Love and Its Lies

Six - Cousins

Before Aly could register what was happening, she was pulled into one of the stalls of the men’s toilet room. She jerked her arm away and was about to start punching and screaming, when her abductor pinned her right wrist beside her, put a hand over her mouth and looked into her eyes, whispering, “Shh, be quiet or he’ll hear us—and don’t think about punching me again.”

As soon as Aly saw that her assailant was Danny, she stopped struggling and instead glared at him. She was ready to bite his hand when she heard the door open and the water run, immediately freezing her in place. There was a 90% chance that the person who just entered was John, and if they were to make a noise—she could only imagine what he would think.

Danny raised his eyebrows at her, his grip loosening. Aly glared at him but nodded, so he let go of her and took a step back until his back was on the opposite wall—trying to give as much space as possible inside a small stall.

They looked at each other when they heard the faucet turn off. Danny carefully touched the stall’s lock as he waited for the person to leave, but instead they heard a phone ring. Aly and Danny immediately gave each other accusing looks—thinking the phone was one of theirs—when the ringing stopped.

“Hello?” It was John. Aly's eyes widened at the sound of his voice. She was right to stay quiet the entire time.

“Yes… why hasn’t he called me yet?...yes, I’m aware… there's a new one, so I can take the next flight—but, I can… he can’t stick me out here after everything I’ve done for him…” For another good minute, John was quiet. “I want to speak to him. Tell him to call me.”

Finally, they heard the door open and John step out. Danny held out a hand to Aly and slowly counted down from 5, before opening the stall and cautiously looking around. He stepped out first with a sigh of relief, and was about to leave the room when Aly grabbed his shoulder to spin him around.

“Nuh-uh, you’re not leaving so easily. You have some explaining to do,” She pointed a finger at him.

“Right, as if I need to explain myself to you,” he sarcastically said as he jerked his arm away and exited the room. Aly followed him as he hurriedly looked around for John. He was about to walk out of the backroom when Aly pulled him by the back of his clothes and stepped in front of him.

“Explain,” she sternly whispered, “Or I’ll tell John you’ve been following him.”

Danny remained unfazed. “Oh, you’re in a first name basis, huh? Would you also like John to know how you’ve been sneaking on him? Tell me real quick, did you come here to stalk him? You’ve been staring at him like a love-sick puppy.”

“I-I’m not stalking anyone!” Aly stammered a bit too loud. “You’re the one who's—”

“Look,” he sighed. “It’s simple. I won’t tell, you won’t tell, no one needs to know anyone’s business. A word of advice, though, stop going after him. It’s more dangerous than you think, city girl. Go back to where you came from and live a normal life.” Danny gave an obviously fake smile before stepping past her.

Aly could feel herself start to lose patience with this smart aleck. Much to Danny's surprise, she stomped after him and pinned him against the wall. She grabbed him threateningly by the tie, and angrily hissed, “Look here, you little—”

Danny’s eyes went wide as he looked at something on his left. Aly followed his gaze and saw John standing there with his mouth hanging slightly open in surprise.

“S-sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt,” John said as he took an awkward step back.

Aly was quick to let go of Danny's tie. She patted his chest, as if they had just been joking around. “Oh, no, no, you’re not interrupting! We were just—”

Danny flashed a big smile and put an arm around Aly. “Sorry you had to see that. Please don’t misunderstand. We’re cousins, and I was teasing her—we're just playing around. You know how family can be,” he sheepishly said.

John looked at Aly with a confused expression, and she knew she was left with no choice. If she didn’t agree with Danny's lie, there would just be more questions—and that’s the last thing she needed. Things were already not going as planned. This was not how she was supposed to run into John.

Aly managed to fake a smile and furiously nodded. “Yes, that’s right,” she said, “he was telling me that I looked horrible in this dress, so I just—anyway, that’s not important.”

John looked at the two of them like they were out of their minds, but he eventually said a slow, “Okay?” then, he stared intensely at Aly’s face and frowned, making her face heat up with all the attention he’s giving her. “Wait a second,” he said as he took as step towards her. “I know you, don’t I? Um, from college, I think? Annie, isn’t it?”

Aly could feel her soul lift unto the heavens. After all this time, John remembered her face and her name! Well, technically he said Annie, but that sounded so close!

She broke away from Danny and stepped towards the love of her life, as if she were enchanted. “Yes, that’s me! I mean, my name’s Aly, but we do know each other from college,” she said with a wide smile. Then, as if trying to remember something, she asked, “Jake, right?” She could feel Danny snicker behind her, but at that moment, she could not care less.

“John Wendell,” John corrected with a shy smile. “I haven’t seen you in years! Come here!”

Aly could not believe her luck as he opened his arms and gave her a short hug. It only lasted for two seconds, but she took it all in—the smell of his cologne, the feel of his soft hair and skin. Inside of her mind, she was lighting fireworks and throwing confetti around in glee.

John held her by her shoulders and took a good look at her. His smile was so wide, Aly took a mental picture and noted that that was his expression while staring at her. Her!

“How come you’re here? This is such a nice surprise!” he exclaimed.

Aly tried her best to keep her cool. “Uh, I’m—we’re here on vacation. We were on a road trip and we happened to pass by, so we thought to check the place out.” Before he could ask more questions, she continued, “How about you? What are you doing here?”

“I’m from here, actually. Just taking time off from work to visit the old house. Ah! Do you remember? We had that project once and we wrote about this town as well.”

Of course, Aly remembered. In great detail, in fact, but she pretended to barely do so and said, “Now that you mention it, yeah! That’s probably why I was drawn to this town. The name sounded familiar.”

The three of them heard someone with the microphone call John's last name, cutting the reunion short.

“Oh, that’s my cue,” he said, regretfully looking back at Aly. “I’d like to chat more, but—we should have dinner some time, Aly. Bring your cousin…”

“Danny,” Danny supplied with an innocent smile and a wave.

John shook his hand, as firm as how a politician does during a campaign. “Right, bring Danny and let’s catch up before you leave town. I have to go now, but you both should stay and mingle.” With that, he turned and jogged away.

Aly absent-mindedly followed him out of the backroom. As it turned out, it was the mayor who had called John. She made a small speech about John being an outstanding citizen and how the town has missed him. John gracefully took the compliments, and obliged when he was invited to play a song for them.

Aly stood by a corner and watched as the love of her life flawlessly pressed the piano keys. Everyone had their eyes on him, all as entranced as she was. She had always known that he was also a musical person—on top of being a college football player and a great student.

Before the song ended, Aly caught a glimpse of someone moving in the crowded room. It was Danny, making his way towards the exit, and much as she wanted to continue staring at John, Aly reluctantly peeled her eyes away and followed him. As soon as she got out of the town hall, she saw him walking opposite the way to their hotel.

Even in a dress and heels, Aly jogged to catch up to him. When he heard her footsteps behind him, he turned around to look. “What now?” He groaned.

“You,” Aly panted as she slowed down her pace. “We’re not yet done. Come with me.”

“I’m busy.” Danny kept walking and waved her off.

“I swear to God, I’ll scream bloody murder if you don’t,” she threatened, making him stop and turn.

“What do you want from me?” he asked, obviously irritated.

Aly held onto his wrist and pulled him towards the direction of the hotel. “Let’s talk somewhere private.”