Page 37 of When Forever Stays

“What do you mean?” She shakes her head.

“You don’t see it?” Crew asks.

“See what?” she asks, her tone annoyed.

“It’s him.” Crew grabs his phone out of Dana’s hands, and then places it next to my face. “See?” His voice raises. “RJ Hemlock of Phantom Echoes is Rhett Stryker, the man who ghosted you.”

Dana’s boss Lindsay must have heard us because she comes out of her office and walks over. She looks at Crew’s phone. “They definitely resemble each other.” Her gaze ping-pongs between the screen and my face. “Add some guyliner, lip piercings, long hair, and a beard, and that’s him.”

Dana glances at Lindsay, her expression one of disbelief. Then her expression morphs into a wide smile, and she laughs hard. “Right! You think RJ Hemlock is standing right here under my nose and I didn’t notice?!” She motions to the picture on Crew’s phone screen but the words appear to die on her lips as she focuses more on the picture. She looks back and forth until her face pales and her eyes are larger than saucers. It’d be comical if this was any other situation.

And that’s when the coffee grounds hit the fan.

“You’re not denying it,” Dana says, placing her hand on her chest. “Please deny it. Please don’t tell me I’ve been spending hours and hours with RJ Hemlock without even realizing it. Don’t tell me you’ve been lying to mefrom the moment we met.” Tears brim on her lower lash line.

I raise my hands in a placating gesture. “I can explain?—”

“So it’s true? You’re RJ Hemlock?”

The lead weight in my gut moves up to lodge in my throat, and I find it hard to breathe. My chest is tight, and it’s as if my conscience is saying,I told you so.

“That’s my stage name.” She opens her mouth as if she’s going to speak, but I need to explain before this becomes an even bigger mess. “Listen, it’s not like I?—”

“Don’t! Do not try and talk your way out of this. You lied to me.” Dana inhales a shaky breath. “I trusted you. I gave you my heart—” Her voice cracks on that last word.

The vice around my chest squeezes hard, and I back slowly toward the wall, praying that God allows it to open up and swallow me whole. So I don’t have to face the consequences of my deception.

“I didn’t lie to you.” The words are bitter, a twist on the truth. “I was going to?—”

“We’ve listened to Phantom Echoes every time you’ve come over and you said nothing!”

Frustration at myself simmers in my blood. “I had my reasons.” I run my hands through my hair and grip the back of my neck,attempting to come up with something, anything to make her understand. “I was going to tell you.”

“Really, Rhett? Really? Because you had every opportunity to tell me after you your memories returned. I could see in your eyes that you were holding something back. So please tell me, when were you planning to come clean and tell me who you really are?” Her movements are stilted, her eyes wild.

“What was I supposed to say? ‘Hey, that’s me singing?’ I wanted you to like me for me. For who I am now!” The words are out before I can think them through. This was never a concern with Dana even if it had been in my past.

Dana rears back as if I just slapped her. And it’s at that moment that everything falls apart between us. The moment our delicate bond cracks then shatters into too many pieces to put back together.

“Did you not realize I was already crazy about you? I laid my heart bare for you. I shared things with you I’ve never shared with anyone, not even my sister! You ghosting me was one thing, I could forgive that in time. But this? This betrayal has completely broken the trust I had in you. The belief I had inus.”

My heart implodes. A chasm opens up in my chest, swallowing my heart and its tiny little pieces.

I gently grip her arm. “I’m sorry, Dana.”

She looks at me with a disgust I will never forget and pulls her arm free. “Sorry doesn’t cut it. What you did to me…” She purses her lips, cutting herself off. Tears stream down her cheeks, and I want to wipe away each and every one of them. Her nostrils flare as if another thought has entered her mind. “Are you married?” she asks and her question takes me completely off guard.

“Married? Who would I be married to?” My voice is strained.

Dana’s eyes search mine. “Oscar’s mom. I read an article about RJ Hemlock weeks ago, when you were in the hospital. It was a picture of RJ Hemlock—you— in a hospital and a woman the article claimed to be your wife standing beside you.”

“No.” My voice is firm. “I’m not married. The media uses anything they can to manipulate the truth. I can’t believe you’d even think?—”

“Yeah, well there’s a lot I never thought—” Dana shakes her head, covers her mouth with both hands, then sprints to the office.

Lindsay and Crew have remained uncharacteristically quiet. Before they can unleash their own fury on me, I see myself out of the café and head to my truck. Once I’m inside, I try to start the engine, but it doesn’t turn over. I pop the hood and get out, hoping it’s an easy fix.

Crew comes out and storms over to me. “Remember what I told you? A single sniffle and you’d be dealing with me.” He shoves me in the chest. “Everything inside of me wants to put you back in a hospital bed.” He pulls his fist back and swings.

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