I owe you an apology, and I’d be grateful for the opportunity to give it to you in person. Would you be willing to video chat with me? I’m available whenever it’s convenient for you.
Sincerely,
Rhys
Rhys held the cursor over the send button for several seconds until he finally worked up the nerve to click it. Then the email was gone, and he was committed to this path, no matter where it led him.
After that, he tried not to hover over his email despite his urge to hit the refresh button every ten seconds. He made himself walk away from the computer and put his phone down while he heated up some of the chicken casserole Viv had brought, and he told himself that it was okay to keep his phone by his plate while he ate as long as he waited for the alert sound that signaled a new email instead of picking it up constantly.
It was around 11PM when an email from Thomas finally arrived.
Rhys -
I am available now for a short time before I have to go to set. Otherwise it will have to wait until tomorrow evening your time, since I have long days.
Thomas
Rhys didn’t want to wait another whole day and battle his nerves the entire time, so he quickly closed the email app and initiated a video call with Thomas, his stomach tying itself in knots while he waited for Thomas to accept it.
It took a minute or so for the connection to be made, and then Thomas appeared on the screen. He was obviously in a hotel room, but it was hard to read his expression. Rhys did notice that Thomas looked tired, and there were dark circles under his eyes.
“All right, I’m here,” Thomas said, and there was a wary tone in his voice that Rhys had never heard before.
“Thanks for agreeing to speak with me,” Rhys said, swallowing hard against his nervousness. “I appreciate it.”
Thomas shrugged. “We used to be friends. That’s the only reason I’m giving you a chance.”
Ouch. If Rhys had any doubts about how much damage he’d inflicted on Thomas, he knew the extent of it now, and he wanted nothing more than to make things right between them again. He couldn’t think of an easy way to start, and he figured since time was short, he needed to be direct anyway.
“Thomas, I’m sorry I was such an idiot,” he said, searching Thomas’s face for any slight reaction that might offer hope. “I’m sorry I hurt you. I’m sorry I tried to push you toward Scott. That was the single most dumbass thing I’ve ever done in my life, and I regret it.”
Thomas looked at him searchingly for several long moments. “Fine. Apology accepted. Was there anything else?” His voice seemed as cold and remote as the moon.
This was going to be even more difficult than Rhys expected, but he knew he deserved whatever recriminations Thomas wanted to throw at him.
“Yes, actually, there is.” He braced himself to speak aloud things he’d barely allowed himself to acknowledge in the privacy of his own mind. The apology had been the easy part. This was the more difficult part by far. “I’m sorry I didn’t give us a fair chance. I let fear get the better of me, and I ruined something that could have been amazing. But I’ve had a lot of time to think since you left. Plenty of time to realize how badly I fucked up. How much I miss you.” He straightened his shoulders, readying himself for the potential rejection. “I’m tired of being ruled by fear. I’ll go to grief counseling or couples counseling or read self-help books — whatever it takes to win your trust again because I’m falling in love with you.”
A flicker of something played over Thomas’s face, but with the video connection, Rhys couldn’t tell if it was surprise or disbelief. Maybe both. Thomas gazed back at him without speaking for what seemed like ages, and when he spoke again, the wariness was back in his voice.
“Words are easy, Rhys, especially when we aren’t even in the same country.” Thomas rubbed his forehead as staving off a headache. “I believed you when you said you’d give us a chance, and we know how that turned out, so I’m not about to drop everything and come running back. But here’s what I’m willing to do. After we wrap up filming, I’ll fly into Asheville. If you’ll pick me up at the airport, you can say that to me in person.”
“I’ll be there,” Rhys said quickly, relieved he was being given a chance. “Will you say it back?”
But Thomas only looked at him for another moment. “I guess we’ll find out in a few weeks unless you change your mind. If you do, please email me, so I can skip Asheville and go directly back to New Mexico. Goodbye, Rhys.”
With that, Thomas closed the connection, his image disappearing from Rhys’s screen.
Rhys sat back in his chair and rubbed his chin, replaying the conversation in his mind and trying to figure out what Thomas might be thinking. But the bottom line was, there were only two ways for this to end. Either Thomas would forgive him and give him the chance to prove he was trustworthy again or Thomas was going to use the meeting at the airport as an opportunity to lay into Rhys and cut him off for good.
And now Rhys had to wait and wonder which it was going to be. In the meantime, there was something he could do for himself. He got online and did a quick search, and then he reached for his phone and dialed a number.
“Hi, I’d like to make an appointment with Dr. Phillips. I’d like to speak with her about dealing with my husband’s death.”
