Rush: Chapter 18

I continued down the alley and turned the corner. As I did, I saw the blond girl Arthur was talking to earlier.1

"You're Scarlett?" she asked.2

"Yeah," I said reluctantly. I slowly reached for my bag and my gun. After all, I didn't know who she was or who she may have been working for.3

"I'm Guinevere," she said, holding out her hand. I dropped my guard, as Arthur had mentioned her earlier.4

I took her hand and said, "Oh, yeah. Arthur talked about you."5

"I've been looking for you," she said.6

"Why?"7

"Well, ever since you split with Lance, he's been acting... different. It's like he's just not the same person."8

"We didn't 'split.' He betrayed me," I said. Everyone made it sound like we were dating, and it annoyed me.9

"About that. Lance isn't the kind to go around betraying people. That's the one part of his name he always hated. And now, it's even worse because you're accusing him of turning on you."10

"Look, why don't you just mind your own business? I did what I had to." 11

I began to walk away but she called after me, "Will you wait a moment? That came out wrong, just stop and listen for a second." I was a little ticked at her, but I stopped anyway. "Lance may be a bit of a scoundrel, but that's only because he has to. He's been trying to find out more on the NLA for days just so he can prove to you he's not a traitor."12

I still didn't believe her but the way she talked about Lance was a little strange. "Why do you care about him so much anyway? It's not like his actions or feelings are hurting you in any way."13

She faltered. "He's... a good friend. And a great guy," she was trying to persuade me on the last sentence, pleading with me.14

I gave a sly smile. "You like him, don't you?"15

"Sure, but that's not the point right now-"16

"Man, you guys really stick to your roles, don't you?" I said, heckling her for some fun.17

"I don't like him because of the name! It just... happened like that."18

"Well, if Lance is so bummed out, why doesn't his little sweetheart go to cheer him up?" I was having way to much fun with this. It might have been a little mean, but I didn't care.19

"He doesn't know how I feel yet," Guinevere replied quietly.20

"Then now's your chance, isn't it?"21

"I can't tell him!"22

"Why not?"23

"Because, he likes you."24

This shut me up for a bit, but I calmly replied, "Has he said that aloud?"25

"No, but I can just tell."26

"Listen. Lance and I were just partners for the time-being. He knew that, and I knew that. Neither of us had feelings for one another. And it's not like it matters now, anyway. He turned on me, so if he really liked me, he wouldn't have done that."27

"Scarlett, you're the only one who thinks he betrayed you."28

"Arthur didn't seem to have much trouble believing it."29

"There's no way Arthur REALLY believes that. He just wants to keep Lance out of danger."30

"Look, Lance chose to join me, and then he chose to betray me. I don't see how that's so hard to accept."31

"Because you don't know Lance like I do!" Guinevere shouted at me. "And if you can't see how much he cares about you, then you don't deserve him!" At this, she stormed off and left me standing alone.32

Ouch. That stung.33

"Look, I can't take their word for it. It's just too risky." This thought seemed to comfort me.34

I began to think about what Guinevere had said about Lance being depressed. Somehow, I couldn't imagine lance being like that.35

"Lance isn't a moper," I thought. "He gets the job done, no matter how complicated the circumstances. If he were in my place, he would've done the same thing."36

That was a little bit of an epiphany, but it really made me feel better. Lance may have betrayed me, but if the Lance I knew was really being honest with me about his personality, he would understand. He wouldn't give up, but he would know why I did what I did.37

Lance may have been out of the picture, but I smiled as I knew he was still with me in spirit.