Rain Rain Go Away | #ONC2021

Chapter Three

The resort had sent a shuttle to retrieve us from the airport, so once we picked up our bags and made it through customs, we were on our way to begin our week-long tropical getaway.

The driver was quiet, which was fine for me. No one seemed to be much for conversation as we embarked on our hour-long journey to the all-inclusive resort, and I knew I had something to do with it. Still groggy from not only the Dramamine but also the disturbing dream-filled nap, I was content to watch the Caribbean landscape roll by as we wound and dipped our way to our destination.

The sun shone through clear blue skies, almost illuminating the lush greenery surrounding us as it set the perfect backdrop for what should have been the ideal time away. What none of us seemed to want to acknowledge were the darkening clouds looming behind us, following us as we wove along the one-lane road to our destination.

The impending weather didn't seem to bother anyone at the resort, however. We were greeted with smiles as the doors of the shuttle were opened for us. Bellhops loaded our bags into a luggage cart to be brought to our room. As Chelsea led the way into the elaborate and airy lobby, I fell into step next to Jason.

I knew he saw me even if he didn't acknowledge me—the muscles in his jaw clenched even as his attention remained on the fountain at the center of the lobby. It was the exact same way he's been since the airport. Like he was constantly keeping tabs on me without actually making eye contact. It would have been somewhat creepy if it was anyone else, but it made me curious.

And now neither of us had Chelsea as a buffer.

"So how have you been?" I asked him as casually as I could.

He frowned before answering, giving me the slightest glance out of the corner of his eye, as if afraid making direct eye contact would turn him to stone.

"Fine."

"You look well." Amazing, actually.

"Thanks."

Now it was my turn to frown. "Look, Jay—"

"No, you need to look, Samantha," he said as he stopped abruptly, turning to face me so quickly that I almost walked into him. The same dark look from earlier once again flashed across his eyes. "I don't know what you're expecting from me but I didn't come on this trip just to pretend the last five years never happened."

I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't that. "Then why did you come?" I blurted.

"Because I knew saying yes to Chelsea would be a hell of a lot easier to endure than having to deal with her begging me until I gave in."

"Well, if it's any consolation, I said yes before I even knew you were going to be here, but I'm starting to think maybe I should have reconsidered if you're going to act like this."

He let out an exasperated laugh as he ran an uneasy hand through his hair. "You still don't get it, do you?"

"I don't know what it is I'm supposed to get, Jason," I hissed, trying my best to keep my voice low and our conversation to appear casual even as my frustrations rose. "You're the one who couldn't even stand to be in the same Uber with me."

"She told you that?"

"Yeah, she did. Because that's what friends do. They tell each other things."

He scoffed, shaking his head. "Sam, you need to stop putting so much weight into what Chelsea tells you."

"Who did I tell what now?" Chelsea asked as she bounded into our conversation, and I was visually relieved at her appearance.

"All checked in?" I asked her, turning to Jason and blatantly ending the conversation.

"Yes, and no," she said, glancing quickly between Jason and me. "The room isn't ready yet- they'll call me once it is. But our bags are going to be brought there for us and we can spend the time waiting at the poolside bar, drinking as much as we want in the meantime."

"Great, I'll meet you there," Jason said flatly, walking away before either of us could question his decision.

We both watched him walk through the hotel lobby, out through the open arches that let towards the various pools and beachfront.

"I wonder what's gotten into him," Chelsea muttered, and I took the moment to pounce.

"Maybe you can tell me."

She turned to me. "Maybe we should get a drink first."

I didn't disagree.

***

We both ordered our fruity rum drinks as we sat on the patio of one of the hotel's many interior restaurants. I put on my sunglasses and tossed my dark hair up into a messy bun while Chelsea seemed unaffected by the heat in her blonde bob. I watched her, waiting for her to begin the conversation, but her attention remained on the shoreline in the distance. Was she looking for Jason? Wondering if he was going to search us out while we were talking about him?

I really didn't care anymore.

I opened my mouth, ready to say anything to regain her attention, but she cut me off before I could even begin, her attention remaining on the horizon.

"He was never the same after you left," she murmured.

I blinked. "I don't expect any of us to remain the same. We grow older, we move on—"

"But he didn't." She finally turned to look at me. "Whatever happened between the two of you, whatever you did to him—"

"I didn't do anything," I snapped defensively.

"Are you sure? Would you even remember if you did?"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Chelsea just shook her head. "Not everyone has the luxury of picking up and moving out like you did, Sam. Not all of us were able to leave behind the bad to try to focus on something good."

"I went away to school, Chel. I wasn't running away."

"Did you even make the effort to call?"

"I called you. Often! And we talked... whenever you picked up the phone!"

"But did you try calling him?"

Now it was my turn to turn my direction towards the shoreline. No sign of Jason from where we sat, but the dark clouds were rolling in on the horizon, darker now in the fading light of the setting sun.

The truth was, no, I hadn't tried contacting him. Not after graduation. Not the summer before I left, or after leaving, or even when I came back... I had received every indication he wanted nothing to do with me ever again, which was evident by the fact he hadn't attempted once to contact me in those five years either.

But did that make it right?

The server returned with our drinks, and no sooner had he left than did Chelsea get the call from the front desk.

"Our room is ready," she said, standing from her seat with drink in hand. "Why don't you go find Jason while I check it out?"

"Why don't we both go find him and then we can all go to the room together?"

"Or, why don't I tell you it's suite 126 and I go on ahead to make sure they didn't screw over our reservation while you take your drink, find Jason, and neither of you come to the room if you're going to act like children all week."

I glared at her even as I stood and took my drink. "Can I at least have a key?"

"Nope," was all she said as she sauntered away.

I sipped on my pina colada as I watched her cut through the hotel lobby back to the main desk, and I had the nagging sensation that convincing Jason and me to join her on this vacation might not have been just because she wanted to get away for a week.