Free Hideaway Hill by Elle A. Rose

wanted. Arthur had to
take a deep breath. He wanted to know what Andy was going to say,
before he went across the street and broke the man’s arm for
letting it brush against Veronica. Giving one stiff nod, Andy
looked back out the window.
    “ Back in the day, they were
the hottest duo to grace Surpatch. We all went to school together,
and Blake and Veronica were the “it” couple. When they would enter
a room together, some of the kids would say ‘here come the Mr. and
Mrs.’”
    After Arthur’s restroom break, he sat back
at the table and resumed eating his turkey on rye, but the more
Andy talked, the tighter his grip became on the sandwich. He could
feel the bread smashing between his fingers and the mayo and
horseradish began to drip down his hand. Not noticing any of this,
Andy continued.
    “ Yeah, everyone thought
Darwood and Veronica were going to get married. They were
inseparable. Even when Darwood went off to college in Webster
City—he’s two years older than her. Anyway, he would come home on
the weekends, and they would have date nights. I swear to you, they
would look at each other like they were actors in a movie. They
truly only had eyes for each other. Blake and Veronica were voted
prom king and queen all four years, and every year in the year
books, they were photographed as the cutest couple. It was
ridiculous. Darwood was out of high school for like two of those
years and still everyone voted for them. It came as the biggest
surprise when they broke up. The mayor never talked about it, but
most of us assumed Veronica left him when she went away for school.
After they called it quits, most of us guys knew if they couldn’t
make it as a couple, then there was no way in hell any of us would
ever be able to do it.” Andy laughed before continuing. “Maybe
that’s why I’m single now. There’s no point in trying if the most
beloved couple of Surpatch couldn’t make it.”
    Arthur’s stare never left
the window. He could feel his temper rising. How could she have lied to me? His
sandwich was now nothing more than a piece of soggy bread and
turkey that lay on his hands. He watched as Blake walked over to
stand next to Veronica again. It appeared like they were
talking—laughing at something. Could the
laughter be because of me and my ignorance? Why did I think a woman
could be honest and faithful? Every time I turn around, Veronica is
out on the town like some hussy or talking to Blake. Is this why
she came back to Surpatch, to be with him? Is Andy right or has
their romance never fully died away? Are they sneaking around
behind my back? From where Arthur sat, it
looked like she was leaning towards Blake. Trying to take deep
breaths to control his rage, Arthur dropped his mush of a sandwich
on the table and grabbed his glass of water with both hands. The
dressing that used to be on his sandwich smeared the sides of the
glass. Arthur gulped the full cup of water in three
swallows. Lies! It was all lies. She has
done nothing but lie from day one. He
trusted her, and she lied.
    Oblivious to Arthur’s silent ire, Andy
continued.
    “ This is my first time
seeing them since she left town a few years ago. I heard she was
back, but I thought she moved back with some weird dude
that…”
    Andy stopped mid-sentence. He realized he
may have been talking to the “weird dude”. Twisting in his seat, he
finally saw Arthur was fuming.
    “ Hey, man. I didn’t know.
Look, don’t take any of what I said to heart. I’m sure they are
just friends now. It’s a small town, everybody runs into everybody
here all the time. She did tell you about her past with Blake,
didn’t she?”
    Arthur slammed his empty
glass on the table. His eyes remained on that lying bitch. How could I have been so blind? All of this was happening right under his nose.
His hands shook as he wiped the rest of the condiments from his
fingers. Dropping his used napkin on the table, Arthur forgot all
about Andy, and the rest of the world