Ghosted: A Destructive Fixation (Part I)

Ghosted: A Destructive Fixation (Part I)
Robert gave Estelle a small smile as she placed the tea tray down onto the table. “Thank you.”

She patted his back. “You’re very welcome. Please let me know if there is anything else you need.”

Nodding, he watched her leave and then he focused on Molly. He placed his fist under his chin. “You scared the hell out of me when we met.”

“Huh?”

He chuckled. “Yeah. You were so confident in yourself. You hadn’t said a word to me, but I could see it. I think that’s why I was so nervous to retrieve my wallet. I didn’t want to make a fool of myself in front of someone so beautiful.” He continued to look at her. “Did you know that you always furrow your right eyebrow right before you call me out on my shit? I can literally see you making a decision on whether you’re going to take the compliment in stride or accuse me of changing the subject.”

“I don’t have to accuse you of changing the subject. You did change it.” She picked up a teacup and took a deep sip. The warm liquid flowed into her belly and her nerves subsided for a moment. “This is great tea,” she said.

“Don’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“Try to make a flat, diverting statement and shut me out. I don’t know much, but I know when you’re angry with me.”

“I’m not angry, I’m annoyed. You said you’d be open and honest with me.”

“Understood.” The two sat in silence, and Molly peered around the room determined to look any and everywhere but his way. “Molly?” he said. “I promise I’m not changing the subject. I was just saying you’re different from any woman I’ve ever met. I think if I had known someone like you when I was alive, I wouldn’t have made the stupid decision that I did.” He smirked. “You would have given me a good kick in the ass before I could.” She didn’t return his playful banter, and he sighed. “I met Loralai at Riley’s funeral.” Molly’s eyes widened, and he nodded. “Yeah. Fucked up, I know. I’d known of her just from conversations with Riley but had never seen any pictures of her or anything. They didn’t get along well. I always got the impression that it was a sibling rivalry kind of thing.”

“So what happened at the funeral?”

“I went to give my condolences to Riley’s parents and Lorelai was standing with them. She greeted me friendly enough, but I’ll always remember feeling something was a little…off. She was wearing one of those short black veils over her face, so I couldn’t really see it at first, but then she lifted it up and I got a good look at her. She looked so sad, like she’d been crying nonstop. I don’t know; something about seeing it made me gravitate toward her. Here I was heartbroken over her sister, and there she was knowing on some level exactly how I felt.” 

Molly shifted in her seat. The more he talked, the more distance she wanted to put between them. She’d asked for the whole story, but now that she was getting it, a part of her wished that she weren’t. “How did that lead to you two dating?”

“Well, after the funeral, I never expected to see her again, but she came and visited me at my office a few days later. She looked a lot happier then, almost excited. She told me that she’d been thinking about me, and that while she knew it might be weird, she was hoping that I’d consider going out on a date with her, and I agreed. That was my first mistake. I should never have said yes. I was still grieving, and deep down I knew that I was only interested in her because of her connection to her sister.”

“Yeah, that’s pretty low.”

“Trust me, it gets worse. Our first date was great. We talked a lot, and it was almost scary how much stuff we had in common. It was even scarier how much stuff she had in common with Riley. Before I knew it, I’d warped everything in an effort to convince myself that what I was doing was okay. That I deserved to be happy, and it’s not like Lorelai didn’t know that I’d been dating her sister prior. To me, the day she came into my office was a signal that she wanted to take care of me, and I clasped onto that. It also helped that she was kind, understanding, and patient. She was easy to talk to, and time just seemed to fly by when I was with her. 

“Next thing you know, a year has passed, we’re in a relationship and planning to move back to Haywood together. That was my next mistake. It was too fast and I should never have moved back to a place that isolated me more than I already had become. People here don’t really want to be around a Haywood. I guess it makes them uncomfortable because of all the stature which I get, I guess. 

“Anyway, so we moved back here, and Lorelai really wanted to live in the mansion, and though I didn’t want to, I agreed. As we’re moving in, I made my next mistake. I asked her to bring in a box of things to put in my office. She comes in with the box and starts unpacking the items, and I hear her gasp loudly. I turn around and she’s holding a ring.”