But It Isn't Right (Duskwood Fanfic)

Episode 9 - No Rest

I ran out into the living room of the cabin. "Guys!" Everyone converged on me and I swallowed down my fear to give them the information they deserved to have. "I just got a call from...from Phil. He threatened to kill all of you. He said he's gonna make me watch, and then he'll come for me."

"Kill us?" Jessy asked, her lips trembling. "Even me?" she queried in a small voice.

"I'm sorry, he named each one of you specifically."

While the others talked, I went to Jessy. "How are you doing with all of this?"

"First he takes Richy, and now my brother threatens my life," she says bitterly.

"And Hannah, too," I added, wondering why she left her out.

"Yes, but, Richy..." she started crying, and I pulled her into her bedroom, away from the others.

"Jessy, is there something you'd like to tell me about Richy?" I said, rubbing her shoulder.

She shook her head. "It doesn't matter. He's in love with you." 

I decided against telling her that Phil claimed he had killed Richy. I didn't want to believe it. "It does matter, Jessy. All this time I've been confiding in you about him, and I want you to be able to confide in me, too."

"He's the reason I stayed in Duskwood," she said. I nodded, unsurprised. "Even after my grandmother died. I started working at the shop and having feelings for him. But I never acted on them, and he never did anything either. I just assumed he wasn't interested in me."

I smiled at her. "Jessy, do you know what one of my first conversations with Richy was? Once I became part of the group, I mean."

"No, what?"

"I asked him if he was in love with you because it was pretty obvious to me that he had feelings for you. He denied it, and I let it go. I actually had forgotten about it until right now. I'm sorry that I got so wrapped up that I never even discussed things with you before I started anything with him."

"Well, see, he denied it. So there you go."

"But, Jessy, I think he was lying to himself. You know what happened to him. It took him over three years and someone threatening me for him to admit he had feelings for me. And come to think of it, he only asked me to meet for dinner after you said he should. Maybe he was still holding out hope for you, but you gave him the go-ahead to be with someone else."

"Well, I'm sure it doesn't matter now anyway. Because he wants to be with you, and...and he might be dead."

"Jessy," I took a deep breath. "I don't believe he's dead. And you're a good friend. I think you're probably my best friend. There's no way that I would let any guy come between us. So it absolutely does matter how you feel. Why didn't you tell me?" I felt so guilty. She was clearly hurting, and I had contributed to that. How much had it bothered her to hear me whining about which guy I should choose when the only one for her was Richy? I felt like garbage.

"I just want him to be happy. I want both of you to be happy."

"But what about you? Don't you deserve happiness as well, Jessy?"

She sobbed. "I miss him so much. If he comes back, then I don't care who he's with, as long as he's alive and safe." We both cried. I couldn't hug her, and she didn't reach for me. It felt too awkward. There was a big rift between us now. I wanted to fix it, but I wasn't sure there was anything I could do to bring things back to how they were before. And what could I say that was both honest and fair to everyone involved?

I left Jessy's room and closed the door quietly behind me. I made it back into my room before I broke down completely. I had to put a pillow to my face to muffle my crying; the last thing I needed was anyone coming in here and seeing how utterly sad and ashamed I was.