Conspiracy in the Capitol

by B Ivy Woods

  “Have you heard from him at all?”

  Rae shook her head at Jules’s question. Not even a text message to check-in and make sure everything was all right with her day or anything?

  “We can spend the night if you want us to. That way, you won’t be alone.”

  Rae thought about it for a second before nodding. “Thanks, you guys.”

  “Whew, I’m glad you agreed because Eve and I already packed a bag just in case. Our bags are in the car.” Liv left the room as she went to grab their bags.

  Rae laughed before turning to Jules and saying, “I can probably give you something to wear for tonight and to wear home. We are about the same size.”

  Jules smiled at her friend and patted her on the hand. “Sounds like a plan. Oh, Rae?”

  Rae turned her attention back to Jules.

  “Do you want me to call Flint?”

  Rae didn’t respond right away. She didn’t know what the right answer to this situation was, but she went with her gut. “No, don’t call him. I have already reached out to him, and if he wants to talk to me, he knows how.”

  Eve reached over and gave Rae a one-armed hug. “It will be okay. You got through this before, and you’ll get through it again. Plus, at the very least, we are going on vacation in a few days.”

  With everything that had been going on, Rae had completely forgotten about the vacation. At least she had that to look forward to.

  Liv soon came back into the apartment, carrying two duffel bags that she placed in the living room. At Rae’s direction, Eve found a king-size blow-up mattress and brought it into the living room. Rae found an extra pair of sheets, blankets, and snatched some pillows off her bed to make the girls feel more comfortable in her living room. Once they were all set up, Liv reached into her bag and pulled out three more bottles of wine.

  Eve looked at her with disbelief. “When did you have time to pick those up?”

  “I was in the supermarket when I sent the first text message. I had originally bought these for me, myself, and I, but I figured this situation was dire.”

  “Thanks, Liv,” Rae said as she looked at Liv. She then turned to Jules, who was doing everything in her power to hold back her laughter.

  “Don’t worry about it. I always come prepared.”

  “And I think I can speak for all of us and say that we’re all grateful for that.”

  23

  A loud knocking stirred Rae from her sleep. The grogginess she was experiencing had won control over her body, so she turned over and further buried herself in the covers. When the noise continued, she surveyed the room and realized that she was in her bedroom. It must have been early morning based on the sun’s positioning outside her window. She didn’t know how she ended up in her bed, but she was proud to have made it there after the ruckus they had caused the night before. The quiet was short-lived when she heard what she thought was pounding on her door. The noise was enough to get her adrenaline running and her moving out of bed.

  Her heart was racing as she ran to her closet to get a hoodie to put over the tank top and shorts that she had fallen asleep in. When had she changed into these shorts? She didn’t have a clue. Was the building on fire? She couldn’t smell any smoke, but that didn’t mean that it wasn’t. On that thought, should she be wasting her time putting a sweatshirt on?

  Before she could open her door, she heard arguing coming from her living room.

  “What are you doing here?!”

  She was sure all of her neighbors in a fifty-mile radius more than likely heard Liv’s question. Rae scrambled to her bedroom door to listen to what was going on in her apartment.

  “I came to see Rae.” The rich timbre she had fallen in love with immediately responded to the question. Rae poked her head out into the hallway to see the commotion.

  “She’s sleeping like most people would be at seven-thirty in the morning on a Saturday. So not only did you wake us up, but you probably woke up half the block with your knocking. By the way, you look like shit.” Liv’s arms were folded and her glare was firmly in place. Rae knew that she didn’t want to be in Flint’s shoes right now.

  “Well, I’m glad I look the way I feel.”

  So Flint had come to her apartment this morning to talk to her, she assumed. The rest of last night started flowing back into her memory. He could have waited until at least 10:00 a.m. Although she’d had fun, she was feeling it this morning, especially with this 7:30 a.m. wake-up call.

  Rae bounded back to her bed and picked up her phone she’d thrown to the side as she was getting up to answer her front door.

  She opened her text messages and scrolled through to see if Flint had texted her back after her messages to him last night, but there was nothing. So the plan was to ambush her at home? She tucked her phone into the pocket of her hoodie before heading into the living room to face the music.

  “What’s all this noise about?” Rae asked as soon as she entered the hallway. Liv was standing at the door glaring at Flint, while Eve and Jules were sitting on the couch, looking like they were deciding between staying seated and saving Flint’s life if Liv launched at him, and it looked like she might launch herself at him.

  “Rae,” Flint said, her name softly falling off his lips. Liv wasn’t lying about him looking like shit. His green T-shirt and blue jeans were crinkled. His hair was going every which way as if he had spent most of the night pulling at it. The bags under his bloodshot eyes were new and made him look as if he hadn’t slept all night. The morning scruff that made her swoon today made him look more unkempt. And the twinkle in his eyes she loved to see was gone.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I wanted to talk to you about last night. I was hoping we could talk alone.”

  “Yeah, no.”

  “What?” The look of puzzlement on Flint’s face almost made her laugh.

  “What are you confused about? I don’t want to talk to you alone, so you can say whatever you want right here.”

  Flint took his time, looking at the women in the room, who were shooting daggers at him. When his eyes landed on her, all he could do was stare.

  “Ahem.” Rae cleared her throat and waited for him to continue.

  Flint walked over to where Rae was standing near her bedroom door.

  “Rae, I’m so sorry for not responding to your message right away. I had seen it, but I kept getting distracted.”

  “Why didn’t you send me a text message after the party?”

  “Because I couldn’t find my phone. Hell, I still don’t know where it is.”

  “I guess you left it at the venue.”

  “I don’t think I did. I’m not entirely sure,” Flint said as he checked his pockets once again. His eyes were pleading with Rae to forgive him, but she was having none of it.

  “Looks like you need to get it replaced, then. Why are you here, Flint?” The fact that she wasn’t a blubbering mess right now made her proud.

  “Rae, I’m sorry all of this went down. I lo—”

  “What was going on with you and Cassandra? Are you breaking up with me for her?” The words didn’t sound logical as they flew out of her mouth, but she was pissed and didn’t care.

  Flint whipped his head back as if someone slapped him. “No, not in this lifetime or the next if I can help it. Why?”

  Rae turned to Liv and asked, “Could you pull up the photo from last night?”

  Liv produced the photo, handed her phone to Rae, and Rae shoved it in Flint’s face.

  “So, can you explain this?” Rae gestured to the phone in her hand.

  Flint stared at the photo but said nothing.

  Rae nodded her head and handed the phone back to Liv.

  “Rae, can I please talk to you alone?”

  Her mind told her this was something she didn’t have to do, but her heart was asking her to give him a chance. With a sigh, she beckoned him to come into her room. He followed her and closed the door gently behind them.

 
Rae pulled her phone out of her hoodie pocket and set a timer. “You have three minutes.”

  Flint said nothing for a few seconds. He just stared at her until she had had enough.

  Clearing her throat, she said, “Looks like your time is now down to two minutes and forty-five seconds.”

  Flint raked a hand through his hair as his eyes darted around the room. And that’s how she figured he had gotten the hairstyle mentioned above that he was sporting this morning.

  “Last night got out of hand.”

  When Rae did nothing but fold her arms, he sighed and continued, “I’m not even sure where to begin.”

  “The beginning would be nice.”

  “That does probably make the most sense. So as you very well know, I attended a fundraising event last night. My parents were there along with Jules.”

  Rae nodded her head and gestured for him to continue.

  “So, my mom came up to me during the event and essentially said I need to break up with you if I want any shot at a political future.”

  Rae’s arms remained crossed as she listened as Flint explained his side of the story.

  “Some people who are very involved in Virginia politics told my parents that it would look better if I were dating Cassandra, given that her family is also heavily involved in Virginia politics as well. It would help guarantee money for my campaign.”

  Even hearing the words for a second time caused Rae’s heart to careen out of control. She chose her next words carefully. “I don’t understand. The whole point of your fundraising was so you wouldn’t have to depend on one particular group of people to donate a huge amount of money to your campaign. That’s the hypothetical vision you laid out when you talked about running a couple of weeks ago.”

  “I know, and I thought about taking their deal last night.”

  “Is that what led to the photos of you and Cassandra that were floating around social media last night?”

  All Flint did was nod. Rae checked her phone before saying, “Good job. You came in at under three minutes. Now leave.” The coldness in her voice reflected the iciness she felt for him in her heart.

  “Please. I was selfish and stupid. And you are right. We agreed to certain parameters when we talked about this before. I’m sorry. It was a lapse in judgment.”

  “That is an understatement. Please leave.” Rae mentally scolded herself when she said, please. It was her apartment, and right now, she didn’t want to be polite.

  Flint nodded his head before opening her bedroom door. He glanced back at her before closing the door and exiting her life once again. At that realization, she sat down on her bed and cried.

  “You know you guys have lives as well? You don’t have to babysit me. Go home and do the things you have to do.”

  Rae and her girlfriends had hung around her house most of the morning after Flint had left. They had done everything they could to help Rae deal with the initial shock of the breakup and the rollercoaster of emotions she was on.

  “If that’s what you want us to do. You know we want to be here for you,” Eve said from her seat on the other end of the couch.

  “Yes, but not to the detriment of yourselves. I’m sure y’all have last-minute to-dos and errands to run before our vacation.”

  Liv nodded her head as Jules stood up from her spot on the floor. Each friend helped Rae clean the mess they made in the kitchen and the living room before saying their goodbyes and heading for the front door.

  “Rae, if you need anything, reach out, okay?” Eve said as Rae was getting ready to close the door.

  “I know, and thank you so much.” The two shared one last hug before Rae closed and locked the door behind them. “Might as well get some things done around the house.”

  She walked over to her phone, turned on some music, and got to work. She carried her phone from room to room as she threw some food into her Crock-Pot so she wouldn’t have to worry about cooking dinner or ordering takeout. Rae then walked into her bedroom and pulled out the laundry she wanted to do, along with all the bedding she now had to wash. Thankful that she had a washer and dryer in her unit, she got to work on that. As Rae was tidying up her bedroom, she heard her phone ring. Stealing a glance away from her task, she checked the caller ID and noticed that it was an unknown number. Not having time for those shenanigans, she sent it to voice mail before going back to the task at hand.

  About a minute later, her phone pinged, and the second intrusion caused her to roll her eyes. She swore if this were the same person who had just called her she would—

  “What the hell?”

  Unknown Number: You did the right thing.

  What creep would text those words? Rae looked closer at the number and realized something about it. The area code triggered a memory. She scanned her blocked numbers and saw there was only one other number she had blocked with that area code. It was the number that sent her messages about leaving Flint alone years ago.

  24

  Rae didn’t know what to do with this information. She couldn’t exactly go to Flint with it since they were currently broken up. Deciding that it wasn’t worth burdening her friends, Rae blocked that number as well and went back to the chores she needed to do around the house. When she was done, she decided that a shower and a relaxing evening were in order. Rae wiped away what she assumed was tears from her eyes. It could have also been water from the showerhead as she tried to relax after a long day at work.

  The days dawdled along as Rae eagerly anticipated the girls’ trip to Bermuda. It didn’t help matters that all Rae could think about was Flint. He had texted her a couple of times, but Rae ignored the messages because she wasn’t ready to deal with him.

  Rae found herself awake bright and early. This was the first time in a while she had felt somewhat normal since the incident with Flint. She stretched before getting out of bed and grabbing the clothes she laid out for herself on her dresser the night before. After changing into her clothes, she headed to her bathroom to finish doing a couple of things in there. Brushing her teeth was first on the list before washing her face. When she was done, she caught herself staring in her bathroom mirror. She should try to get the last-minute items into her carry-on, but here she was.

  Her phone’s ringtone brought her out of her thoughts. She checked her phone and saw that it was just her alarm and grabbed her toiletries. Placing them in her carry-on was another thing off of her mental to-do list. When Rae thought she had done all the tasks she needed to do that morning, she did one more run-through of her apartment before calling a taxi to head to DCA for her flight in three hours.

  Rae made it to the airport in record time, and Jules was the first one to greet her. She was sure Eve and Liv only grunted at her arrival. Jules had always been an early bird like her, whereas both Eve and Liv could sleep until noon if given a chance.

  “This morning is going that well for the two of you, huh?”

  Eve snorted while Liv gave her answer with a one-finger salute. Rae smirked and sat down in the seat next to Jules.

  “Sorry, I’m a little late.”

  Jules waved her off and shook her head. “Oh, wait, this is for you.” Jules bent down, grabbed a cup, and handed it to Rae.

  “And this is why we’re friends. Thanks.” She took a sip from the coffee that Jules had bought while Rae was in the security line. She sighed as the liquid flowed through her body, providing an extra boost of energy.

  “I don’t understand how you can drink coffee black. And don’t worry about paying me back.”

  Rae nodded and said, “It’s a talent.”

  Jules shook her head before turning her attention back to her phone.

  “I don’t understand how you two can carry on a conversation this early in the morning. I can’t wait to get on the plane and pass out.” Part of Eve’s comment came out jumbled, but Rae could put two and two together. Eve raised the hood of her sweatshirt over her head, placed her headphones in her ears, and sunk lower in her chair. Rae wa
s sure Liv had fallen asleep on the two chairs to the left of Eve.

  “How are you doing?” Jules’s question grabbed Rae’s attention as she took another sip of coffee.

  “In general, or about Flint?”

  “Both?”

  “I’m all right. Weepier than usual, but that could be hormones too.”

  “Have you heard from him?”

  Rae didn’t move. It made sense, to tell the truth, so she reached into her bag and pulled out her phone. She found her text messages and handed the phone to Jules.

  Flint: I’m so sorry for everything that I’ve done and everything that has happened. I shouldn’t have entertained the idea of pretending to be in a relationship with Cassandra when it’s you I want to be with. If you’re ever ready to talk, I’m here.

  And a few days later he sent this:

  Flint: Hey Rae. I just wanted to reach out and make sure you were okay.

  She hadn’t responded to either message.

  “At least he knows he was wrong. Some people can’t even admit that and knowing that is half the battle.”

  Rae nodded along with her. “Has he said anything to you?”

  Jules shook her head and said, “No, but I’ll let you know if he does.”

  “Okay,” said Rae as she turned her attention to the television that displayed their flight information as she waited to board.

  Rae stepped off the plane and breathed a sigh of relief. They had just arrived in Bermuda, and she immediately felt the stress roll off her shoulders. She tried to push Flint to the back of her mind so she could focus on what she wanted. For now and in the future.

  Eve put an arm around Rae’s shoulders as they walked toward the baggage claim. “Are you feeling okay? Your face is saying one thing, but that’s unacceptable since we’re in Bermuda, and you should be happy.”