“Holden boy wasn’t always the sweetheart he claims to be now.”

“Why don’t you and I sit down and have a beer, then you can tell me more.” Micah suggested while ushering Carter to nearby empty booth.

Once seated and beer in hand, Carter continued to weave his so called perfectly plotted plan.

“Most people in town have forgotten what had conspired and moved on with their lives but not me, I had lost someone that day whom can never be replaced. It was the summer of 2013 so exactly 8 years ago, heavy storms had plagued our town turning streams into rivers. It had being the first dry afternoon in days so Holden and I decided to go down to the nearby brook and catch tadpoles. My childhood sweetheart Aria begged to tag along, she wasn’t like other girls who were afraid to get their hands dirty she was more of a tomboy.”

Carter took a sip of his drink and ran his thumb along the top of the bottle almost lost in thought. Micah could see the shift in Carter’s demeanour with the mention of Aria and almost felt sorry for him.

“Now bear in mind Holden was my best friend so of course I trusted him with my girl’s life, little did I know how wrong I was to do so. We had gotten to the brook which now turned into a violent swell of water, gushing against edged rocks and boulders. Holden was the first to get up onto one of the rocks and soon Aria followed. I begged them not to do so but they didn’t listen. On our walk we had passed some beautiful wildflowers, I not wanting to join their crazy ways decided to go and pick a few flowers for Aria. When I returned I saw Holden back Aria towards the edge of the rock, her face was moulded in fear and that’s when he pushed her into the violent waters below.”

“What?” Micah coughed, chocking on his beer.

“I dropped the flowers and ran along the bank trying to find Aria but she had been engulfed by the water.”

“And what did Holden do?”

“He ran into town to try and get help. By the time he had returned I had managed to get Aria’s limp body out of the brook, a few metres down were the water was calmer.”

“Was she already gone?” Micah asked sympathetically.

“No, she still had the faintest of heartbeats. I held her cold body in my arms whilst telling those who arrived to help what happened, nobody in town believed me, apparently grief had made me insane.”

“Where’s Aria now?”

“St. Jules Hospital in Alabama. She had extensive brain damage and has being in a coma ever since. Her parents refuse to pull the plug even though she’s basically a vegetable now.”

“I don’t know what to say man. Maybe we need something stronger than these beers.” Micah waves down the waitress and places an order of whiskey for himself and Carter.

“I haven’t even visited her once you know. The guilt of leaving her alone with him haunts me to this day. Micah don’t make the same mistake I did. You need to get Holden out of Addison’s life before it’s too late.”

“And how do you suppose I do that?”

“I don’t know Micah but just remember ‘accidents’ happen all the time. I’ll see you around.” Carter downs his whiskey in one quick gulp before re-joining his minions and leaving the saloon.

Micah sank into the leather seats of the booth, not knowing what to believe. Sure Carter’s account of what happened that summer seemed without flaw but he had to hear Holden’s side of things before making a decision on what to do next.

With each passing minute, the darkness outside grew. Micah soon realised it was time to go home to Addison, hoping she would be asleep so he wouldn’t have deal with their awkward conversation from earlier.

On his walk back, Micah noticed an all too familiar orange pickup truck parked outside a rustic looking home. Before he knew it, his legs had carried him to the front door which he was now knocking on.

“Micah? What the hell are you doing at my house and at this hour?” Holden, visibly angered questioned.

“We have a problem.”

“What? Besides the fact you and Addison kissed?”

“Oh she told you about that. Well this isn’t awkward at all.”

“Get to the point, so you can leave.”

“Right. Carter and I had a little conversation about the summer of 2013.”

Holden’s eyes widened as he involuntarily gulped.

“Come inside now.” He said before pulling Micah by the arm before shutting the front door.

“Easy man you’re creasing my leather jacket.” Micah complains as he jerks his hand away from Holden’s grasp.

“What did he tell you?”

 Holden’s voice was now shaky. Nobody had brought up the incident in years so all his emotions were suppressed but a few had begun to surface as Micah relayed what Carter had explained back to him.

“That’s not what happened. Carter is a pathological liar.” Holden shouts in a fit of anger.

“What really occurred that day?”

“Yes we decided to go and catch tadpoles at the brook that day only to find an untameable stream. I had gotten up on a rock but soon realised it was a stupid decision and made my way back down, by that time Carter had already left after all he was scared of heights and didn’t want to seem like a loser in front of the girl he liked. Aria was a bit of a loose cannon, she had made her way to the top of the rocks and started dancing about whilst I pleaded her to come back down. She must have lost her footing on the slippery edge and by the time I climbed up to try and catch her it was too late.”

“I don’t know much about you Holden but I can tell you aren’t some homicidal maniac.”

“Thanks. Now onto the real question, why would he dredge up the past only to tell a stranger? He could of ran to Addison with his version of the story and ruin what we had when she first arrived but didn’t.”

“Isn’t it obvious? Carter’s planning to get rid of you and wants to use me to do it. Once that happens guess who will be standing by Addison’s side? He wants us to eliminate each other, leaving her vulnerable to his charms.”

“Question is, what are we going to do about this?”

“I say we give Carter exactly what he wants and let the little bastard think we fell right into his trap.”

“And that’s when we expose him as the vial piece of shit he is.”

“Sounds like I’m rubbing off on you Holden. Maybe under better circumstances we could have been friends.”

“Yeah if only we weren’t in love with the same girl.”

“I’m sorry by the way, for kissing her whilst you were still in the picture.”

“I guess there’s no use for me crying about it now. We all messed up in our own ways.”

“No more sneaky behaviour when it comes to our relationship with Addison, Deal?” Micah extends his hand towards Holden, sincerity expressed across his face.

“Deal.” Holden reaches out for his hand and the two shake, fortifying the agreement.

“Now let’s plan how to catch a conniving little rat.”

Hours had passed with the boys plotting and bonding over beers like old friends would. It was nearing midnight and time for Micah to finally head home.

“I’ll catch you tomorrow then?”

“Yeah let me just grab my keys and I’ll give you a ride.”

“Dude if Addison is awake she would totally freak out seeing your truck drop me of at her place.”

“All the more reason to do it right.”

Micah’s statement couldn’t have been further from the truth. Addison couldn’t get a winks sleep that night knowing Micah wasn’t home and that Holden was mad at her.

As soon as she heard the revving on a trucks engine taking off she ran to the front door, only to see a flash of orange hue illuminated by the street light take off and Micah walking towards the porch.

“Was that Holden’s truck?” Addison confusedly quarried.

“Yeah. He and I had a few beers together. Turns out getting your heart broken by the same girl really bonds a couple of fellows. Sorry that might be the alcohol talking.”

“Let’s get you to bed.” Addison wrapped her arm around Micah’s to steady his walk.

“Yours or mine?”

With a slight chuckle from Micah and roll of the eyes from Addison, the two continued to make their way inside finally ending an exhausting day.