often obeyed, told her this damaged, beautiful, kind man had hurt her, dispirited her to a degree, intentionally or not, and she should get as far away from him as possible. They were a poor fit. Exhibit A: his mother was Bunny Furlan—phony, selfish, and a relative, even if not by blood. Exhibit B: He had issues with his past, issues he needed to deal with before he could be ready for a relationship. Exhibit C: His father was a menacing, powerful man who had a strong hold over Theo—both his parents did. Exhibit D: He was, if not engaged, promised to another. Never mind that Nora seemed to have a lot in common with him, that she found him utterly irresistible, that she felt (ugh!) a connection to him. Now was the time to dial back her emotions, to sever her hopes of anything more, before she lost herself.

"Go back to the party, Theo. We'll be all right."

Theo swallowed and nodded. He started to back away. "Right. But Nora, I really want to talk to you. I guess I've screwed up...although I'm not sure how exactly or by what margin. But I at least want to explain about Lex."

Nora's eyebrows rose. "Oh! Thank you for reminding me." She held out the guinea pig. "Could you give this little guy back to her? He belongs to her friend...I think her name is Stacey."

Theo looked into GP's face for a moment, the frustration on his own obvious. He turned back to Nora. "Look, Alexis was—"

Nora held up her hand. "Theo. Just stop right there. Please. You don't owe me anything. Okay?"

At that moment, Sam returned from helping Rainey and stood next to Nora. He wasn't interested in their conversation, only in hurrying them along. He put his arm around Nora's shoulders and pulled her into his side. Theo watched silently.

"Are you ready?" Sam asked.

Nora nodded and glanced at Theo one last time. "Take care of yourself, Theo."

She climbed into the backseat of Rainey's car, Bart's pungent, moist dog breath filling up the air. She didn't look back as Sam drove away. Instead, she got her bearings, looking out the window at the passing cityscape. After a while, Bart nudged her hand. She scratched behind his ears for a bit, then decided to make him more comfortable and took off his bow-tie. The tags on his collar clicked together. Despite herself, Nora reached out and separated the Saint Francis medallion, running her thumb over the initials on the back, T.F. She told herself not to cry again. That could wait until she was alone.

#

     Dressed in her cozy nightgown and tucked into bed with her mom by her side, Rainey indulged herself in another fit of weeping. She was puffy and blotchy and she didn't give a shit.

Margaret wrapped her youngest in her arms and cooed soothingly. "There, there. That's my girl. There, there. Let it out."

Nora watched them in the doorway of Rainey's room. She was still in her party dress. Margaret met her eyes.

"If that disloyal asshole comes near my family or the Cottage, so help me god, I'll kick him right in the scrotum."

Rainey cried even harder at this. Nora was beyond chiding her mother and only shook her head. She backed out of the room and closed the door.

====

Happy weekend! It's actually Super Bowl Sunday today, LIV, and my dear San Francisco 49ers have a shot at another championship ring! I hope you're having a lovely Sunday, no matter what you're doing. Clearly, you're doing some Wattpad reading! Read on! x, Olivia