2 - Betrayal

"You're not supposed to be here," Finn said, his voice rather hushed as he got onto the passenger seat.

My heart dropped to my stomach as I stared at him. He looked nervous and was fidgety. Not in a cute way but in a scary way. Whatever his plan was, I was definitely getting in the way of it.

I facepalmed myself. How did I trust my eight year old sister and her best friend to the extent I believed their words that my boyfriend was gonna propose? "I'm sorry. Rita somehow overheard your plans to propose to me today and that's why I came. I was too ahead of myself."

"Rhea..." he began, pinching his forehead like he did whenever he was stressed. "You need to leave now." He glanced at me and saw that my eyes were flooded with tears and his panic grew. He never liked it when I cried. "I know this feels terrible and I'm sorry. I'll give you an explanation later but you need to get away from here quickly."

"Okay," I swallowed, embarrassed and disappointed, watching him as he got out of the car. I bit my lip, forcing my tears in, uncertain about what exactly was making me emotional as I watched him walk away. He paused, then turned around and came toward the window.

"I love you, Rhea Ann Dawson. Always remember that."

I nodded slowly, starting the car back up and began driving away. As I pulled out of the driveway, I caught sight of a familiar car. It belonged to Jennifer Rossi, Finn's childhood best friend and first love. She sat at the passenger side, fully glammed like the star of the event. Maybe she was, but I had no way of knowing.

I drove into an alley and pulled over, picking up my phone and proceeding to search her name on every social media app. Her most recent post was made three hours ago. It read:

He said he wanna put a rock on my finger 🙈🤭💍

They say curiosity killed the cat and I had never understood why. Until tonight. As I scrolled through photos of Jennifer and Finn all lovey-dovey, I could feel myself die a little bit each time.

For three months, he had fooled me - lying to my face about work deadlines that made no sense. He had to stay in late and was always busy so he never had time for call, texts, go out on dates, visit me or receive my visits. And I had foolishly trusted him, not knowing he had been cheating on me with the one woman, he'd sworn he'd never even return her glance. The woman that had shattered the heart I used eight years of my life to fix.

I placed my head on the wheel, my shoulders shaking and my head tearing as I sobbed myself in a mess. I realized how stupid I had been to have still stayed after she showed up. I should have known from the start she'd get him anyway. She was prettier than most celebrities, had a perfect figure, and a very classy taste. Finn had once joked about her being at least five times prettier than I was and he was right about that. She was also rich, smart, and had an influential family. I struggle with basic necessity and have no family to rely on.

She had recommended him for the job and I had pushed him to accept it. Maybe I shouldn't have done that. Maybe then, he wouldn't have earned enough in a month to offset everything I had spent on his tuition fees in college. I didn't accept it from him though but I made him promise to take care of Rita in case I wasn't able to.

I loved him too much, even more than I showed him. He always claimed to love me more. Funny how he had a ring in his pocket and another name in his heart and yet still had the nerve to lie again to my face. The only thing men are perfect at is lying and it took me eight years to realize my Finn was no different.

The sound of a horn startled me out of my trance and I lifted my head. Through the rearview mirror, I could see him in the driver's seat of his first ever car - a graduation gift I gave him. His stoic face gave me chills, my nerves warning me that they felt he was here to do something crazier than offer an apology. I reached for the door, trying to open it but it didn't budge.

Just then, he began driving at full speed and before I could climb into the passenger side, I felt his car hit mine, pushing it all the way to the wall right in front. A piercing ringing sound in my ears, the feel of the airbag against my chest, the nasty smell of gasoline in my nose, the salty taste of blood on my tongue, and the silhouette of him opening the car doors and mouthing something to me were the last sensations I had before drifting off into blackness.

Rhea Ann Dawson was dead - killed by her boyfriend, Finn Dalton.