Page 122 of One Little Lie
“Talisman.”
“Panacea.”
Tears stream down my face, and I gasp as a live video of my tear-stained face shows up on the jumbo screen. And then, a spotlight shines on the center of the stage, and Hatty steps into view.
“Our life is made up of moments in time. Some moments we capture. Some moments we royally screw up, and some moments bring you right where you were always meant to be.”
My mouth hangs open, and any hope I had of stopping the tears goes out the window as Hatty stands up on the stage in front of a thousand people, speaking into a microphone.
“When I was seven years old, I found my best friend hiding behind a bunch of rain gear.”
The screen behind him shows a stick figure drawing of us, and I gasp when I realize it’s something he drew when we were kids.
“Everything changed for me that day.”
My gaze drifts back to Hatty.
“I didn’t know it at the time, but that was the day my heart found its rhythm. I fell in love with a little girl who spoke with a lisp and had the saddest green eyes I’d ever seen.”
The image behind him cuts to a closeup of an eyeball. As the camera zooms, it comes into focus. It’s a recent charcoal, and there’s no mistaking my face. He did it. He drew my face.
“Our story took a wrong turn a few years ago.”
The montage changes between photographs and drawings in rapid succession. It makes it difficult to tell where the drawings end and the pictures begin.
I’m vaguely aware of models walking the outskirts of the stage around Hatty, but my focus is solely on him.
“I made a lot of mistakes. I told a lot of lies. I thought I was doing the right thing, and it nearly cost me the only person that has ever mattered. The only one who has ever made me feel whole. The love of my life. I’m not very good at planning dates or expressing my feelings. But I’m trying.”
The music changes to another Taylor song; “this is me trying” plays on a loop.
“I will keep trying. I will make mistakes, but I promise to own up to them. I promise to talk to you and ask for help. I promise to put myself out there because I want to be with you. I want to be wherever you are at all times. I just want you, Rylan.”
I can’t take it anymore. I clamber to the stage, shocked by how high up it is. I recognize a deep chuckle at my side a second later, and Colt and Easton lift me up onto the platform.
“This is me trying, Rylan. This is me staying. Please let me love you. Let me show you all the ways you matter. J-Just let me love you forever, please.”
I don’t know if it was intentional or not, but the music has faded, and the lights are slowly coming up. I realize every person in the room is waiting for my answer.
“It’s only ever been you, Hatty. I love you. I’ve always loved you.”
“Thank fuck.”
There is a loud roar from the crowd, and we’re drawn from the bubble we’d been in. Hatty’s eyes go wide as he takes in the audience all around us, and a second later, he crumbles to the ground like a sack of bricks.
“Oh my God.” There are gasps from everyone, and the next thing I know, Preston’s wife is being lifted to the stage.
She cracks something in her hands and waves it under Hatty’s nose. Lifting her gaze, she smiles at me. “I carry smelling salts with me everywhere this family goes now.”
Hatty’s eyes flicker open, and he’s adorably confused. Chaos erupts around us as Nova takes the stage, followed by wave after wave of models. When she gets to us, she winks.
“Best ending ever,” she shouts.
Epilogue
Halton
Flanked by my brothers, their wives, and friends, I fade into the background of the after-party. My skin is crawling with the first signs of anxiety, but there’s a smile on my face as I watch Rylan work the room like the angel she is.
