Chapter 14: Chapter 14

WREN

After I excuse myself, I approach Grant and do my best to hide my disappointment.

“Hey, how are you?” I ask with a little too much enthusiasm. He eyes me suspiciously.

“Good, how are you, Wren?”

I just nod as I watch Lance and Emma leave the party. I feel my heart slip down into my stomach. Grant follows my gaze.

“Ahhh, so she did show up. She was invited by one of the others.”

“You knew she’d be here?! And you didn’t warn him?”

“I learned the hard way to stay out of their business.”

“What do you mean?”

Grant sighs and looks around to make sure no one is listening.

“The reason Lance and I aren’t friends anymore is because he heard her and I went to dinner after they broke up. Someone even sent him a photo. He was still in the hospital.”

Realization dawns on me. “You dated her after she broke his heart?!” I whisper angrily.

“No! Of course not. She was packing up her things and was clearly devastated after she broke it off. I went to dinner with her to support her and try to convince her to change her mind,” he hisses.

He takes a deep breath and continues. “She was my friend too, they both were. I was supposed to be the best man at their wedding. After I heard what she had to say, I realized they were never going to work out.”

I furrow my brow. So many questions fly through my brain. I choose the one I want to know the most.

“What did she say?”

“Oh no, I’m not saying anything else about that, but trust me when I say it’s a good thing they broke up.”

“So you know they shouldn’t be together and yet you didn’t warn him that she was coming tonight?”

“Like I said, I learned the hard way.” He shrugs. “No more trying to help.”

Suddenly, I feel super tired. This place feels like a high school with more money and drama.

“Hey, Wren!” Jeremy comes bounding up to me.

“Hey Jeremy, how are you?”

“Good, did you bring Puck with you?”

“He’s up at your brother’s house. Do you wanna go say hi before I turn in for the night?”

“Sure!”

As we walk up to Lance’s porch, I try not to watch Lance and Emma in an intense conversation on the patio. Jeremy gives Puck several hugs and pets.

I glance at Lance and Emma just in time to see her wrap her arms around his neck.

~Well, that’s that.~

“All right Puck, ready to head home?”

***

On Monday, Lance comes in looking stressed with sunken, tired eyes and thicker-than-usual stubble.

“Morning, sunshine,” I say.

Despite his appearance, he smiles.

“Hey, sorry about Saturday,” he says.

I wave my hand.

“Don’t worry about it,” I say. He starts to say something else but I cut in and change the subject. “Grant came by and said a work truck won’t start, want me to go see if it’s the battery or alternator?”

Lance runs a hand down his face. “Sure, call me right away and let me know if I need to order an alternator.

“They were slow to get one in last time and I don’t want to be down a work truck for long,” he says, shifting into manager mode.

I nod and grab the keys before heading out.

Of course it is an alternator, so Lance calls the auto supplier who says they can get one in tomorrow.

Lance says he can pick it up when he and Meredith go into town for his weekly physical therapy appointment.

***

The next day, Lance and Meredith leave for town around eleven.

Lance has weekly physical therapy for injuries he sustained in the accident. It sounds pretty extensive— they’re usually gone till mid to late afternoon.

Around noon, I hear a car pull up outside the barn. As I squint into the bright sunlight, I see Emma step out of her car with a canvas bag.

She teeters a bit in her heels on the gravel but regains her footing and makes her way into the barn. Her face falls slightly when she sees me but she plasters on a bright white smile.

“Hi!” she says in a very high-pitched voice. “Is Lance around?”

“Sorry, no, he’s at his weekly physical therapy appointment,” I respond.

“Oh damn, I didn’t know that. I brought him one of his favorite lunches.” She holds up the bag then takes a moment to study me.

“I can put it in my fridge upstairs if you want?” I jerk my thumb toward the apartment, and I see her face fall again.

“You...are living...in the apartment?”

I furrow my brow. “Uh, yeah? I’m just renting it for the summer.”

“And you are working here, with Lance. You’re a mechanic?” she asks, like she’s piecing together an invisible puzzle.

“Yes?” I say.

“Sorry.” She shakes her head. “I don’t think we’ve officially met. I’m Emma, Lance’s...” She pauses. “Er, fiancée.”

“Wren.”

We shake hands politely. I see her briefly examine her hand after she lets go.

“Nice to meet you,” she says with a sparkling smile. “Um, did you...know about me?”

I’m taken aback by this question.

“Look, this is really none of my business. Do you want me to hold his food for him or relay a message? Otherwise I should really get back to work.” I motion to the large mower I was working on.

She drops her smile again. Clearly she isn’t used to not getting her way.

“We’re getting back together,” she says, ignoring my attempt to exit the conversation. “So whatever you thought was going to happen between you two is done.

“In fact, you may want to browse the help wanted ads.”

“Thank you for the tip. I’ll make sure to congratulate Lance on his totally stable, healthy relationship,” I say with false sincerity.

Her face twists in anger. It’s the first time I haven’t seen her be completely poised and polished.

“You do that. Maybe during your unemployment you can focus on your mousy hair and washed-out skin. Then you can get your own husband instead of stealing someone else’s.”

She smirks, clearly proud of herself for attacking my appearance.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I say cheerily. “Though to have a husband, don’t you have to agree to stay together ‘in sickness and in health?’” I know it’s a low blow but I don’t fucking care.

She looks shocked for a split second before her expression returns to disdain.

“Right, well, I’ll see you soon I’m sure. Bye, Fern.”

“It’s Wren,” I say.

“Whatever,” she says as she gets back in her car.

She drives off, leaving a cloud of dust behind her.

***

Meredith drops Lance off at the barn around three o’clock. I barely look up from where my hands are still in the engine of the mower.

“Hey,” he says with a smile. “How’s it going?”

“Fine,” I say, more curtly than I intend.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, of course, why wouldn’t I be?”

Lance raises an eyebrow and puts a hand on my shoulder. “Wren?”

“Emma stopped by for you.”

His face drops. “Oh, what did she want?” he asks.

“She wanted to drop food off for her ‘fiancé,’” I say, still focusing on the work at hand.

“What?! She said that? To you?”

“Yes.”

“Did she say anything else?”

“That I should quit stealing husbands and browse the ‘help wanted’ ads,” I say through gritted teeth.

“What?!”

“Yeah. I don’t know what her problem is, but I’m not interested in being involved in any—”

My sentence is interrupted by Lance slamming the garage door behind him. Just outside the garage I can hear Lance, presumably on his phone.

“Emma! Call me back as soon as you get this, we need to talk.”

Suddenly, I’m exhausted. ~What the fuck did I get myself into?~