Invisible String

By Reid Rushbrook

When Reid falls in love with her best friend, she must choose between becoming her true self or living a life she knows is a lie.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Reid Rushbrook
• Release date: Oct 26, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215330272

Book preview

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, events, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Title: Invisible String / Reid Rushbrook.

Description: First edition. | New Jersey: BookBaby

Summary: When Reid falls in love with her best friend, she must choose between becoming her true self or living a life she knows is a lie.

The text of this book is set in Georgia and 12-point Times New Roman.

Cover design by Reid Rushbrook

Printed in the United States of America

First Edition

For you, my Love.

Thank you for making our love story my favorite.  I love you mostest of all forever and always, Baby.

-Your Honey Bee

contents

chapter one:  gorgeous

chapter two: it’s nice to have a friend

chapter three: wildest dream

chapter four: i think he knows

chapter five: love story

chapter six: lover

chapter seven: it’s time to go

chapter eight: we are never ever getting back together

chapter nine: i did something bad

chapter ten: getaway car

chapter eleven: invisible string

chapter twelve: you belong with me

chapter thirteen: daylight

chapter fourteen: paper rings

chapter one

gorgeous

The year is 2018. It’s a sweltering July afternoon, and I’m going to my first real job interview. I’m convinced it’s pointless and nothing but the experience of answering questions about myself in a job interview is going to come of it. Thank goodness I was wrong.

I drive over to my interview a day early to make sure I could find the place so that I won’t be late the day of my interview, and it’s a good thing I do, because I get lost. I end up in the back parking lot of a window tinting establishment. I find the location of the doctors’ office I’m applying to about ten minutes later. I sit in the parking lot for a few minutes contemplating my possible future inside that building. It felt like a pipe dream. An impossibility. The anticipation is too much for me, and I drive away.

The next day, I walk in and speak to the woman at the front desk.

Hi, I’m here for a job interview. I announce to the entire waiting room and immediately regret it.

Okay, have a seat, she says. What if I don’t get the job? Everyone will see me when I walk out, and they’ll know how terribly it went.

Reid? Oh no, that’s me. I turn at the sound of my name to see Karen, the woman I emailed about the job, holding the door open for me. She is wearing a floor length dress with flowers on it. She tells me that the office only works half days on Wednesday and that’s why the office is empty. She takes me back to an office where she says Dr. Howes will be joining us shortly. She leaves the room, and I am alone with my thoughts. I’m trying not to panic. Don’t think, don’t think, don’t think, I chant to myself. Karen returns with Dr. Howes, and I stand up quickly.

Hello, Ron Howes, nice to meet you. Dr. Howes reaches out for a handshake. I stretch out my hand in return and shake his hand firmly.

Hi, Reid Rushbrook. It’s great to meet you, Dr. Howes.

Please, call me Ron.

From there, it’s mostly a blur. In less than ten minutes, they are asking me if I want the job. So, what do you think? Would you like to work with us? I’m shocked to hear these words come out of their mouths. I try to form a response in my head, but I’m speechless.

How about this, take a few days to think about it and get back to us with your decision? Karen suggests. In the meantime, can we show you around the office just to give you a little bit more information about what we do here and introduce you to the rest of the staff?

Now that I’ve had a moment to compose myself, I say, Sure, that would be great. They take me to the nurses’ station to introduce me to several employees. I forget their names as soon as they say them, except for one: Anne.

This is Anne...Anne, this is Reid, Karen introduces us.

Hi, nice to meet you, I’m Reid. I shake her hand. Something in me clicks, but I’m not sure what.

Nice to meet you! I’m Anne, the nurse practitioner, she says.

Her voice is calming. Her smile is kind, inviting. Her hand is soft, warm. Her eyes are the color of the ocean. A shade I didn’t know existed in eyes. I can tell from the vibe in the room that she’s everyone’s favorite. I have an urge to be friends with her. But how could someone like me, become friends with someone like her. She drops my hand. I walk away to meet rest of the staff. There’s a tug on my arm, but when I look down there’s nothing there. After meeting a quirky physician who is eager to know if I believe in aliens (which I don’t; although, I feel like I should say yes), I walk out feeling like my soul has been recharged. I mistakenly give credit to that feeling because of being offered the job. But it was her. It’s always been her. Gorgeous, it’s always been you.

chapter two

it’s nice to have a friend

After a few days, I decide to accept the job. I send an email back to Karen accepting the position. On July 31st, my alarm goes off. Today is the first day of the rest of my life.

When I arrive, Karen begins to show me the ropes. It’s nerve wracking working for a doctor, but Dr. Howes seems like a nice person. It’s hard for me to focus because I can’t stop listening to Anne. Her voice is soothing like a lullaby. She’s pregnant with her second baby girl, and I can’t help but feel drawn to her. I long to wait on her. To be the one to bring her whatever she needs and go with her to her appointments. To be her best friend.

Then one afternoon, Anne asks, Hey, wanna go for a walk with us? Two of my other coworkers, Penny and Leah, are standing with Anne waiting to take their after-lunch walk. I hesitate because what I really want is to be Anne’s friend and not so much the other two. But I decide to take the invitation anyway. Sure, I say as I try not to show too much enthusiasm. I hope that this is what it will take for us to go from acquaintances to friends.

After tagging along on many walks with Penny and Leah, eventually, it’s just Anne and me. I have longed for this for what seemed like an eternity. Over the miles, the two of us get to know each other. We become friends rather than acquaintances. We walk with our lunch so that we can talk freely to each other without interruption. Anne is the best friend I have.

It’s now the summer of 2020, and I am in the midst of one of the worst depressive episodes I have ever had. My marriage of three years with my husband, Fischer, is failing. A year ago, he asked me if we could have an open marriage because he doesn’t feel connected to me anymore. He’s even told me that he can’t tell me he loves me. And to make things even more complicated, I think I’m falling in love with Anne. But I know she would never fall in love with me. I can’t tell her and risk ruining our friendship. Even if it didn’t ruin our friendship, I’m certain she wouldn’t fall in love with someone like me. On today’s walk during lunch, I decide to tell Anne that Fischer wants an open marriage but keep the part about me being obsessed with her to myself. Our walks usually consist of Anne doing most of the talking because it’s easier for me to listen rather than compose my own thoughts. She knows this of course. But it’s also because her voice is the only thing that soothes me. So, I’m sure it comes to a shock to her when I start a new conversation.

So, I need to tell you something. I’ve been dealing with this for over a year, and I just can’t keep it to myself any longer. But I need you to promise me you won’t tell anyone, especially Fischer that I talked to you about it.

Okay, I won’t tell anyone. You can tell me. she says.

Fischer wants to have an open marriage. He told me out of nowhere about two years into our marriage that he didn’t feel like I loved him the way he needed to be loved. He also said he didn’t think I was capable of doing so because I don’t like having sex. Sex is like the most important thing to him, and I just hate it. I don’t know what to do anymore.

Silence.

Finally, after several moments she responds.

Okay...so why not just divorce him?

I can’t. I say immediately.

Why not?

Well for one, my parents and his would be devastated. And I need his income. I can’t live on my own.

I don’t think your parents would be devastated. They want what’s best for you and clearly, it’s not what’s best for you now. What makes you think things would be better if you guys had an open marriage?

That’s the thing: I know it wouldn’t make anything better if we had an open marriage. I just can’t convince him of that.

So, back to option one. She says.

No. I insist.

Reid. Do you even love him?

Yes...I think so?