THAT'S MY GIRL

His eyebrows picked up as she spoke, wondering if how she really felt about what she’d just said about Sloane. However, he didn’t ask because at the end of the day the two were married. Owen had made his choice the same way Arielle had and he intended to respect that. “I guess so. You know Maggie Rhodes right? We started drinking at the bar one night and like–I don’t know what it is but I don’t get as nervous with her. Maybe she’s my Sloane.” He teased Arielle a bit with a grin. Derek gave a nod, understanding the way the two operated. “Well then I’m there.” He brought her close under his arm and kissed the top of her head. As non affectionate as Derek Cohen was, Arielle had a special place in his heart where his father’s transgression couldn’t penetrate.

...

Arielle turned her head to look over at him, tilting her head to the side. “Maggie Rhodes?” She hummed. “Maybe you’re right. All that matters is that you are putting yourself out there and I want you to find your Owen.” She nudged him as she put her arm around his waist as she started to walk down the street next to him. “Although don’t think I won’t be the best damn woman tonight. You better buckle in because you won’t be leaving the bar alone if I can help it.” She teased, moving closer to him as he leaned in to press a kiss against the side of her head. 

“Are we wrong?” He questioned with a furrowed brow and smile. He couldn’t possibly imagine being a reporter and asking strangers and even not strangers all those prying questions as she wrote for the paper. It terrified him just thinking about it. “You better be sorry, I am bummed out I missed out on the moment. But my happiness for you guys matters way more. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help put it together or whatever.”

...

Arielle shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve never thought much about it and as much as I hate talking about it.” She exhaled. “Sloane really brought Owen out of his shell and he seems so much more... confident. She did something for him that I was never able to and I think once you meet someone. It will happen for you too.” She chuckled as she reached out, grabbing his arm and tugging him to pull him out of the bathroom. “I think just us would be perfectly fine with us.”

Matthew laughed as Arielle walked towards him. “So I have Owen to thank then for your promptness!” he joked. “Work’s not keeping you busy enough?” he asked as they settled back into his car. If anything he was getting to the point of antsy and definitely need to get a job. He thought back to Sloane’s idea and made a mental note to see if he could finesse a job from Dylan. “Charlotte.” Matt started the car and the next moment was handing Arielle an envelope. “I hope you still like them…” he trailed turning to watch her expression when she registered that inside held tickets to a band she’d mentioned countless times. After finally taking her recommendation to listen he’d easily became a fan and was lucky enough to get tickets to their show.

...

“Shit.” Ben muttered under his breath as he tripped against an uneven sidewalk. He wasn’t very drunk yet, only distracted. He had two beers at home before deciding that he needed something stronger and that’s when he ran into Arielle. It’d been a while since they last talked but there was nothing bad about it. He knew she was in the newly wed bliss and he was happy for her, that was something he could say honestly because no one deserved that happily ever after as much as the brunette. He wasn’t sure how many days it’d been since the dinner at the Angelo’s. He messaged the fire captain about using that PTO he’d been storing up and spent sun up an sun down near his alcohol cabinet until supplies ran low. The thoughts and emotions flowing through Ben needed to be suppressed until he knew what to do with them so he smiled at Arielle, glistening a bit because he hadn’t showered in however many days either. “How’s married life?” She knew him, she’d be able to tell something happened but he didn’t need to pull anyone else down with him. 

...

Arielle tilted her head to the side as her eyes fell upon the smile spreading along his smile. But she knew. She knew it wasn’t one of those genuine ones she had been able to get on those features more time than she could count on one hand and the glistening from him showed that he wasn’t taking care of himself. “Ben,” she said softly. There was only one thing that would put him in this state and it was his family. Exhaling the brunette turned on her heel, gesturing for him to follow her because obviously the night of drinking wasn’t over and he was only lingering about outside to head to the nearest bar. “The married life... It’s good,” she said as she turned to look over at him. “Owen’s out of town on business right now so it’s weird.” She chuckled lightly, clearing her throat after a second, keeping her eyes on him. “You ready to tell me why we are about to go get smashed? Or... Am I losing a few brain cells for fun?”

Arielle laughed into the speaker of her phone as she walked down the street towards the apartment she shared with Owen. “I miss you too, goober.” She rolled her eyes playfully as a wide smile came along her features. “You’ll be home soon. I’m not going anywhere and for the first time in ages Fallbrook is peaceful as can...” Her eyes found a figure stumbling in her direction and as guilty as it made her feel she knew from a mile away who it was. “Owe, I gotta go. I’ll explain later.” She said as she pulled the phone away from her ear, hanging it up. “Ben?” She called out, taking a few steps closer to bring herself under the brightness of the street lamp. “Are you okay?” She reached out to catch him. “Hey hey... Whoa, how much did you have to drink?”

“Same kind of hope you have in me,” Matthew was quick to counter with a smile that softened his features. If had to go through the things he’d had to it was all worth it to have Arielle by his side through it. It wasn’t a rarity to have a twin in this world but he’d felt lucky enough to have a bond that was unparalleled to anything else. In the same way Arielle understood and eased his problems he rooted and saw a future well beyond their imaginations for her because she was capable, despite whether or not she believed it. “Sometimes I can’t help it…” he trailed with a slight shrug their mother was complicated and had made both their lives difficult. In spite of it Matt constantly found himself trying to understand, to make an excuse, to forgive for the sake of peace. His sister was right, of course, If the last two years hadn’t shown her what was important he wasn’t sure what would do it. “Oh definitely the second! There’s no way her ridiculous plans are a happy accident,” he chuckled taking a sip of his coffee. “I’ll talk to her.” He had some pull whether he liked it or not and using it for the sake of Arielle’s happiness felt like the least he could do. Matthew watched as she reached for something in the drawer and his brows furrowed when they landed on the key. “Wow!” he breathed equally impressed and excited, “That someone is you right?” he asked jokingly and then shook his head. “Are you sure Ari?”

...

Arielle lifted her eyes up towards him, a soft smile spreading along her features. “I always hold hope for you.” There was no hesitation behind that, it wouldn’t matter what Matthew did with his life. She was his number one cheerleader and she always would be. It’s why she defended his leaving to anyone who doubted it but it also expanded the guilt in her chest for not letting her brother know their father’s dirty secret. But, it seemed wrong to spoil her brother’s image of the old mayor of Fallbrook especially now there was no closure to get from the situation. “Do you think she misses him?” She asked, raising her eyes up to her brother. Maybe it was one of the reasons she couldn’t stand to be in the same room as her mother especially since she always acted if nothing was happening. She picked up her cup of coffee, taking a sip of it as she let her eyes rest on him. “I think the best thing you and I can do is support each other even if she doesn’t.” She wondered if mom ever gave him the same guff with Teo as their mom gave her about Owen. She smiled widely as she set down the cup of coffee. “Yeah, of course. I kept it in case...” She admitted. “I’m more than sure, Matty. More than sure.”

All Teodora could do was take a deep breath and let Arielle’s words sink in. In the grand scheme of things, none of it helped. She was now more curious about why Matthew left like he did and why he wouldn’t contact her as she was the day she found the note. Her heart was hurting and all she wanted to do now was go home. “Okay.” She said softly and swallowed before stopping and taking a deep breath. “I… I think I’m going to go. Thanks for…. this. I appreciate it.” She sighed and bit her lip. “Bye, Arielle.” She said before turning and walking away.

This was the last conversation she thought she was going to be having today; especially with Arielle. The two hadn’t talked in a while so maybe it was something they both needed to talk about with each other. “I don’t… I understand how hard it was. I was there through it all. I get it.” She really did too. She wasn’t angry that Matthew left, she got it, she was just upset that their relationship seemed like nothing when he just left her a note and never talked to her since to explain. “When he…. Is he coming back?” Teodora’s heart started racing at the the thought and she was nervous about seeing him again if this was the case. She was always nervous about that, but having the idea come from his sister definitely made it worse. “Back at me?” Was there a reason he would do something to get back at her? Had she done something? She thought things were fine, but now she was more scared that she really had done something to push Matthew away. She could feel the emotions building up and suddenly wanted to get far away from the market and Arielle as possible.

...

Sometimes the woman wondered if that’s what people said when it came to loss. Of course, the brunette didn’t know if Matthew confided in the woman walking next to her or if he was as closed up as he had been with his twin. Her eyes focused on the area in front of her, pressing her lips together. In fact, she knew she probably would have done the same thing had she not found Ben shortly after the loss of her father, exploring a new relationship that had been hers and only hers to touch. She turned her head to look over at the woman, shrugging her shoulders. “I wish I could tell you,” she said quietly but she didn’t try to talk to Matthew about when he was coming back. Just the small talk they usually had to catch each other up. She furrowed her brows. “You are misunderstanding what I’m saying,” she said quietly. “I’m just trying to let you know his leaving. I don’t think there’s anything either one of us could have done to prevent it.” No one really ever thought about the fact that Matthew had left her too.

This was news to Celine, as she knew the mayor was booked until after 2. “Hold on.” She requested politely, pulling up the schedule and looking it over. “Are you Arielle Ence?” She asked, looking back to the woman with a polite smile. “I’m sorry, either you wrote the wrong time down or we miscommunicated. But the meeting is actually at 3.” Celine felt bad, that was another hour of waiting, and she didn’t want the woman to think that her meeting was important. Just somehow, the time was later than she thought. “You are welcome to wait here. Or, I was even going to run out and pick up a Starbucks order, you are welcome to come with me if you want? Maybe get a drink too? You’re welcome to stay there or come back with me?” She offered, wanting to soothe the mix up somehow. 

...

Arielle pressed her lips together at Celine’s words about the interview being at three instead of two. Furrowing her brows, the brunette opened her schedule on her phone as she slowly nodded her head. “Hmm, must have been a miscommunication.” She gave her a polite smile as she clicked the button on the side of her phone as she slipped it into her pocket. “I’m more than happy to wait here, I have the next few hours free for this interview so it’s all good.” She tilted her head to the side as she glanced towards the office door then back at Celine. “Sure, I’ll go with you. I never really have Starbucks since there isn’t one in Fallbrook so I could use the mix up.”

“Because you’ll actually talk to them, go up to them, you’re not awkward..do I need to go on?” He chuckled softly. Trying to meet women wasn’t something he really ever did. Arielle was probably the only person who could get him to go out and do something like that. “What,” He pulled back to get a look at her face, seeing a pretty amazing smile there. “That’s amazing Ari! I’m so happy for you guys.” Sure, he was a little hurt that he hadn’t gotten to be there for them in that moment. But he’d get over it. “So–when do I get to celebrate you guys, huh?”

...

Arielle chuckled. “You and Owen always thinking I’m the confident one in our little trio.” She teased, knowing she sort of had been. She let her eyes drifted towards the mirror, moving her fingers towards her lips as she brushed her thumb under her lower lip to wipe off some of the lipstick. She smiled at him as he pulled back from the hug, lifting her eyes up towards him. “Thank you. Sorry we didn’t have a big wedding or invited anyone it was a spur of the moment thing but don’t worry we plan on putting something together to celebrate.”

She swallowed. She remembered exactly how it was when their father died. She had been there and tried her best to be there for Matthew until he just left. “I remember.” She said and looked down, biting her lip. “I just wish he’d talk to me about it. We were so close.” Teodora’s eyes looked up to Arielle’s and a tear was shining in them. “But he’s good, right? He’s doing okay?” She asked again and wiped the tear from from her eyes. “That’s all that matters.”

...

Arielle didn’t know what she would have done had Owen ever left town and cut off contact with her. Brushing her tongue along her lower lip, the brunette raised her arms, crossing them over her chest. “Look, I couldn’t imagine what you feel like. If Owen ever...” She inhaled deeply. “I wish I could tell you what goes through Matty’s mind. Sometimes I know but since...” The death of their father. “It’s been hard to figure out how he’s actually doing but go easy on him when he decides to come back. Our relationship with our parents...” She breathed out. “I’m very different than my brother but know his leaving wasn’t to get back at you.”