It'd been a little over a week since Alex and I's late night encounter, our typical dynamic only shifting to dance around Sam's growing suspicions. Deep down, he knew what happened, and despite his theories being met with constant denial, he didn't need a confession. He just knew.
The times in which Alex and I found ourselves alone were few and far between, and with Sam's eyes peeled, another after-hours rendezvous was out of the question. Moments of solitude were soaked up by heavy silence—with so much left unsaid, where do you start?
I wondered how Alex felt—a notion that was all too familiar. Is he angry about the argument we had beforehand, or was it simply foreplay? If I hadn't shot back at him and just admitted my mixed feelings about Josh, would he still have pursued me? Who has feelings for me: his heart or his dick? What if—
"Sade," Alex said softly, tapping my shoulder. Through the window, Haley and Sam were deep in the pumpkin fields, both extremely focused on harvesting the perfect crop. The Stardew Valley Fair was today, and the pair insisted that they could procure a winning grange display. While, for me, it fell second to reminiscing about Alex and overanalyzing Emily's behavior, I could tell it was important to them—this farm had become theirs, too, and they deserved that recognition.
"We should talk," Alex sighed.
Suddenly, I was aware of my breathing, or lack thereof. My heart began to beat faster as I felt color flooding my face, nervousness seeping through my pores.
"Yeah, sure," I said nonchalantly, not even so much as looking over at him. "What's up?"
Hesitation polluted the air; the awkward stillness that stagnantly surrounded us was something I'd grown used to.
"I've thought about that night every day," he blurted out, his eyes still glued to the field.
"Yeah?" I croaked out, immediately kicking myself for the strained reply. Everything I should've said barreled through my mind, my thoughts moving at a million miles per hour. I have too, Alex. I've been thinking about that night since the moment I laid eyes on you—imagining what it would be like to be looked at by you—to be admired by you. I would do it again right now. God, I would do it again right now.
"I'm sorry that I asked about Josh," he said, his gaze finally meeting mine. "I shouldn't have. Of course I can't expect you to be over him. I just wanted you to be, like..." his voice trailed off as he scanned the room once more. "I don't know, honestly. Just forget it."
"Alex," I whispered, placing my hand on his cheek. "I don't want to think about Josh anymore. He's affected me for long enough."
"But what he did, Sade, it's...it's cruel. Anyone would be hung up over that."
I took a deep breath, trying to escape his words—unwelcomed pity now engulfing me. "You know that saying, the sky's the limit?" I asked as I moved my hand away, confusion spreading across his features.
"Yeah, it's every elementary school teacher's favorite damn quote. What's that got to do with anything?"
"Josh is a huge, vexing ceiling, Alex," I grumbled. "The sky can't be the limit if you can't even see the light of day."
Alex slowly nodded along, his eyebrows furrowed as the statement settled in.
"I've been through a lot with him, yes," I sighed. "But I found the strength to move forward because of you. Because of Haley. Because of Sam. I would gladly get hurt a million more times if it meant eventually finding you guys."
The words sounded painfully cliché as I spoke them, but the opportunity to dwell on it quickly dissipated as Sam burst in the front door, gasping for air.
"Sadie," Sam wheezed through sporadic, shallow breaths. "I think that animal from last week is on the loose again. I swear, it chased me all the way to the front door."
Alex's stifled snicker did not go unnoticed by Sam or myself, the sound causing Sam to give me a knowing glance. "That's crazy," I shrugged. "It must live here."
As if on cue, the front door once again swung open, revealing a disheveled Haley holding an armful of random items. "Sam!" She screeched, dropping everything to the floor. "What the fuck is wrong with you? You left me to carry all this shit and chase after you?! Who do you think I am?"
"I said we were playing tag," he whispered, his voice almost inaudible.
"Tag, my ass!" she groaned, now kneeling down to pick up the mess. "I did not agree to that. And for the record, you're a damn idiot—a slow one at that. I would've caught up to you if I didn't have a million pounds worth of stuff in my hands."
Sam shot me a wink as Haley continued to mutter under her breath, now trying to reach a jar that had rolled beneath the couch. I rolled my eyes, looking over at Alex, who still wore a goofy smile.
"Alright, you two," I laughed, feeling more and more like their mother with each passing second. "We should probably get going. Did you find enough for the display?"
"Did we find enough?" Sam scoffed. "We found more than enough. We've unearthed a winning collection, Sadie Simmons. Have a little faith."
With Sam's cocky attitude, and Haley's clear annoyance with him, I didn't dare ask what they conjured up. Guess Lewis will be the judge of that.
——————————————————
The Towne Square was bustling with life, a rare occurrence in the bubbled world of Pelican Town. Unfamiliar faces littered the area, the shrieks of children and faint carnival-esque music wafting through the air—an environment that invited a feeling of nostalgia to wash over me.
"Get a load of this, Sade," Sam called from in front of me, rushing over to the Test Your Strength booth. Visibly struggling to even pick up the mallet, his movements were quick and careless as he slammed it onto the stone plate. The indication bar lurched slightly, not moving upwards at all beyond that.
"You're like a wet tissue, boy," the man sighed as he leaned down to inspect the results. "I almost need a magnifying glass to see that. Get out of here, kid—you're wasting my time."
"Asshole," he muttered, trudging back towards the group defeatedly. Alex and Haley suppressed giggles as I gave him a pat on the shoulder. "You'll get 'em next time, tiger," I teased.
"Whatever," Sam pouted, grabbing the bag full of goodies from Haley. "He'll regret that when we win best grange display. We'll be, like, local celebrities or something, and he will wish he hadn't said that to me."
I nodded along to his story, the tale slowly becoming more and more ridiculous. His talking continuously decreased in volume, eventually reaching a mere mumble as he emptied the bag in front of our bare showcase box. Slimy, dead fish and jars of aged fruits were some of the more gruesome picks, a great contrast to the gems and artisan products that accompanied them.
"So," Haley said, elbowing me playfully. "What do you think? First place material?"
I chuckled, and so did she. "Yes," I said, my words genuine. Though initially questionable, the diverse array beautifully embodied all of the areas of hard work that we had put into the farm. "I think it's perfect."
The stands of our competitors were already complete, each one focused on the specialties of the townspeople. Pierre's booth, located directly to our left, displayed vibrant, almost unreal produce—produce that I liked to think I sold to him. Marnie was clearly our opposite neighbor, the space full of commodities hand crafted by the livestock on her ranch. Beside hers was Willy's, a sight which rendered me thankful that Sam and Haley only chose one gross, smelly fish. His was packed to the brim with them.
Next in line, however, was a booth whose owner I couldn't quite pinpoint. Similarly to ours, it was the only arrangement that didn't have a clear claim to fame. In fact, the miscellaneous collection of items could easily cause a mix up between their stall and ours, if it weren't for one thing.
The Joja logo was smeared across the front of every item.
"Weird," Haley mused, her eyes frantically examining the scene. "Morris doesn't usually compete."
"He must just want to show Pierre up once and for all," Alex laughed, light heartedly shoving her. "Relax, Haley, we will still win. No way Lewis would choose this manufactured bullshit over the livelihood of this town."
I could feel my cheeks heating up at his words. He thinks we are the livelihood of this town?
"Alright, come on," Sam groaned, grabbing the three of our arms in one, swift swoop. "Let's go get our fortunes read or something while we wait for old man Lewis to judge. I don't want to think about this anymore."
"Oh my god, yeah!" Haley squealed, practically jumping up and down out of excitement. "Sade, you have to go first. I'm telling you, this woman is, like, from the future or something."
As we walked over, the group now buzzing from excitement, anxiety began to erupt through my veins. Any situation that may reveal what Alex and I did—what I still want to do with Alex—is a situation that I absolutely do not want to be in.
"Welcome, sweethearts," an older woman hummed as we drew closer. Her eyes, though soft, scoured us, as if she were trying to signal to the universe that we had arrived.
"Ah, yes," she said. I imagined her call had gotten a response. "You—young lady with the brown hair. Come here."
Her outstretched hand was mere inches from mine; her fingertips emitted an almost magnetic pull. My mind quickly became desensitized to the chilled air that surrounded me, as if her aura had captured mine and secluded it from the bustle surrounding us.
"Sweet Sadie," she murmured, swaying slightly back and forth. Panic breaking me out of my trance, I whipped my head to glance at Haley and Sam—they seemed utterly unphased. How did she know my name? There's no way she's actually a psychic...right?
"Your past...It's full of bitterness," she started. "Much like the lingering bite of a lemon—no matter how long ago it happened, you'll always remember the sour taste it left behind."
I held my breath as she spoke, relief briefly washing over me. Okay, so she doesn't know about Alex. Or maybe she does, and she just isn't saying it. Either way, it's the past that's jumping out at her, not the present...Why?
"Sadly, my dear, you have not escaped it yet," she sighed, tightening her once comforting grip around my fingertips. "You have questions that long for an answer. That answer you seek...it is near."
Almost too abruptly for my own mind to wrap around, I yanked my hands away from her. They were now trembling and sweaty, regret slowly slithering through my wrists and spreading through the rest of me like a disease. Alex and I's conversation from that morning consumed my thoughts. I don't want to think about Josh anymore. He's affected me for long enough.
What the hell is going on?
"I'm—I'm sorry. Yeah, um, okay—guys? I bet Lewis is about to announce the grange winner. Should we—?" I stammered, the words flowing out of my mouth uncontrollably.
"Sade, are you—" Alex started.
"Yes, of course!" I said, a forced smile engraving itself on my features. "Of course I am. Can we just—?"
"Yes, love, come on," Haley said, concern written all over her face. "Let's go," she said, viciously nodding at Sam and Alex to follow.
"Sadie, good lord, what was that?" Sam said, jogging to keep up with my now accelerated pace.
"Just leave it be," Alex warned. "She's clearly spooked."
"Look, I don't know. It just freaked me out," I sighed as my stride slowed to a complete halt. "I've worked really hard to overcome the past—I just don't like the thought of having to rehash it. That's all."
Sam nodded, his witty comments finally ceasing. "I'm sorry," he whispered.
"It's okay, Sam," I smiled, dragging him by his shirt into a big bear hug. "It's okay."
The others draped their arms on top of ours, our bodies creating an entangled heap in the middle of the Towne Square. Underneath their embraces, I could feel my swarm of worries begin to dissolve; their presence simply melted them away.
"Well, well!" A booming voice spoke from behind us, causing our jumbled state to quickly disperse. "It looks like we are pretty much all here, and my, what a turnout!"
Scattered hoots and hollers arose from the crowd as Mayor Lewis's announcement echoed throughout the area. "We had a lot of amazing entries this year, and I swear, they were almost impossible to rank!" He said with a hearty laugh.
"Get to it, Lewis," Shane groaned loudly, leaning against the door to the Saloon. A couple eyes flickered towards him, their stares failing to break down his detached demeanor.
"Alright, alright—you heard the man! Let's get this show on the road," Lewis replied gingerly, his voice now laced with uneasiness. "Without further adieu, in third place..."
"Marnie!" he whistled along with the townspeople, a copper medal outstretched towards her as she approached.
"God, that's how you know ours is good," Sam quietly snickered from beside me. "Fucking him didn't even earn her a leg up."
"Wha—fucking him?" I hissed, jamming my elbow into his ribs. "Don't be ridiculous."
"It's true, Sadie. I saw it with my own eyes," Alex sighed, rubbing his temples as if trying to rid himself of the memory. "For the record, stay away from that bush near the beach—unless you want to be traumatized forever, that is."
I rolled my eyes and pivoted my body back towards the podium, where Lewis carefully brushed Marnie's hair aside before draping the glinting decoration around her neck. The thought of them hooking up was almost repulsive to me—no wonder Shane is grumpy all the time. He probably has to listen to it.
"Congratulations Marnie, you truly are a staple of this town," he said, both of their cheeks reddening into a rosy hue. I could feel my face distort into a grimace. Ew.
"Um...okay!" he said, clearing his throat as he rubbed the back of his neck with a shaky hand. "Let's go ahead and move on to second place!" he announced excitedly, holding up a silver medallion that prompted "oohs" and "ahhs" from the congregation.
"In second place today is a first time entry!"
I sighed, looking over at Haley and Sam. While Lewis's preemptive announcement crushed my sliver of hope that we might win, disappointment had yet to write itself on their faces.
"Attending all the way from Zuzu City—"
What?
My eyes scoured the exhibits, and I quickly realized that the selection had not changed since we finished setting up. Who is here from Zuzu City?
"The Joja Exhibit!"
Confusion flooded my brain as the words escaped Lewis's mouth. If the Joja Exhibit wasn't Morris, then who—?
That question was promptly answered as a suited figure approached the podium, his back facing the audience.
It wasn't until he turned around that I felt my heart drop.
Josh.