× Mercury
Six Years Later

The engagement ring was the most beautiful thing I've ever laid my eyes on.

The brilliant round diamond in the center sparkled like a million suns. The white gold colorless cut was tastefully sized, haloed by four silver claws to keep it in place. It was attached to a traditional platinum straight band with additional encrusted stones around the edge. It was naturally flawless and absolutely gorgeous.

"This is beautiful, Jam," I said, holding the ring up so the diamond catches in the light.

Jamie sat on the chair watching me, eyes full of joy as I admired her engagement ring.

I remembered a little over a week ago how I was sitting on a train on my way to Boston when my phone had rang. Before I could even say hello, Jamie was screaming in my ear, shouting words I couldn't understand. Even though she was incomprehensive, I knew exactly what she was overjoyed about. Jace had called me a month ago asking for advice on how to propose to her, which only resulted in me screaming in his ear.

Now I was back in Los Angeles for the first time in seven months, seeing my two best friends happily engaged to each other.

"That professional soccer career of yours is really paying off, eh?" I asked Jace who was sitting in the living room watching golf on TV.

"LA Galaxy has its moments," he said with a smile. "You'll have to come to a game sometime. You can be a cheerleader alongside Jamie."

"As if," Jamie snorted. "Only if you're a cheerleader for my games."

I watched as they bickered back and forth, my heart aching from missing them so much. Ever since I graduated from UCLA, I've been traveling the world - everywhere from Canada to Italy to Russia. I had just gotten back from visiting this cute little town in Michigan called Mackinac Island. Apparently vehicles have been banned in the city since 1898, the people either traveling by bike or horse carriage.

Traveling that much without a steady income was challenging, but nothing hurt as much as leaving Grandma and my friends behind. But this was what I wanted to do; traveling the world.

But I missed out on seeing Jace and Jamie play professionally. This was their dream from a young age and I yet had to see them in action.

"Did you hear about Macey?" Jamie asked through my thoughts.

"No, what's going on with her?"

"She got a promotion as executive editor!"

"Seriously!?"

In the past six years, I was most proud of Macey McGrath. She was crushed when she wasn't recruited to go professionally, but in the long run, she was happy that she wasn't. Just like me, she realized that the soccer life just wasn't for her, and she was more worried about breaking the news to her famous soccer playing mother, Elizabeth McGrath.

It turned out that Macey didn't have anything to worry about. Elizabeth was okay with it, as long as her daughter was happy. Ever since then, Macey has been going out and finding miscellaneous jobs - assistant at a car insurance company, a medical courier. Until she found an opening for an internship at Self magazine. Years passed and now she's nearly at the top. And she did it all on her own, with no help from her celebrated mother.

"She also wrote her first solo article," Jamie explained, an admirable smile on her lips. "It'll be featured in the September issue. She's so excited, and apparently the pay is really good."

I handed the ring back to her. "What's Emily doing?"

Jamie looked at the ring as it sparkled in the light. "She's still in town," she said, slipping the diamond onto her fourth finger. "Owns that martial art studio in Crestwood Hills. She came over the other day to visit. She's been seeing a guy regularly, too."

Unlike Macey, Emily Martin was recruited on a team. Unfortunately for that team, she said no. They were located too far away and she wanted to stay in the surrounding area. Emily wasn't too heartbroken as she had found her love in kicking people's ass a long time ago. But I've known Emily to not date someone regularly, so that was surprising news to me.

There was a knock on the front door and Jace left the room to answer it.

"So..." I said with a rise of my brow. "Who's going to be the maid of honor?"

Jamie hadn't changed a bit in these six years; she still looks like the same tiny girl I met in our first year of college. The only difference is that she cut her red hair to her shoulders and gave herself some bangs to "try something spontaneous" she had said. And for her, that was pretty reckless.

"I was thinking Emily," Jamie stated to my disappointment. "She's always here and visiting Jace and I. Besides, she would have a killer idea for a bachelorette party."

I leaned my elbow on the table and placed my head in my hand. "You're probably right about that."

Then Jamie laughed. "I'm joking! You know I'd pick you as the maid of honor."

My frown quickly changed into the widest grin I could muster. But before I could stand up and hug my best friend, Jace came back into the living room with a little girl at his feet.

The girl's hair reminded me of someone I once knew. The line between brunette and black blurs beautifully with the deepest of dark brown as it lay straight down her back, pulled away from her face with butterfly clips. She was the spitting image of her mother, until the little girl looked at me and the ghost of my past resurfaced.

There was no denying this child was Bradley's. They were the type of brown that was like sweet chocolate - the chocolate that melts at the slightest bit of heat from love. Those brown eyes were the same ones I used to look into every day, hoping one day they would melt because of me.

"Isabella came to play," Jace said as the little girl ran to Jamie, wrapping her little arms around her legs. "Lucy has to go into work for an hour and wondered if we were willing to babysit."

"Always," Jamie grinned as she picked up the little girl and sat her on her lap. "Isabella, this is my friend Lynn. She used to play on the same soccer team as your mom and I."

The little girl didn't say anything. She looked at me with those large brown eyes as she stuck her thumb in her mouth.

I couldn't help but think I was staring at my what-could-have-been. If I would have stayed with Bradley, this might have happened to me. We were careful, but something was bound to happen. This little girl sitting on Jamie's lap could have been mine.

"Is, uh..." I started and trailed off, not sure how to put it.

"Bradley visits them once and a while," Jace said, knowing what I was trying to say. "He's far from Number One Dad, but it's a start."

I didn't ask for any more information. I had manage to get Bradley out of my mind and out of every action I did since traveling, I didn't want to stir up more dirt asking what he was doing and if he ever asks about me. As far as I was concerned, Bradley wasn't part of my life anymore and I've never been happier since.

My phone started vibrating in my pocket and I took it out and smiled at the caller ID. I excused myself from the living room and made my way into the kitchen, answering the call.

"Hey, you," I said into the receiver.

"When were you going to tell me you were back in town!?" Coach Sharp shouted in my ear. "I had to hear it from Emily."

Hearing my old coach and family friend's voice for the first time in a long time made my smile bigger. "I'm sorry; I got back a couple of hours ago. You know that I had to go see Grandma before anyone else. And I know you know about Jamie's engagement so naturally I had to go see her ring in person. Pictures just don't do those diamonds justice."

"It's beautiful, isn't it? Jamie's a lucky girl, and Jace is such a sweetheart."

I remember when I first met Jace. Right from the beginning those two were flirting up a storm, exchanging numbers almost immediately. Cupid couldn't have picked a better match for those two.

"I'm in town for a few days, I'll make sure to come see you before I leave," I told her.

"You better!" she expressed. "And come prepared to play, I gotta know if you lost your touch with soccer with all this traveling."

I laughed and leaned against the island counter. "We should get the old team together someday and have a reunion scrimmage. I miss everyone."

"And they miss you, kiddo."

I promised her that I would see her tomorrow and then we bid our goodbyes. I ended the call and put the phone back in my pocket.

That was when I received a text from Anders asking how I was doing staying at his place. For the short time I would be in Los Angeles, I was staying in my brother's house. The only problem with that was: he wasn't even in the United States.

Anders was no longer working for the air force due to medical discharge for his newly messed up foot, but was offered to hand out his knowledge of the field to other soon-to-be pilots. The only problem was that he was to teach aviation to Italians. He left a few weeks ago for Italy and offered me the place to stay whenever I wanted to go home.

It sucked because I couldn't even remember the last time I saw Anders, but on the other hand I was extremely proud of him.

From the other room, I heard laughter that was followed by a high pitch squeal.

Peeking around the corner, I saw Isabella on the floor of the living room, face full of laughter as Jace was on his knees in front of her, tickling the little girl's belly. Jamie sat in the chair beside them, an affectionate smile on her lips. It felt like I was eavesdropping into a tender moment with a family and my heart swelled.

Isabella couldn't be more than six-years-old. If I was being honest with you, I didn't even want to be in the same room as her. As cruel as that sounds, it's the truth. It wasn't because I hated kids (although, that has something to do with it), but seeing her not only stirred up painful memories with Bradley, but because I was so close to having a child around the same age with someone different.

That pregnancy scare still haunts me. Ever since then, I've been overly protective. I even skirted the idea of cutting off sex all together, but I was a twenty-six-year-old women, I had needs that had to be met.

"You alright?" Jamie asked from behind me, making me jump.

I was too zoned out on the little girl that I didn't even notice her get up from the chair and enter the kitchen from the other side.

"Yeah," I said with a nod. "It's just... she looks so much like Bradley."

Jamie crossed her arms and took the few steps toward me. "Lynn," she said. She only stood at 4'11", but the way she was looking at me made me feel like the small one. "Are you really alright?"

That's when I knew she wasn't asking because of Isabella, but she was asking as a whole. I've always known Jamie to be small and underestimated because of her size, but she was also misjudged when it came to me. She knew me better than I did myself because it wasn't until she said that did I understand that I really wasn't alright.

I slumped against the wall. "I don't know anymore," I told her honestly. "Lately I feel like I'm missing out on something. I thought coming home would make me feel better, but so far it's only opened my eyes that everyone around me is happy and I'm just... surviving."

"Is traveling not something you want to do anymore?"

Leaning my head against the wall, I sighed. "I'm not sure. It was fun in the beginning. I went to Greece and took amazing photographs. I even made some good money off them, but it's not something I can make a living on. I need something more solid."

"Jace knows people in London who can get you a job as a photographer assistant for sports games," Jamie told me. "You would be doing two things you love, taking pictures and watching sports."

With all this traveling I hadn't had much time to chill out and kick a soccer ball around. I think that was what I missed the most.

"I don't know," I whispered. "When I walk around this town, I don't see the same stuff I used to. It's like everyone here moved on with their lives and I'm still living in the past. I haven't accomplished anything."

Jamie looked out to the living room. Jace was now on his knees as he was braiding Isabella's hair, the TV turned to a cartoon that the little girl was engrossed in. It was clear from the look on Jamie's face that she was in love with the boy in the living room. It made my heart swell with something I couldn't quite detect.

"This might not make you feel better, but I want you to know that not everyone is happy where they ended up," Jamie said, a small smile forming on her lips. "Katie Vender was caught selling weed. She's in jail for two years."

My jaw dropped. "You're kidding."

Jamie laughed. "Karma, thou art a heartless bitch."

Both Katie and her cousin, Ethan, got what they deserved in the end, so I should have been happy about that, but even as I laughed, there was still a hole in the middle of my chest.

The sun streamed through the windows of the kitchen, yet my mind was clouded with grey.

I've felt like this one time before and that was when I was just figuring out that I really didn't want to go professionally, and that my true passion was photography. The only difference now is that photography was still most definitely what I wanted to do... but something else that wasn't quite right - something that was missing.

But I didn't have much time to dwell on it because something stuck to the fridge with a magnet in a shape of a cat caught my attention.

I brushed passed Jamie and removed the card from the fridge and read the fancy lettering on the cover.

Please join us for the wedding of
Elise Catherine Bouvier
&
Niall James Horan

The news went through me like a tsunami.

I clutched the card stock in my hands and stood completely still, like if I were to move, the world would fall off its axis.

The heartache was like a wolf eating at my chest, tearing its way to my trembling heart. It threatened to devour, eat me whole, and leave nothing but scraps behind. It started at my fingers; numbness took over my limbs inch-by-inch as the creature continued to consume my being. Pain hit my ribs, and then my gut, until the only thing left was my beating heart.

"Lynn..." I heard Jamie say carefully, but it sounded far away as I was too focused on the fancy lettering of his name.

My thumb ran over the careful cursive of the text, the slight indentation and the smoothness of the gold against cream. Suddenly, I was taken back six years ago, to the time in my life I would never forget, and forever regret.

"When did you find out?" I asked, not taking my eyes off the invitation.

Jamie took a step toward me. She was being careful, like one wrong move would throw everything off balance. "A while ago," she finally admitted.

I looked up at her. The expression on her face said sorry, but all I felt was betrayal. "Why the hell didn't you say anything?"

"We were told not to."

"By him!?"

She didn't respond, but she didn't have to.

It felt like concrete was drying in my chest. The heartbreak was unexpected, as they always were - top of the world one minute and cut down the next. It flowed through my veins and frozen my mind. It was a poison to my spirit, killing off other emotions until it was the only one that remained. There was nothing left of me except for a heavy heart and piercing despondency.

And still, the wolf tore at me.

I peered at the card, reading the date in the same easy to read font. July 26.

Tomorrow.

I dropped the invitation, but I didn't stick around to watch it fall to the floor. I was out of the kitchen in a flash and passed Jace and the little girl and down the steps to the split-level landing. It wasn't until I had my shoes on and tugging on a jacket did Jamie appear at the top of the stairs.

"Where are you going?"

I took out my phone and dialed the familiar number for a cab. "Out," I told her.

Jamie started making her way down. "Lynn, don't run off. Let's talk about this for a moment."

But I was already out the door before I could hear any other reason to stay.

× × ×

The Hemingway's Lounge was always my favorite place to visit when I wanted to get away. It was like a library that sold alcoholic drinks. I always sat in the loveseat in the corner of the bar, away from all the chaos of the band performing on the stage on the other side of the room, and away from the bar and all the small chatter roaring above the music.

All around me sat books in their rightful place in the wall and pillars, everything from Shakespeare to George Orwell to Polybius.

I was in the process of booking a flight to Amsterdam when an incoming call interrupted. It was an unknown number with an unfamiliar area code so I quickly pressed ignore thinking it was a telemarketer or someone trying to trick me into giving them my personal information. Not even a second later did the same number pop up. After about the fourth time, I finally answered it.

"Listen, I can file a lawsuit against you for harassment," I sneered into the phone, making sure to keep my voice low enough for my ears only. "Calling me this many times in a row is-"

"Lynn Mercury."

I instantly stopped talking the moment I heard their voice. It had an accent, and it was low and warm and very, very familiar. I could feel a distant memory slipping to the surfacing, but it wasn't strong enough to break through.

"Do I know you?"

"I knew you'd eventually give in and answer your phone," the person laughed on the other side, yet again tickling a memory in my mind. "It's Liam Payne! You know, the lad from UNI in London. We used the darkroom together a lot."

"Oh my God..." I trailed off, the recollection finally clicking together. "Liam! Wow, it's been a long time. How have you been?"

"I'm alright, great actually. I settled down and had a kid. Started my own business that's really taking off..." He stopped for a moment. "That's actually why I called. I got your number from Jace because I have an offer for you, Lynn Mercury."

My brows pulled together in confusion. When did Liam and Jace talk? Did they even know each other in college because when they were in the same room for my gallery showing and didn't seem to know one another? But before I could ask or think further on it, Liam was continuing.

"He was telling me that you were traveling the world taking wedding pictures," he explained. "And I don't mean to step on your toes, but that can't be substantial, can it? I can imagine that you're getting enough to fly off to your next destination, but that's all."

"You're... not wrong."

"So I'm giving you an offer," Liam said cheerfully. "My business is expanding. It's a place where we specialize in weddings, engagements, children, families, and so on. I've already seen your work, and it's been years since I've seen you last so I'm sure your even better, so I know you're more than qualified. There's a new building of mine that needs someone to run. I thought maybe you might be interested."

My mouth gapped open. "You're asking me to... to run your business?"

Liam laughed. "Kind of. More like manage the building; do the hiring and booking and everything else an owner might do."

I took a moment to think about this. I didn't know what his business was called to know if I've heard of it, but I was sure it was somewhere in London so I wouldn't be surprised if I haven't. But if it's new and taking off, then maybe this was a good thing to take up. If anything, it might lead me to something better. It was a stepping stone into the industry.

"You can take time to think about it," Liam said. "But before you make a decision, know that the location isn't very convenient for you."

"Where is it at?"

"Ireland."

I exhaled a deep breath. London? Fine. Anywhere in America? Fine. Ireland? I wasn't so sure about that. I didn't know anyone in that country and I've only been there once, and even then it was only for a few days and I only saw a small town in that beautiful country.

I thanked Liam for the offer and that I would sleep on it before making a choice. He understood and told me that he didn't expect anything less. He explained that he was at the new building now and would be there for a while if I wanted to visit and check the place out. Then we said our goodbyes and I hung up the phone, staring at it for a while as I gathered all the new information.

Reaching over, I grabbed my drink and took a sip. Or more like downed the whole thing in one go.

After putting the empty glass on the table, I ran my fingers along the spine of the books beside me, grabbing a random one from the shelf. Opening the hardcover, I heard the small crack of the spine, and learned that I was the first person to open it. I looked over the aged pages, the corners thinning and yellowing. I closed it and turned to look at the cover, reading the title. Tristan and Isolde.

"Would you like a refill?" A waitress in a white shirt and black vest asked, grabbing the crystal from the coffee table in front of me.

I sat the book down in my lap and nodded. "Yes, please."

"Could you make that two?"

I turned and saw a figure appear behind me. Our eyes instantly locked and there was no amount of self-control that could make me look away.