Wrong in Love

by March, Aisling

  Anna felt a lump in her throat. She hated lying to Will, but she had no choice. It was going to be up to Jocelyn to tell him the truth.

  Tony spoke up so quickly it made Anna turn.

  “No way, man. No way. I know my sister, and she’d never cheat on you,” he said.

  “Tony’s right. Jocelyn loves you,” she added.

  Will looked at Jocelyn’s face, which was still yellow and purple from the bruises.

  “I hope so. I’d do anything for her. I’d do anything to make our marriage work.”

  “You’ve got nothing to worry about. When would she have even found time to meet someone else?” asked Tony.

  His words were directed at Will, but his eyes were on Anna, and she realized with an icy chill that he knew all about who Colin really was. Was he trying to get her to tell the truth? She couldn’t tell.

  “I don’t know. Work?” suggested Colin.

  Anna could feel herself reddening, and Tony jumped in to save the day again.

  “Dude, that’s crazy. You saw those fools who came in the other day. You think there’s anyone there better than you?” he asked. He shot Anna a look that told her to be quiet.

  Will stared at the floor.

  “I guess not,” he said.

  “You’ve been sitting here too long. You need to go get some fresh air,” said Tony.

  Will hesitated.

  “She’s not going to wake up in the next ten minutes. I mean, it would be nice if she did, but she’s not going to. Go take a walk, get something to eat, then come back and you’ll see everything between you and Jocelyn is fine,” said Tony.

  “All right, fine. You’re right, I’m starting to go crazy in here,” said Will.

  “Attta boy. We’ll see you in a little while,” said Tony.

  Once Anna and Tony were alone, Tony stared at her.

  “Things with Colin are getting pretty serious, huh?” he said. She definitely wasn’t imagining his accusing tone.

  “Yeah,” said Anna.

  “How’d you two meet again?” he asked.

  Anna struggled to quickly remember what they’d told Jocelyn’s family, and Tony shook his head.

  “I knew it. Jocelyn was cheating on Will with Colin, wasn’t she?” he asked.

  Anna looked at him for a long moment. If she denied it, would this go back to being Jocelyn’s secret?

  “You can tell me the truth, I’m always on my sister’s side. If that’s what was going on, I need to know so I can keep Will from finding out until she wants to tell him the truth,” said Tony.

  “What makes you think she’ll want to tell him the truth?” asked Anna.

  “So it’s true?” said Tony. His smile was pleased with himself and disappointed in his sister. The perpetual older brother grin.

  Anna shrugged.

  “Yeah,” she said.

  “Why are you letting Colin up here then? When you know he’s destroying Jocelyn’s marriage, how can you keep bringing him into our lives?” he asked.

  It hit Anna then how wrong she’d been for hiding Colin right in front of them, how deceptive making him a part of this painful story was, and she suddenly felt immensely ashamed of herself.

  “I don’t know,” she said. She was at a loss.

  “You’re in love with him, too,” said Tony. His perceptive eyes told Anna he wasn’t asking her. He was so much like their parents right then, Lois’ wisdom and Edgar’s certainty. If they could’ve seen him right then, they’d be impressed.

  “Tony, I’m not trying to hurt anyone, I just-”

  “I know. It’s not easy to make the right decision in a time of stress like this,” he said.

  She looked at the linoleum floor, peeling up at the corners. In all the weeks she’d spent in that hospital room now, she’d never noticed that before.

  “What do I do now?” she asked.

  Tony stood up.

  “It’s too late to tell the truth. Just keep him out of here as much as possible. I’m going for a walk, too. You need some time to apologize to my sister,” he said, nodding in Jocelyn’s direction.

  Once Tony was gone Anna started talking to Jocelyn like she did before the accident. The only difference now was that Jocelyn couldn’t respond. Anna guessed that made things easier.

  “I know you can probably hear everything that’s going on. I know you’re probably aware that Will has sat by your side for nearly every minute since your accident. And that Colin has been here a lot too, as often as he can be anyway. I’m sure you understand why we’re letting everyone believe that Colin is my boyfriend, and I doubt that you mind. But I feel like I should tell you that I kind of like pretending that he’s mine. I like the dinner after visiting you, I like sitting across the table and watching him talk. I love our conversations, the way it seems like he really sees me, really hears me. I just hate the guilt that I feel. Not only am I having fun while you’re laying here in a coma, but I’m having fun with your boyfriend.”

  She paused, wondering what else there was to say.

  “I’ll give him back when you wake up. Hell, I probably shouldn’t want him anyway. But I’m starting to,” she sighed. “Let’s just say that I’m babysitting him until you’re better. When you wake up, you can decide what you want to do.”

  She patted Jocelyn’s hand and studied her face. She sat quietly after her confession, thinking about Colin and Jocelyn and their whole complicated situation. She wondered if Colin was sitting at his desk, thinking about Jocelyn in the hospital, or wondering if Anna was thinking about him.

  Anna stayed at the hospital late that night, trying to make up for the day she’d spent with Colin instead of being there with Jocelyn. She checked her phone as she waited for a cab to take her back to the hotel, but there was no message from Colin.

  When she was back in her hotel room, the realization that she hadn’t done any work for her studio hit her. She opened her lap top and sat at the small desk. She needed to respond to some emails her father had sent her and check out some of the listings he’d found. As she opened her work e-mail, she checked her office voicemail. There were a few messages from potential clients and several from vendors wanting her business, but it didn’t seem that she had missed anything important. She was glad, but it also occurred to her that she couldn’t stay up here forever.

  Right before she closed her laptop and called it a night, she checked Facebook and saw that she had a new message.

  “Dear Anna,

  I know you were probably at the hospital late tonight, without me to drag you out for Italian food and wine, so I didn’t want to text in case you’re exhausted and sleeping. I thought of you often today, and hope that the day wasn’t too difficult. I’d like to come with you again tomorrow, if that’s okay. You can call me any time, I’ll be up late tonight if you get this.

  Colin.”

  She picked up her cell phone, and with unexpected nervousness, dialed Colin.

  “You got my e-mail,” he answered.

  “I got back from the hospital not too long ago.”

  “I knew you’d stay way too late. What did you eat for dinner?”

  “Tony got us all McDonalds,” she said.

  “That’s not real food,” he said.

  “It’s not what I’ve been used to since coming to Boston,” she agreed.

  “See? I’m useful.”

  “I suppose so,” she laughed.

  “You’re going back to the hospital tomorrow?” he asked.

  “Yeah. I’m going a little bit later since Jocelyn’s family is planning on getting there early. I’ll probably head over at around eleven.”

  “Great. I’ll go to work early and then take a half day.”

  “You really have a lot of freedom there, huh?”

  “As long as I’m on top of what’s going on and everything is getting done, nobody cares,” he said.

  “Well, Jocelyn’s family will be happy to see you. They asked about you today,” she said.

  “They
did? That’s nice. Where did you tell them I was?”

  “I told them that you were doing some work from our hotel room,” she said.

  “Good cover,” he said.

  “And Tony knows about you and Jocelyn,” she said.

  “What? You told him?” Colin sounded stunned, and maybe a tad bit angry.

  “No, of course I didn’t tell him. He figured it out. He has sibling intuition or something,” said Anna.

  “Oh, man. How upset is he? He didn’t seem to like me too much that first day, I can’t imagine finding out I’m banging his sister is going to make a great impression,” said Colin.

  The words stung, even though they were true.

  “I mean was banging. Banged once. No, no, no, this is a horrible choice of words. Good god, I sound like you, Anna,” he said, and she had to laugh at that.

  “I guess we’re even now,” she said.

  “I guess we are. So hey, why don’t I pick you up tomorrow at eleven,” he asked.

  “Okay,” she agreed.

  “Fantastic. I look forward to seeing you in the morning,” he said.

  So did she, far more than she wanted to.

  CHAPTER 24

  It was another uneventful day as far as Jocelyn’s condition was concerned. She lay motionless throughout their visit, her brown eyes closed, as her family and friends talked around her and about her. They were deep in conversation when Colin’s cell phone rang. He glanced at the screen, then furrowed his brow and excused himself.

  “I’ll be right back,” said Anna, following him out into the hallway.

  “No, I won’t be in this afternoon, I’m at the hospital. No, not just waiting for my love to wake up, I’m here with Anna. Anna, Jocelyn’s best friend? No, we’re not dating. Yeah, that’s who I’ve been with these last few weeks. Sophie, for the last time, I am not dating Anna!”

  He turned around and Anna looked at him questioningly. He threw up one hand helplessly.

  “Please don’t say that, Sophie. It would hurt me, yes, but it would destroy Jocelyn’s husband and the rest of her family. I understand, you’re upset, but it’s over nothing-”

  Anna knew Sophie had hung up by the way Colin stood there, far away and distressed.

  “What did she say?” she gently probed.

  “She thinks you and I are having an affair now,” he said, turning around to face her.

  “And?” she asked.

  “She said she’s going to tell Will everything,” said Colin.

  Anna was quiet.

  “Do you think she really will?” she asked.

  Colin looked at the ground and shook his head.

  “I really don’t know with that one,” he said.

  Jocelyn’s family were at their usual stations in her room. Solemn faces were slowly being replaced by the acceptance of their present situation, and they were a bit more lighthearted than they had been. It was good for Anna to see, and she was sure that Jocelyn would be happy, if she knew what was going on.

  Will’s phone buzzed and he glanced down.

  “My family is flying in tomorrow afternoon,” he said.

  “They are?” asked Anna, trying to hide her surprise.

  “Yeah.” He looked up. “They feel pretty bad about the way they reacted to our wedding, especially my mom. She said some terrible things to Jocelyn and she was so upset that she hasn’t even been able to come up here yet,” he said.

  “What kind of mother lets her own regret get in the way of supporting her son?” asked Lois, shaking her head. If Jocelyn and Will stayed together, they would have some rocky holidays ahead of them.

  “Well, that’s great. I’m sure she’ll be happy to know they’re here,” said Anna.

  Will smirked.

  “I wouldn’t go that far,” he said, and Anna and Jocelyn’s family laughed.

  At lunch Will went out for a rare break and to bring back sandwiches for everyone. Anna’s stomach was just starting to grumble when Will walked back into the room.

  Sophie was with him, a smug smirk on her tiny, scrunched up face.

  Anna was so shocked she had to look twice to make sure she was seeing things right. She could feel Colin stiffen beside her, and she looked worriedly from Sophie to Colin.

  Will looked agitated, maybe even betrayed, his eyes darting between Jocelyn and Colin, and finally resting on Anna.

  “You’re Jocelyn’s friend from work, right?” asked Lois, stepping forward to welcome Sophie into the room.

  If only she knew that Sophie was here to blow up Jocelyn’s life, she wouldn’t be so welcoming.

  “I am! I’m Sophie,” the petite blonde said, her voice too chipper for someone visiting a comatose patient.

  Will looked close to tears then, and Anna knew Sophie had said something. How much he knew she couldn’t tell, but he looked more distraught than he had since that first day in the hospital.

  “What are you doing here?” asked Colin, his brogue interrupting the somber room.

  “You know Jocelyn’s coworkers, Colin?” asked Edgar.

  Sophie smirked and Anna shot her a dirty look. Will looked as if his heart might break, and he sunk into the chair at Jocelyn’s head.

  “Yeah Papa, they came by a couple of weeks ago. I didn’t think they’d be back though,” said Tony, looking at Sophie pointedly. For the first time Anna was glad to have intimidating Tony on her side.

  “I just couldn’t stop thinking about poor Joccie,” said Sophie. She tilted her head in Jocelyn’s direction. Anna thought about reaching over and slapping that stupid grin off of her face. “How’s she doing anyway? How’s everyone holding up?”

  Lois and Edgar murmured words of optimism and Sophie nodded, her huge hoop earrings bobbing back and forth with her head, her eyes unblinking. Maybe they couldn’t move with all that eyeshadow.

  “I’m so glad to hear she seems to be getting better,” said Sophie, even though nobody had said anything remotely like that. Sophie turned to Colin. “Who did you say you were?”

  Colin’s face reddened with anger.

  “I’m here with her,” he said, pointing to Anna. Her. The pawn. The decoy.

  Sophie let out a tinny little laugh.

  “Oh, are you now?” she asked.

  If Will’s head was any lower it would have been on the floor. He looked like he’d welcome death right then, like his entire life had been a lie and now he had no use for it.

  Tony strode across the room in two massive steps and grabbed Sophie by the arm.

  “It’s so sweet of you to come visit my sister. Why don’t we take a little walk and get to know each other?” he said, practically yanking her out of the room.

  “Oh, isn’t that sweet? I think Tony’s taken a liking to Jocelyn’s friend,” said Lois.

  If only that were it, thought Anna.

  Will’s hands were over his eyes and Anna was afraid he would look at her and afraid he would never look at her again. She wished she could shout everything at him, everything that had happened, her motivation for keeping up the façade, how certain she was that Jocelyn had made a huge mistake and would come to her senses if she ever, well, came to her senses. She hadn’t felt a deeper shame than she felt in that moment, watching him silently fall apart, knowing she had played a part in it.

  “Let’s give Will a few minutes. We’ve been in here all day,” she said.

  Lois and Edgar saw Will’s emotion then, and even though they didn’t understand it, they nodded, concerned.

  “I could use some more coffee,” said Edgar. “You want anything, Will?”

  When he didn’t say anything they walked out, Anna bringing up the rear, glancing back to see Will frozen in a place of complete destruction.

  As Colin and Anna left the hospital that evening, Colin suggested they get something to eat.

  “It’s a tradition,” he said.

  Anna sighed.

  “We watched a man be destroyed today. How can you eat?” she asked.

  “Why don
’t you come over and I’ll make you a good ol’ southern meal. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, biscuits…”

  “Is that what you think all Southerners eat?” she asked, laughing.

  “Yes. What do you say?”

  Anna hesitated. She didn’t know if she trusted herself to go to Colin’s apartment. She definitely had feelings for him and she was pretty sure he had feelings for her. They were on dangerous ground. The fact that she was leaving tomorrow only intensified her desire to set things straight with Colin. If only there was no weird history between them, no girlfriends and best friends laying in comas, no impending returns to a home more than a thousand miles away.

  “Sure. Why not?”

  Several times on the way to Colin’s, she almost told him to just take her back to her hotel. She didn’t know what was going to happen once they got to his apartment, but she tried to tell herself that she would be in control.

  This is so wrong, she told herself. Then the devil’s advocate came out to play. What was wrong about her going to a new friend’s house for dinner? It wasn’t like he’d invited her over for sex.

  “You okay?” Colin asked.

  She nodded.

  “I promise not to bite. Just a little home-cooked meal and then I’ll take you back to your hotel, okay?”

  She gave a little laugh.

  “Okay.”

  Anna was impressed by how clean Colin’s apartment was, and she told him so.

  “I have a house keeper,” he said sheepishly.

  “No!” she said, shaking her head with a smile.

  “Yeah. She comes once a week and does all the stuff that I wouldn’t get around to.”

  She followed him into the kitchen and placed her purse on the counter. She could almost see Jocelyn having done the same thing a few weeks ago.

  Colin was retrieving a bottle of wine and two glasses from the cupboard.

  “Wine with fried chicken and mashed potatoes?” she asked.

  “Is this a beer meal?” he asked.

  “Absolutely!”

  “All right. I didn’t know if you would drink beer. I mean, I don’t think Jocelyn would have…” he trailed off, obviously feeling awkward having mentioned Jocelyn.