TAINTED

Chapter 30

IVY

Two Years Later...

Two weeks ago, I became a college graduate. I was the first person in my family to obtain a college diploma, and my mother and Eddie couldn't have been more proud. They were so proud they surprised me with a plane ticket to New York. Missy was cast in her first big Broadway production, and Eddie and I flew down together to attend her debut performance. It was my first time on an airplane or leaving the state of Montana, and I couldn't have been more ready to spread my wings.

Eddie had already travelled to New York several times to visit Missy. They were together now and trying to make it work long-distance. It proved challenging with Missy destined for great things on stage, and Eddie stuck in Montana running the General Store. But they were so in love that distance didn't matter much to them. I hated the slight twinge of jealousy I felt when I thought of their happiness. Of course, I was pleased they were together; it just sucked because I was still licking my wounds over Rhys even though so much time had passed. I tried to move on, too. I did, but no one I've dated since then has ever come close to Rhys. I missed him terribly.

Eddie and Missy were lucky to be able to make things work between them regardless of all the obstacles in their way. He was a one-woman kind of man, and no matter how famous Missy would become, she would always be a country girl at heart. I was shocked when Eddie confessed he'd been considering a move to New York. His only struggle with leaving Montana was parting from our mother and leaving her to run the General Store on her own. I never thought my flannel shirt-wearing, truck-driving brother would want to roam the streets of New York, but I guess love does change everything. Whatever Eddie decides, I know it will all work out for the best.

School has kept me busy, my internship in Fredrickton has kept me busy, applying to grad school has kept me busy, and even Missy and Eddie have kept me busy with constant FaceTime sessions. My hard work and internship paid off because I was accepted into the School of Journalism at the University of Mississippi. I was excited to continue my education and start a new chapter in my life. Because despite all the distractions and successes, it was a tough couple of years for me.

The enormity of learning how Eddie interfered with Rhys and me was hard to accept. I remained disappointed with Eddie for quite some time afterward. Blaine and I did end up reconnecting before he left for France. He came to Missoula to gather his belongings from my dorm room. He was still very hurt and angry with me; of course, he had every right to be. We both cried, and I apologized relentlessly for hurting him. I confessed everything Rhys and I had done that summer, and I told him I never meant to cause him any pain. He boldly asked if I genuinely loved Rhys, and I confessed that I did. Even though he looked so wounded and heartbroken from my omission, his final hug gave me his silent forgiveness. It pained me to know nothing would ever be the same between us. He wished me well when he left, and I wished him the same. I haven't seen him since, but I did hear from Missy that Blaine graduated from the University of Paris and was accepted somewhere in Eastern Europe to complete an MBA.

Of course, I was never busy enough to forget about Rhys, though. Nor would the universe let me. His songs were all over country radio. A quick Google search told me that he secured a publishing deal with one of the top Country Music record labels once he moved to Nashville. Within the first year, three of his songs were recorded by famous country music artists, and two of his songs made it into the top five country songs of the year – his most famous song was called Hometown Girl. I couldn't listen to his songs whenever they came on the radio, though. It was too painful and stirred up emotions I'd rather forget existed. Rumours swirled around in the country music world that he would be nominated for a CMA for best breakout songwriter, and whispers were all over the internet that Rhys would release an album.