Reese and Regret

Teenage lad Rue Rocosta spends his days and nights working in his father’s sports bar. His interests are sparked when a beautiful young lady casually waltz into his place of work and mesmerizes him.

Something about her smile, it’s deceptive. The way it embraces her face and grips her cheeks; it holds her true intent captive. Rue watched her from behind the bar enough that he knew which smile was sincere and which was forged.   When the corners of her eyes tilted up to the sky and her teeth peeked through her lips, those were real. She was happy. He saw that smile a few times, but not today.

            He was always sly about the way he watched her, innocent. He stole glances in her direction as he wiped down a table or shot his eyes up to greet an incoming customer.  Most of the time, she clung tightly to the arm of her boyfriend Taylor, Rue noticed. Together they piled into his family’s sports bar at least twice a week. Sometimes more.

            Something about today was different though. Taylor wasn’t the kindest individual and he wasn’t as chivalric as he could be, but she seemed to like him. The way she smiled at him, eyes inflamed with admiration, gave it away. Her head was often resting comfortably on his shoulder except when he pried himself away for a game of pool; then she never stood too far behind.

            Today though, she stood on the opposite side of the pool table, looking at him not once. She smiled occasionally at passers who greeted her with their eyes; her smile wasn’t genuine but almost required. 

            Taylor laughed with his friends as he continued to win yet another game, before shooting his eyes up to her, “Can you get me a drink?” He suggested, acting as if she should have already predicted his need.

She stared at him for a moment before slowly spilling from her seat and trudging to the bar where Rue stood. His heart jumped when he saw her walking his direction, but he quickly composed himself.

Something about her made him nervous, every time. He couldn’t count the number of times she was here, standing right in front of him, and he just couldn’t bring himself to say anything important. He wasn’t like his older brother Rowen. He would have said something witty that made her smile. Rue wanted to, but he just couldn’t think of what to say.

 “Can I get two iced teas please?” she smiled “one with lemon on the side”

“Sure.” He countered as he prepared her drinks. They both stood silently; he searched for something other than Hi!  but came up blank. Before he knew it his mouth was open and words were spilling out without his permission.

“Why so glum, beautiful?” he inquired, face already reddened with embarrassment.

She looked up from her phone and directly at him, but his eyes were glued to the glasses on the bar so she wasn’t sure his words were directed at her. She looked around in both directions before responding.

“What do you mean?” She countered.

“You just look kinda heavy…I mean, not heavy…like, sad or something, I don’t know.”

“Oh, well, I’m not…sad. Kinda tired, it’s been a long day” Her eyes were still watching him curiously, as he handed her the drinks and walked away.

 She quickly reported back to Taylor and handed him his drink.

“Thanks Doll …ohh, tea? I don’t like tea, c'mon I’ve told you that” his eyes sprung to her in frustration before he sat it down on the table behind him. He let out a deep sigh before returning to his game.

“Do you want something else?” She wondered, but received no response. “Taylor?”

“No.” He sternly replied.

Rue could tell she felt bad, because her eyes jumped from her cup to Taylor and back down to her cup again.

“Man it’s hot in here” Taylor exclaimed, “Do you guys even have AC in this oven?!” He yelled at Rue without ever lifting his eyes from his pool cue. Feeling helpful she reached up with her free hand to help him remove his Football jacket. She grabbed loosely behind the neck and tried to shimmy it off just as he thrust his cue backwards to hit the pool balls which sent her glass of ice-cold, lemon dipped, iced tea flying everywhere. 

Taylor’s hands flew up in frustration and he stormed around to face her “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” He gawked at her, mouth up and eyebrows raised.

“Speak, English, you?” He mocked when she didn’t respond. “Hello? You just spilled tea all over my new jersey? What the heck?!”

“I’m sorry”

“Oh, she speaks?” He teased, turning around to face his friends in sarcasm.

“Okay I spilt my drink, I’m sorry”

“No, it’s not just the drink. You’ve been getting on my nerves all day… sitting over there sulking like you mean something, Ms. Antisocial …and then you want to come cry to me about your Mommy yelling at you?! Maybe if you weren’t such a screw-up, she wouldn’t have to.”

“Whoa dude, calm down it was an accident” His friend Ruston suggested, pulling Taylor back by his shoulders.

            “No! She’s getting on my nerves, I’m done with her man” He yelled, throwing his hand up in her face.

            “Taylor, stop it. You’re mad, whatever, but you don’t get to take your anger out on me for no reason” She rationalized with a sudden confidence.

            Shocked, Taylor’s eyebrows raised even higher than before. He stared at her, anger stirring up within him, “you better get her out of here, I’m about to lose it” Taylor continued, as he dried his pants off with a napkin.

            “I leave voluntarily” She countered, as she stormed towards the door before she remembered that Taylor was her ride. Quickly her pace slowed but she still continued with sureness.

            Rue watched all of this happen but pretended not to. He wiped the bar vigorously in the same spot; glancing up frequently. If he was going to make a move, now would be the time. She walked so quickly though, he knew he had only a few seconds.

            “You okay?” He asked, which stopped her dead in her tracks. She looked at Rue then over to Taylor.

“Yes.” She responded surely with a sudden glee in her eyes. “I’m fantastic. Come, let’s go for a ride” She motioned for Rue to follow her and when he didn’t, she grabbed his arm and forced him along.

Ripping off his apron, he gladly followed. This was the closest he’s found himself to her. He could smell her perfume, feel the warmth of her hand. Her hair was cut in a bob that ended abruptly at her shoulders, and he watched as the curls swayed from side to side with each leap. She wore a long sleeveless sweater that almost found itself shut in the glass door as she flew through.

            Soon they were standing in the parking lot. “Which car is yours?”

            “That one” Rue pointed out, embarrassed because it was older than he was.

            “Neat, I like it” He felt the sincerity in her voice, and there it was. That smile, the real one. She looked happy.

            She released his hand and slid in through the passenger side window and planted herself loosely into her seat. Rue was entirely confused but he went with it. He wasn’t sure what they were doing, or where they were going, but he couldn’t help but be excited.

            When she saw Taylor slowly spill from the door of the bar, she got excited too. “Let’s go, let’s go!!” She yelled, beating on the dashboard with enthusiasm before sliding to Rue and embracing his arm.

            He pulled everything from his pocket in search of his keys and when he found them, he threw the car into first gear and sped onto the dirt road that surrounded the bar. He reached one hand up to open the sunroof and continued changing gears with the other until he found himself going 52 in a 30mph zone.

            “AHH!! That was so fun!” She initiated after several moments of silence “Did you see the look on his face?”

            “I know he’s gonna regret losing you” Rue countered, glancing over at her with a cheesy smile.

            “I’m Reese, by the way. My name… Reese” She giggled nervously.

            “Rue. I work, there”

            “Yeah, I know. Rue, that’s such a cool name, what does it mean?” She continued as she rifled through a book of drawings that laid peacefully on the dashboard.

            “Regret.” He quickly responded.

            “Oh.”

Realizing they were out of the view of Taylor’s watchful eye, she scooted over into her own seat and snugly secured her seat belt.

            “…yeah, sometimes I think my mom made it up… but it exists. It’s usually a girl name, but it does exist” He continued.

            “Reese and Rue, it’s catchy! I really do like it, it matches your look…kinda hipster, cool guy. Original” She never brought her eyes up from his sketchbook, but when she did she realized how crazy she must seem in the eyes of this total stranger.

            “Maybe I didn’t totally think this through…I don’t know where we’re supposed to take me, you can just drop me off here, I live around the corner. I can walk” Before she finished talking her seatbelt was removed and her bags were in hand.

            Rue’s heart sunk just a little as he approached the curb. Even though he was only with her a few minutes, it felt like so much longer. It was fun, it broke the monotony of his day; it was exciting. Different.

            He knew that if she walked off, there was a chance he wouldn’t see her again and he would beat himself up for that for days, weeks, months, even years to come. There was just something about this girl, she excited him. Even sitting totally still and without saying a word, she gave him hope. Something to look forward to. A goal to work towards.

             Bringing the car to a complete stop, she slowly climbed onto the sidewalk. After shutting the door, she knelt down at the window.

“Thanks for the…ride? I guess. I hope I don’t get you fired, you left so quickly” Her head was propped up in the window atop her crossed arms.

“Nooo! My family owns the place, they probably won’t notice for a couple more hours that I’m actually gone”

“Really? That’s awesome, I thought you just worked there. Well, you probably think I’m crazy so I’m gonna go” She propped herself back up to a standing position before slinging her bag over her shoulder.

“No, no. I don’t think you’re crazy. Actually, there’s something I’d like to show you, if you’re up for going for a ride?”

He knew the place, it wasn’t far, though he took the longer route. He knew it would look prettiest at sunset but he also didn’t mind spending a little extra time with her while they waited. Once they reached the outskirts of town Reese questioned the judgement that left her in a stranger’s car alone in the middle of nowhere, but the conversations they were having and the jokes Rue told made her feel comfortable. Relaxed.

Soon they ventured from the flatlands onto a private road. It was bumpy and unpaved but lined with beautiful mature oak trees and gorgeously maintained shrubbery.

“Do you live here?” She asked, becoming increasingly curious with their destination.

“No, actually, it’s private property so we’re not technically supposed to be here. I come here a lot though, when I want to think…clear my head. It’s peaceful.” He added, rolling down the windows to let in the fresh summer air.

The farther they drove, the more beautiful the sights became. The bumpy, boisterous dirt road became a road smoothly lined with cobblestone. Now it was bumpy not because of random rocks and potholes but because it now sat atop hills and valleys, dipping and raising inconsistently. Soon they were surrounded by a forest of red oak and mature chestnut trees.

The orange glow of sunlight that forced its way through the trees in slivers let them know the sun was beginning to set. In the distance they could faintly hear water dancing and birds singing.

“It is so beautiful out here, wow” Reese sighed, holding her hand out the window as they drove. “How’d you find it tucked way back here?”

“My brother and I used to go exploring for hours in the summer, before we had jobs or lives.” He joked, “We found it coming in from the Westside, just walking forever but this way is much faster”

“It’s breathtaking” She sighed.

Soon the car came to a stop resting atop a large hill. On one side of the road sat a nearly sheer drop, the other was more gradual. Rue made his way over to Reese’s side of the car and opened the door for her.

“Mad‘am” He gestured, bowing his head and extending his hand for her.

He walked with her to the edge of the road before stopping to take in the sights.

“We’re almost there” He grabbed her hand to help her maneuver through the rocks and nature-made obstacles. Once they finally reached the bottom of the hill they found themselves standing over a large body of water. Their reflections bounced clearly off the surface before ripples from the nearby waterfall sent them away.

“This way” he motioned as he continued walking along the water and towards the waterfall. “You don’t mind getting wet do you?”

“Uhh?” she giggled.

Once they finally reached the waterfall which shot down from the sky about 100ft, he grabbed her hand and stood right next to it.

“You ready?” He asked, grinning from ear to ear.

Reese wasn’t sure what was about to happen and a part of her thought he might chuck her into the water. Getting to see this beautiful place was worth it though. Life just seemed better from inside this woodland. The air smelled sweeter, sounds were softer; the trees were so thick that the sun struggled to find its way inside.

Gripping her hand tight, he counted…1, 2, 3 and jump! He dove straight into the waterfall, pulling her inside with him. Reese held onto his hand tightly, her other hand covered her face. Her eyes were clenched tight, muscles tense.

She soon realized she was still on land and not deep in the water but it took her a minute to open her eyes. Rue released her hand and exhaled, “We’re here.”

“Oh, wow, I don’t even know what to say. This is spectacular!” She released his hand just as quickly, whirling around in every direction embracing the sights. “What is this?”

“It’s a cave, behind the waterfall. It’s cool, huh?”

“Cool? No, it’s not ‘cool’, it’s amazing!!” She could see out through the waterfall much better than she could see in and the view from that point was unlike anything she had ever seen before. She noticed a large boulder to her side with names carved in it.

When he saw her notice it he walked over to where she stood, “People carve their names in it when they find this place, kinda like, ‘hey, I was here first.’ Ya know?”

Without saying a word, Reese smiled and bent down to pick up a thin sharp stone. It took a minute but she eventually carved; Here stood, Reese and Regret 2015. 

Author's Note

Please read, rate and comment! Let me know what you think, honestly. I want to continue growing as a writer and I would really love to know what my audience thinks and how they view the story. Is it intriguing enough, easy to follow? Can you relate to the characters?

Reviews

[A. L. Allen]

Wow. The imagery and language in this piece is absolutely amazing. I loved how you used words and phrases that are less common, but still made perfect sense. It added a very refreshing, unique voice to the story. The story-line IS a little over-used (girl gets away from awful relationship to find the perfect guy), but the way you crafted it was extremely well done and made up for it. :)

The main piece of criticism I have for this is that the dialogue seems forced. It's very basic, and in comparison to your stellar descriptions, seems almost mundane. If you can, try to add a little more flare to the conversations. I saw some seperation between Reese and Rue, but really make their characters pronounced and different by defining them through the way they speak. Make their unique traits as pronounced as possible.

Overall, this was an excellent piece. Keep it up!

[Kaybrie93]

Thanks for the feedback! I see what you're saying, it may add more depth to the story if I were more creative with the dialog, I'm definitely going to keep that in mind going forward, I may even rewrite parts of Reese and Rue if I find some time. I'm glad you enjoyed the imagery, that's my favorite part of writing; creative a vivid image for the reader and being as detailed as possible. I wanted it to be interesting and engaging, I just wasn't sure if it was coming across as I hoped. Again, thank!

[A. L. Allen]

Not a problem at all! My pleasure. :)

[Rose Marie]

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