Lonely Castle

Sorry Is the Hardest Word

Standing on the kerb outside Dru and Rick's house, Melly lifted a hand in farewell and turned towards home.

Before she could leave, a hand closed gently around her waist. "What now?" she asked, looking into Dru's hazel-green eyes; his usual confidence had vanished.

"Would you come inside for a minute?"

Melly's expression hardened.

"Just to talk," he said quickly. "We're sorry about the other night. We'll keep our distance. I promise."

She studied him for a long moment. He looked desperate, though he was trying hard not to show it.

Exhaling, she nodded. "Fine. Lead the way."

Rick was waiting inside. Stood by the open-plan lounge and gestured towards one of the armchairs, but Melly ignored it and lowered herself onto the rug opposite the sofa.

The distance felt safer.

Dru disappeared into the kitchen and returned with two glasses of rosé and a whisky for Rick. Knowing what each of them preferred to drink.

Handing Melly her glass, he sat beside Rick. Silence filled the room, making the space feel even larger than it was.

Melly took a sip of wine, then lowered it. "Well?"

Rick's fingers tightened around his glass. "We're sorry."

"For?" she asked, arching a brow. Part of her was enjoying seeing them squirm.

"The other night," he said. "The way we behaved."

Dru glanced at him before looking back at Melly. "And eleven years ago."

Her shoulders stiffened.

"The ball," Rick continued. "Laura. Taking her word, without even asking a question."

Melly placed her glass carefully on the floor. "You did more than believe her. You slept with her."

Both men flinched. "We know," Dru said quietly.

"Do you?" Her voice remained calm, but her anger sat just beneath it. Coiling beneath her skin, waiting to lash out.

"You accused me of cheating, refused to even listen to me, and then screwed that w***e, cos let's face it she opened her legs for half the school."

Rick's gaze dropped. "There's no excuse for it."

"We were angry," Dru said. "Jealous. Laura knew exactly what to say, and we let her say it."

Melly scoffed indignantly "And then you paraded her around at the ball to make me jealous."

Dru's face twisted with shame. "Yes."

Melly gave a disbelieving laugh. "You wanted to hurt me."

Rick shook his head. "No, we wanted you to feel what we thought we were feeling."

Melly rolled her eyes. "That's the same bloody thing!" she hissed.

Neither man argued. Melly looked between them. "You never even asked me if it was true."

Rick's jaw tightened. "I know, and we were wrong for that."

"Thing is, the teammate Laura claimed I slept with was gay."

Dru stared at her. "What?" he sputtered.

"He was gay," she repeated. "And even if he hadn't been, it still couldn't have happened."

Rick frowned. "Why not?" he asked, instantly regretting it.

"The meet we were attending had separate dormitories. Girls in one building, boys in another. Security on both doors." A precaution the school had taken due to so many girls attending.

The room fell silent. "Laura said she saw you leaving his room," Rick said slowly, as though he was suddenly considering her words.

Melly gave him a bitter smile. "How? She wasn't a guest nor an attendee?"

Rick's grimaced; he'd been so sure that she'd leave him, he'd never stopped to consider the truth.

Dru leaned forward, elbows braced against his knees. "But she knew the name of your teammate."

"She knew everyone on the team. She'd been asking questions about me for weeks, and she was sleeping with the older boys on the team."

Rick set his whisky down without drinking it.

Melly could almost see him rebuilding the events in his head, fitting each forgotten detail into place.

Heavily exhaling, Rick dragged a hand across his face. "Jesus Christ."

Dru stared down at the rug. "We destroyed everything because of her."

Melly shook her head. "No. Laura lied, but the two of you made your own choices."

The words struck hard. Rick winced; it was so easy to believe Laura her mum was a friend of his dad.

"You're right." He moved from the sofa and lowered himself onto the rug opposite her, leaving space between them.

"I failed you." His voice was quiet but firm.

"I loved you, and when it mattered most, I believed someone else. Then I punished you for something you hadn't done."

His eyes lifted to hers. "I can't undo it. I can only tell you I'm sorry."

Dru joined him on the floor. "We've regretted it every day."

Melly looked away.

Dru's voice roughened. "We don't expect you to forget what we did. We don't expect you to trust us because we finally found the courage to apologise."

Rick glanced at Dru, then continued. "But we want to rebuild this." He said, gesturing to each of them in turn.

"All three of us," Dru said. "Properly this time."

Melly looked back at them. "And what happens when someone tells you another lie?"

"We come to you," Rick answered immediately.

"We listen," Dru added.

"We don't make decisions about our relationship without you." Dru reached towards her but stopped before touching her hand.

"If you give us the chance, we'll earn your trust back. However long it takes." Their regret was written clearly across their faces. Rick carried his quietly, his shoulders rigid and his eyes full of shame. Dru looked as though he was barely holding himself together.

Melly lowered her gaze. "I can forgive you."

They both went still. "But forgiveness doesn't mean everything goes back to how it was. And trust won't be freely given"

"We know," Rick said. "We'll earn it." He promised.

Sighing, Melly stretched. "I don't know what this makes us."

Dru offered her a faint, uncertain smile. "Something unfinished?"

Despite herself, Melly's lips twitched. "Is that the best you could come up with?"

"I panicked." Dru smiled.

Rick's mouth curved slightly, though the hope in his eyes remained fragile. Melly studied them both.

She'd spent eleven years imagining this moment. In most versions she screamed. In others, she walked away without a single word.

She had never imagined sitting on a rug between them, wondering whether something broken could still be rebuilt.

"I'm willing to try," she said.

Dru released a breath that sounded almost painful. "Try?"

"Slowly."

"We can do slowly," Rick said. His eyes held heat.

Dru nodded far too quickly. "Very slowly. Painfully slowly. Glacial, if necessary."

Melly laughed softly. The kind of laugh that made her head tip back slightly.

The sound of which seemed to undo him. Dru moved forward, then stopped himself. "Can I hug you?"

The question caught her off guard.

She nodded. And he wrapped his arms around her carefully, as though afraid she might change her mind. His face pressed into her shoulder, and she felt his uneven breath against her neck.

"I missed you," he whispered.

Her eyes momentarily fluttered closed. "I missed you too."

When Dru released her, Rick remained where he was. Smiling Melly held out her hand.

He stared at it before slipping his fingers through hers. "I'm still angry," she warned.

"I know." He smiled

"And this isn't me pretending nothing happened." She leaned forward and kissed him.

It was brief and gentle, but Rick went completely still beneath it. When she drew back, his eyes remained closed for the briefest of moments.

Then Melly turned to Dru. Shock rippled through him as her soft lips met his.

Neither kiss could erase the past. They were simply the first steps towards something new.

*

The sound of the front door clicking open broke through the quiet of the lounge.

Hearing footsteps approaching. Dru bolted upright. "Shit."

"Hey, m—"

"Shh!" Dru hissed as Emit appeared in the doorway and stopped. His gaze moved over the three of them tangled together beneath a blanket.

A slow grin spread across his face. "Damn it."

Dru narrowed his eyes. "What?"

"Now I owe Layla a new car."

Melly groaned and pulled the blanket over her face. "I don't want to know."

"You really don't."

Emit checked his watch. "You've got five minutes before Layla realises Melly never came home."

Melly bolted upright, taking a large portion of the blanket with her. "What time is it?"

"Late." Smiled Emit.

"Oh, shit." She scrambled to her feet, wearing one of Rick's shirts and very little else.

"Can I keep this?" she asked him.

Rick groaned from beneath the blanket. "Keep it."

Melly laughed; he never was a morning person. She pressed a quick kiss to his cheek, then did the same to Dru.

"I'll see you both later."

"Slowly," Rick reminded her.

Melly backed towards the door. "Very slowly."

Dru grinned. "Glacially."

She rolled her eyes and ran barefoot across the lawn towards Layla's house, leaving them watching her go with something they had not allowed themselves to feel in eleven years.

Hope.