Chapter 26

Later that day, Ross and I decided to meet up at the beach, needing to get away from everyone and all that’s been going on today.  The girls and I had followed Nicole to her room and she was surprisingly willing to cooperate and answer our questions.  I found out that Mary had only heard the story earlier this morning so at least I knew that Nicole didn’t trust her more than she trusted me.  But that doesn’t mean it didn’t bug me that she never told us about any of this before now. 

She claims she would have told us eventually, but I also have a hard time believing that.  I did discover that Nicole really does feel terrible for what she did with Dan and everything that happened with him and because of him.  She seems to feel even worse about how Riker found out.  She confessed she didn’t plan on ever telling him about Dan at all because it ashamed her too much.  Nicole said she’s very aware about her trust issues and she wishes she can just forget everything that happened with Nate but she said it’s too hard and was always a constant reminder back home.  She also told us about how Riker left her last night and how terrified she was about him saying “good bye”.  I really wanted to stay mad at her for keeping something this huge from us but after hearing everything else from her, I found it pretty hard to not forgive her.

I came to a stop as I reached the beach and swung my leg over the mint green bike I had borrowed from Rachel, considering the beach was only a ten minute ride from the house.  I hooked it up in the bike rack and kicked my flip flops off before stepping into the hot sand and walking towards my boyfriend who was sitting in the sand closer to the water.  I plop down next to him, stretching my legs out in front of me and crossing them at the ankle.

“Hi,” he says.

“Hi,” I reply while starring out at the waves crashing on the shore. 

“How’s Nicole?” Ross asks a few minutes later. 

“She’s been better.  She’s really beating herself up over all of this.  What about Riker?”

“Well, he was awake when we went back home this morning and was capable enough to make himself some coffee in attempts to sober up.  He pretty much ignored us all day, though, locking himself in his room, refusing to talk to anyone.  Rocky was trying to get into Riker’s room when I left,” Ross pauses to pick up a rock in the sand and throw it as far as he can.  I watch as it makes a small splash in the water and look over at him, surprised.  He looked worried and distraught.

“Not like Nicole really is a prostitute or anything,” Ross finally continues, “but the last time a girl did something like this to him, he spiraled way out of control.  It was almost a month before he started to come out of his room for more than a few months and began talking to us and actually laughing.  It was tough watching my big brother who was always optimistic be so upset and it’s just as hard now even though we’re so much older.”

I place my hand on Ross’s thigh, causing him to look over at me, forgetting about whatever thoughts were racing through his mind.  “He’s going to be okay,” I tell him, really hoping I’m right.  As long as Riker will agree to talk to Nicole, this whole thing should blow over quickly, but I decide not to bring that up and just want to get Ross’s mind off of everything that has been going on.

“Come on,” I say, standing up and reaching my hand out.  He hesitates before placing his palm against mine and standing up, lacing his fingers with mine.

“Where are we going?” he asks. 

“It’s a surprise,” I tell him before dragging him down the beach.

                                __________________________________________________

Ross scrapes his plastic spoon along the bottom of the Styrofoam bowl, scooping the last bit of his chocolate fudge sundae into his mouth.  I smile as I watch him grab our empty bowls and throw them into the nearest garbage can, wiping his hands off on his jeans in hopes of getting the sticky ice cream off of his long fingers.

“Thanks, babe,” Ross says as he stands right next to me.  “I needed that.”

"I know,” I tell him, tipping my face upwards in order to meet his lips. 

“Let’s go for a walk,” he says and I climb off of the bench I was sitting on and follow him down the steps and into the sand, following his lead as we walk along the edge of the beach, right where the sand meets the water.  Occasionally a wave will wash up and rush over our bare feet and I can’t help but feel that I’m in a romantic movie as I look out into the horizon and notice the sun doesn’t have much longer before it will set. 

Ross abruptly releases my hand and moves his arm so that it wraps around my shoulders.  He pulls me close and kisses the top of my head while I wrap my arm around his back, pulling him close to me as well.  We continue to walk, neither of us speaking as we just enjoyed each other’s company.  The moment couldn’t have gotten any better, until it was rudely interrupted by the sharp shrill of Ross’s phone going off in his pocket. 

“I thought I turned this damn thing off,” Ross mumbles as we pull apart so he can dig into his pocket and retract his phone.  When Ross notices that it’s Rocky calling, I watch as he hesitates before pressing the little green phone on the screen, choosing to accept the call.

“What’s up?” he asks Rocky in a tired tone of voice.  “Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down, man...okay, I’m with Elizabeth, I’m going to put you on speaker.”

I catch the tail end of Rocky’s protests as Ross presses the speaker button allowing me to hear whatever it is Rocky has to say.  I’m guessing it must be important since Ross wants Rocky to tell me directly instead of my boyfriend just relaying the message to me. 

“Hi Rocky,” I say as Ross and I walk up the beach, leaving the water and the loud waves behind us. 

“Elizabeth,” Rocky says, his voice a bit muffled as it tries to reach my ears over the sounds of the seagulls crying overhead.  “Ross do I have to talk to her?” he whines.

“Yes, you do.  Do you honestly think I’m going to give you the right answer?” Ross asks.

“Well that was the whole point of me calling you and not talking to anyone else!  I figured you’d know what to do,” Rocky says.

“So will Elizabeth, especially since she knows about your history, so now you have two people helping you figure it out.”

“Figure what out?” I ask, my curiosity getting the better of me.  I listen as Rocky pauses before sighing loudly and sharing his story.

“It’s Alice,” he starts.  “I was never planning on calling her and with everything that happened this morning I completely forgot about her ultimatum.  But then she called me instead, around eleven and asked me if I had forgotten about our conversation last night.  I told her no, I hadn’t and that I was choosing to ignore her.  She didn’t really like that answer so she told me she’ll give me another chance and she told me her little plan.  She said that if I agreed to go on a date with her tonight then she won’t raise hell within the R5 family.  Those were exact words.”

I pause for a second or two to make sure Rocky was done talking before asking, “What do you need help with, then?  Are you trying to decide if you should go or not?”

“I know I shouldn’t be, but yes, I am.  I just want to be rid of her and get her out of my life completely and if that means going on one last date with her, maybe it’s worth it.”

“But who’s to say it will stop there?” Ross asks.  “You know how much she loves to broadcast her life.  If she posts anything at all about tonight, she can get everyone to think you guys are dating again and she can string a bunch a of lies about that.”

“But if I say no, she’s going to spread a bunch of lies anyway.”

I partially listen as the boys go back and forth over whether or not Rocky should go on the date while I try to think of something somewhat clever that could possibly prevent anything bad from coming from either scenario.  I sigh when nothing comes to mind.  Why wasn’t I born with a mind full of deceitful plots like Blair Waldorf? I think to myself.

“Elizabeth?” Rocky suddenly asks. 

“Yeah?” I say, turning my attention back to the brothers arguing over the phone. 

“You know Mary the best, how do you think she would react?”

“React to you going on the date with Alice?” I question, already knowing his answer. 

“Yeah.  I mean I know she likes me and I really like her too but I know I can’t go anywhere with her if Alice is still hovering over my every move.  Would Mary be upset if I went on a date with Alice?  Obviously it’ll be fake, at least on my part, but do you think Mary will be okay with it?” Rocky’s pleading voice asks, knowing his minutes are ticking closer and closer until he has to make a final decision. 

I mull over the questions before answering honestly.  “I know that Mary is aware of who Alice is because I remember when she…invaded the R5 family and how she pissed off a lot of people, Mary included, with her know-it-all attitude.  But obviously, she only knows one side of the story so I think you should tell her about you and Alice from your point of view and about the run-in at the movie theater last night and about Alice’s ultimatum.  I believe that Mary will want you to go on the date because she knows she can trust you, but she will be hesitant because she doesn’t trust Alice.  Like Ross said, probably either way you look at it, Alice will be telling the fans something, it’s just up to you to decide what it is.  Would you want her broadcasting that you and her are back together, putting the attention on her allowing you and Mary to pursue your relationship in Alice’s shadow, out of the fandom’s main focus?  Or would you rather be unsure of what it is Alice will say about you that could potentially cause a whole chain of events with unpredictable outcomes?  Ultimately, it’s your decision, but I think you should run this all by Mary first before deciding and take into consideration what I just said,” I finish, proud of the advice I had just given. 

I glance over at Ross who gives me a thumbs up, indicating that I gave the correct answer to Rocky’s question while we wait for his response.

“Okay, I think I know what I’m going to do.  Thanks guys,” Rocky says and ends the phone call before Ross and I can say anything.