One Night ✔

11. Drinks and the Truth

Friday sneaks up on me. The week passes quickly what with the drama from Hayden's car accident on Sunday afternoon. He ended up spending the night that evening and the rest of the week he had practically lived at our house. It seemed that Avery was unwilling to let the boy out of her sight in fear that something else would happen to him.

"Hey mom, is it okay if I go to the mall with Hayden?" Avery asks as she peeks into my room while I'm getting ready to go out for drinks with her father. I look up at her and ignore the fact that she's already dressed and surely already convinced that I'll allow her to go and nod.

"As long as you're home before curfew and if you leave the mall to go somewhere else you text me to let me know" I add.

"Will do" she agrees. "But uh may I ask where you're going?" she asks, eyeing me suspiciously. It was summer now so I was unemployed until the fall when school would be back in session so it was rare that I'd be leaving the house on a Friday afternoon.

"Just hanging out with Maya" I lie. She nods. Thank goodness my best friend was still in town so I could use her as an excuse.

"Okay, well have fun" she says, dropping the subject easily. Her phone buzzes and her face lights up. "That's Hayden. He and his sister just got here. I'll see you later?"

"Mhm" I hum. "Love you."

"You too" she agrees before walking out of my room.

Once the front door slams shut I release a deep sigh of relief and stand up, looking at myself in the mirror. I had chosen to wear a pair of jean shorts and a white lace tank top, deciding to give him just a taste of what he was missing and in all honesty, I looked pretty damn good.

I smile, grabbing my keys off my dresser and heading out. The bar is only a few minutes away so it doesn't take long to get there and when I arrive Lucas' truck is parked out front. I couldn't believe he still had the same damn pick-up that he used to drive me around in.

The paint was fading and the metal was rusting but it still brought me a comforting sense of nostalgia. We had spent some fun nights in the bed of that truck.

I park my car beside his truck and climb out, taking a deep breath before walking inside.

Lucas is sitting at the bar with a bottle of beer open in front of him while his foot taps against the metal rung on the stool in nervousness.

Slowly, I walk up to him. "Hey."

He looks over at me and my heart stops as his green eyes lock onto mine. "Hey" he smiles. I take a seat beside him and order a Vodka Cranberry before turning my body towards the cowboy to my right.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" I ask bluntly as the bartender slides my drink across the bar.

"A lot" he replies. I nod in understanding. There was a lot we needed to talk about.

"Are you moving back to Greenwich?" I ask abruptly. He quirks an eyebrow at me.

"I don't know" he sighs. "Missy wants to but then again Missy wants a lot of things" he adds, taking a swig of his beer; what number it is, is anyone's guess.

"Like what?" I ask curiously, taking a sip of my cocktail before looking back towards him.

"Kids" he blurts out and my eyes widen. That was the last thing I was expecting him to say and the thought of him having kids with someone else makes my heart sink. "But Riles, I can't make any of these decisions until we finally get some closure" he continues as his emerald eyes stay glued to mine.

Closure.

It would be impossible to get closure with Lucas, I still had too many questions and too big of a secret. "Why are you with her?" I ask suddenly, taking him by surprise. He shrugs, taking another swig of his beer.

"I don't know. It started out as a way to get revenge on you and then I don't know? It just happened. She's not that bad once you get to know her."

I break eye contact with him at that remark, bringing my attention back to my drink. "Yea okay" I scoff, bringing my drink to my lips.

He rolls his eyes. "You can't judge Riles. You lost your right to have an opinion when you cheated on me."

It takes everything in me not to correct him but I know if I do then he'll know, because if I didn't cheat on him then he had to be Avery's father.

"I'm gonna go" I say abruptly, standing up and trying to leave but again he catches my wrist and pulls me back.

"Riley why do you always do this? Everytime I bring up Charlie you bolt. It's okay, I'm over it. I'm just glad you're happy." I stare into his eyes, the hurt still evident despite the lies tumbling from his lips and I know I can't do it anymore.

I had to stop lying. I had to tell him the truth.

"Happy?" I quip. "Lucas I haven't been happy since the day I lost you" I admit as tears threaten to fall down my face.

I watch his face cloud over with confusion, his eyes searching mine for any kind of explanation.  "What?" he finally asks. "Since you lost me? Riley you had me. I was yours, I would've done anything for you and you kissed Charlie" he exclaims. "You slept with him."

"Why do you think that?" I shout, my frustration reaching an all time high as his eyes narrow at me. He was seemingly lost in this conversation.

"Missy saw you both making out and going upstairs" he explains and from the way the words are spilling from his mouth, soft and unsure, I can tell this is something he's genuinely believed for fifteen years but now, standing here with me, he's starting to doubt it.

"You never saw us?" I ask as the puzzle falls into place, realization hitting me like a ton of bricks. There were enough people at the party to back up the fact that I was kissed and drunk people would go along with any story, true or not, especially if it was a story fabricated my Missy.

"No" he admits.

"Well, in case it wasn't clear. Your wife is a manipulative bitch. Always has been and always will be. She lied to you" I add simply as I finally break away from him and storm out of the bar.