Page 41 of Dreams and Desires

Her smile falters just a little, and she looks at me with something like pity. “Mr. Patterson left this morning. He mentioned he had an urgent flight back to New York.”

The words hit me like a punch to the gut. Zade left? Without saying a word to me? I thank the receptionist in a daze and stumble out of the hotel, my mind spinning with confusion and a growing sense of dread. Why would he leave like that? Did he just use me? The thought sends a sickening wave of fear through me as I hurry home, desperate to make sense of it all.

I grab my bicycle from where it’s propped against the hotel’s wall, the familiar weight of it grounding me as I pedal furiously through the quiet streets of Cody. The cool morning air whips against my face, but it does nothing to calm the storm raging inside me. Each turn of the pedals feels heavier, as if the toll of Zade’s betrayal is dragging me down. What if Zade was lying to me the whole time? What if everything he said, everything we shared, was just part of some twisted game?

The town is starting to wake up, but the usual morning bustle feels distant, almost unreal, like I’m watching it all through a fog. Everything looks the same, but it all feels different now, tainted by the possibility that Zade’s betrayal is real.

As I turn onto my street, I notice a crowd gathered in front of my house. My heart sinks like a stone in my chest as I push through the crowd, feeling their hostile stares boring into me. Their faces are twisted with fury, and their voices rise in a chaotic swell of accusations and insults.

“What’s going on?” I ask, my voice unsteady as I try to make sense of the scene in front of me.

Mayor Brian steps forward, a smug smirk curling his lips. His eyes gleam with a satisfaction that makes my skin crawl. “Congratulations, Juniper. You’ve successfully tricked the entire town.”

I blink, trying to understand, but all I feel is a rising sense of fear. “What are you talking about?”

He amps it up, throwing words out at the crowd like they're on trial. “Zade Patterson never backed away from his resort plan. He played us all, using Juniper as his little pawn to keep us quiet while he secured the land. The land we love, where our children play, where our wildlife sanctuary stands—it’s all sold for his resort now.”

Gasps and angry murmurs ripple through the crowd. It feels like the ground is slipping out from under me as the truth of his words crashes down. The smell of dirt and grass fills my nose, a grounding reminder that this nightmare is very real.

“No,” I whisper, shaking my head in denial. “That’s not true. He told me—“

“He lied,” Brian interrupts, all fake pity and bullshit sympathy. “And you bought it. You convinced us to trust him, and now we’re screwed.”

The crowd erupts, their anger a physical force, their words cutting into me like knives.

“How could you, Juniper?” “We trusted you!” “You’re just as bad as he is!”

Tears blur my vision as I try to explain, but my voice is drowned out by their fury. “I didn’t know! I thought he was telling the truth!”

Brian inches toward me, talking low, and the sour smell of his breath almost knocks me back. “You’re so gullible, Juniper. Always have been. It’s no wonder he chose you for his little scheme. We all know you warmed his bed. How much did he pay you to fool us and lie with him? I still can’t believe he ever slept with someone like you.”

At that moment, my parents push through the crowd, their faces twisted with anger and disappointment. My dad’s eyes are cold, and his jaw is clenched so tightly that it looks like it might crack.

“You’ve disgraced us,” my dad spits out. “How could you do this to your own town?”

My mom, usually so gentle, now looks like a stranger, her face a mask of rage. “We thought you had changed and that you’d grown stronger. But you’re still the same naive, foolish girl. Characterless and weak.”

I look around, desperate to find a single friendly face, but all I see is anger, disgust, and betrayal.

“I didn’t mean for this to happen,” I sob, my body shaking with the force of my tears. “I thought I was helping.”

But no one’s listening. The town has turned against me, and there’s nothing I can say to make them see the truth. The weight of their hatred feels like it’s crushing me, leaving me alone, isolated, and completely devastated.

“Get out of our town, Juniper!” someone yells, and that’s all it takes to push the crowd over the edge.

They start throwing things at my house—rocks, trash, anything they can get their hands on. The noise is deafening, and the anger is so thick that it feels like it’s choking me. I stand there, frozen in shock, as the crowd’s rage intensifies, their shouts and insults blending into a terrifying roar.

Jacob rushes forward, trying to shield me from the worst of it. “Stop it! Zade manipulated her, just like he did with all of us! This isn’t her fault!” He then turns to Brian. “And you’re one to talk! Huh! You were the one who brought Patterson into town. You were the one who started this!”

Brian hesitates for a moment but then sneers. “I was with Patterson at first, but when I saw how the town was reacting, I wanted to back away. Patterson threatened me, said he’d ruin everything if I didn’t play along. But your sister—she’s the one who really manipulated everyone. She’s a whore and always has been.”

I know he’s lying, and hearing his words something inside me snaps, and I jump at him, ready to claw his eyes out. But Jacob grabs my hand, pulling me toward the house. “We need to get inside, now.”

But inside, the chaos gets worse. My parents have lost all control—they start throwing my things out the door—clothes, books, and personal items—all tossed onto the lawn in a humiliating display.

“You’re no daughter of mine,” my dad yells. “Get your things and get out! You’ve brought nothing but shame to this family!”

“You’re a disgrace,” my mom screams, her face contorted with rage and tears streaming down her cheeks. “How could you do this to us? To the town? After everything we’ve done for you, this is how you repay us?”

---