Rachel Reads Novels & Stories

She used to read him so well before, now, everything felt different. "Alright, we'll sit over there if that is what you want." He pointed at a secluded spot where few men sat, drinking whatever was in their glasses. He led the way while Rachel followed him expressing her tiredness with a worn out expression. They still had to go to work the next day and she couldn't keep waiting for Maria. Rachel sank onto the chair and looked away, entertaining herself with the dancers on the pole. One of them gave a fulfilled smile, coiling her legs to pole while twisting her waist slowly to the rhythm of the song.

I was not sure if he ever peeked at the creek but I would be sure now. “Do you always take this long to get undressed? Did you wake up at three just to be here by four?” I did not answer. I curled into a ball and did a cannonball into the water. “Nice. Disturb the peace, why don’t you?” A thought crossed my mind. “You know, Chris, it would only be fair if you swam commando too.” “Rachel, you have been trying to seduce me for years. You think I am going to tempt you with such a prime opportunity?”

If I need companionship, I should just get a dog. “Hiking Machu Pichu. Attending Carnivale in Rio de Janeiro. Cliff-diving at Maunawili Falls. Backpacking in Europe.” Rachel closed the folder and set it on the table beside her, swiveling her plush leather chair towards Caitlyn. “And an MD/PhD in Molecular Genomics.” Uncertain what she was supposed to say, Caitlyn lifted one shoulder in a slight shrug and nodded. “For as quiet of a woman as you are, you’re quite an adventurer.”

"I've done nothing wrong. I agree to call off the engagement." Mark froze, completely taken aback. Then, a robotic voice echoed in my head, ‘The Thought Sharing feature has now been activated. Please choose who you want to share it with.’ Thought Sharing? The person I picked could hear Alice's thoughts, too? I looked at Mark, still in shock, and calmly touched my face. ‘I choose Mark.’ Right then, Alice's inner voice rang out again, just in time. 'Can you believe it? With just a little trick, Helen has given up on Mark all by herself?'

So, instead, I say "we should keep walking." We walk for hours and climb over a mountain, and somewhere alone the way, I realize that we are lost. We have made a wrong turn somewhere, and I have no idea where we are. We approach a raging river, and I know, immediately, that we're in trouble. A wolf howls nearby, and Rachel instantly is on edge. "Where do you think it was?" "I don't know," I answer. The wolf howls once more, and Rachel is frozen with fear.

‘But I’m sure your shop keeps you busy. Normally, Rachel would have taken the opening to promote her store, but at the moment she only wanted to do her job so the time would pass quickly and the night would end. She glanced past Linda, hoping to catch a glimpse of Jack-son. She wanted to find him, ask him if he’d discovered anything. But milling about would only hurt her case if something were stolen, so she remained glued to her seat. ‘Would you like me to read your cards?’ Linda glanced down at the deck, her mouth thinning with distaste. ‘I’m surprised you’re still toying with those things.’

I set my fork down, pushing the plate slightly aside, and flipped open the folder. Her name stared back at me. Rachel Hart. Age, qualifications, scraps of experiences that didn’t amount to much except one thing. Catering. The word was highlighted in bold on a résumé that had probably been printed and folded too many times. I read between the lines. Desperation. Persistence. A woman who didn’t have many doors left to knock on. I leaned back in my chair, eyes flicking briefly to her. She watched me with something between fear and hope, her fingers twisting together nervously.

He ordered. I served him and continued scrolling on my phone. Then he started a conversation while eating. “ Rachel, who was in the video you claimed someone sent to you?” he asked. “ Why are you asking me this all of a sudden, and besides I didn't see her face very well, do you think she is someone I know or is there something you want to tell me about?”. “ Since you don't know the lady in the video, it's fine, let's stop this conversation”.He continued eating.

She was reading them, her expression hard to read. I could practically hear her heart beating at a quickened pace, and my mind was racing, wondering what could be wrong. It was obvious something was wrong from her demeanor. “What is it?” I asked, ignoring the look Rachel was giving me. “Alpha, I think we should speak in private,” she said, her voice sounding almost distant and at that moment, I realized her face had gone pale as well. “Um, excuse me… if it has something to do with me, I’d like to hear it was well,” Rachel said, folding her arms across her chest. “You are not about to keep me in the dark about this.”

And more than anything, I resent myself for marrying you. "Though our paths may have crossed, we have no choice but to return to where we started in the end. So don't look for me. I never want to see you again." By the time Rachel finished reading the letter, she was trembling. She sat there for a long time afterward. She thought I would always wait for her, and that I couldn't live without her. But was there really anyone in this world who couldn't go on without someone else?