Outer Masks - Chapter 16: Avoidance

A Week Later  

Rory tried to give Peach her space, she truly did, but after seven days of radio silence, Rory’s patience had reached its breaking point. Now she was standing on the stairs of Peach’s townhouse, ringing the doorbell, and waiting for the other woman. 

No one came to the door, but Rory noticed the fluttering of the blinds in one of the upstairs windows when she looked up. 

“Seriously?” Rory said aloud, “You’re just going to keep ignoring me?” 

Rory was not sure if Peach could hear her from outside, but she wanted her to, she wanted Peach to know how she was feeling. 

Rory took out her phone and texted Peach again, despite knowing that it would go unanswered just like all the others. 

RoRo: I know that you are probably trying to work through everything, but can we please talk? 

RoRo: But if you don’t want to, I won’t bother you anymore. 

Rory sighed, looking back at the door one last time before reluctantly walking away, her emotional state further dropping as she left. She should have known that Peach would not want to see her after purposely avoiding all contact with her for over a week. 

If Rory had looked back for even a moment, she would have seen the woman she had spent this week thinking about, watching her through the window. 

~X~

Beck stood in front of the three people sitting on her couch, toying with her fingers as she fidgeted in place. 

“Okay, girl, what emergency did you call us all for?” Anninka asked, having grown tired of watching Beck move about. 

Beck sighed, “None of us have heard from or seen Peach in over a week.” 

The best week I’ve ever had. Joe thought, unbothered by Peach’s lack of presence, and hoping that this may become something permeant. 

Beck then became nervous, “I... I think I know why.” 

Lynn sat forward, “So, what is it?” 

“I walked in on Peach and Rory hooking up at Ansley's party!” Beck finally blurted out, feeling as if a weight had now been lifted off her shoulders as she shared the secret. 

“What?!” Joe exclaimed, his expression a mix of revulsion and disbelief. 

Rory and Peach?! My sister with Peach Salinger?! How? Why?  

Joe had known about Rory’s feelings for Peach and the ‘confession’ Peach had given his sister, but he had expected that Peach’ love for Beck would override any attraction she may have for Rory, and that Peach would not do anything to shatter facade of heterosexuality that Peach had forced herself to have. 

So, to hear that something did happen, confused, worried, and angered Joe beyond all reason. 

Annika’s eyes widened, “Holy shit! Wait, what do you mean by hooking up?” 

Beck groaned, “They were trying to suck each other’s faces off.” 

Beck could not get the image of that night out of her head no matter how hard she tried, and she struggled not to cringe when she remembered how Peach and Rory looked when they each ran off. 

“So, you caught them, and they saw you?” Lynn asked. 

Beck nodded her head, “Yeah, Peach looked like I had caught them getting rid of a body and ran away.” 

Lynn sat back, “Wow, I didn’t think Peach would actually do that. I mean, it was kinda obvious that she...” 

Lynn did not finish her sentence, and she did not need to as they all knew what she was going to say. It more than obvious that Peach was not straight, and that despite her best-efforts Peach was not good at hiding this fact. 

The idea that Peach would initiate things between herself, and Rory was surprising enough as they all expected Peach to never act on her infatuation. 

“So, what are we supposed to do?” Annika asked, “You know how Peach is, and I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m not trying to cross her again. I just regained my lost followers, I can’t take another hit, I just can’t.” 

Peach was quite spiteful and vindictive when she felt wronged, and she would certainly view their help as crossing the line. 

“But we should do something. Despite her... Peachness , she is our best friend.” Beck asserted. 

“Peach and Rory would make a cute couple.” Lynn said before her eyes lit up, “Ooo, what would their ship name be? Roach? No, that sounds gross, maybe Reach? That’s kind of boring. Pory?” 

“Uh, let’s not go that far.” Beck said quietly, “We don’t want to scare her off, so let’s just focus on getting her to actually accept her... lesbianism? Bisexuality?” 

“Sexuality is a spectrum, Beck. Not everything needs to have a label.” Lynn said sagely. 

Beck smiled awkwardly, “Uh, right.” 

With how good he was at reading her facial expressions, Joe noticed how uncomfortable Beck had been throughout this discussion. At first, Joe wrote this off as Beck usual brand of awkwardness due to the position Beck had found Rory and Peach in, because Beck could no longer pretend not to see Peach’s sexuality. 

But Beck’s face twisted particularly when Lynn mentioned setting Rory and Peach up together. 

Joe did not want his little sister to have anything to do with Peach, but he could not understand why Beck would not. And with the visceral reaction that she had, Joe could not chalk this up to Beck simply not wanting Peach to negatively influence Rory like she had said she worried about before. 

What are you thinking? What has made you so upset about all of this, Beck? What more are you hiding from me? You should feel comfortable by now telling me everything you think and feel, there should be no secrets between you and me.  

Joe sat back, his thoughts drifting from his girlfriend to his sister and the evil parasite that had infected their lives with her malice. 

I can’t let Peach and Rory become a thing, it would go against all the laws of man and nature. Oh God, what if Peach and Rory end up seriously dating and get married. I would have Peach Salinger as a... as a... as a sister-in-law. I shudder just to think about- Oh, God what if they have kids together?!  

Joe glanced at the three women in the room. I don’t know how successful they will be, I can’t let this happen, I have to crush this relationship before it can take root. Now, what would be the best way to do that? Wait a minute, if there’s one thing Peach cares about more than anything else it's her reputation, it’s why she’s still in the closet. I just have to ruin her reputation, and have it tied to Rory, then she’ll never want anything else to do with her.  

A smirk formed on Joe’s face as an idea had already come to him, one that would be perfect for dealing with the situation at hand. 

Oh, Peach is going to rue the day she met me.  

~X~

Rory pointedly ignored the way her parents were looking at her as she ate her waffles. 

Ever since the ball, she had been getting these pointed looks and comments from Amber and Walter that made her want to slam her head into the table with the lack of subtly the two were displaying. 

At first, Rory had dreadfully thought that like Beck, her parents had caught her and Peach together on the balcony but quickly realized that that they had not. But the alternative answer was so much worse as she found out that the two had been privier to her feelings that she thought they were. 

They’re who I get my lack of subtly from. I blame all of this on them. Rory thought as she ate. 

“So.” Amber said, her patience finally reaching its limit as she broke the silence that their breakfast had. “Have you heard from Peach lately?” 

Rory sighed, looking at her mother with trepidation, “Why do ask?” 

“Well, Ansley mentioned Peach not talking to her at all, and when she went to her home, no one answered the door. She worried about Peach.” Amber replied, “Have you tried to see her?” 

“I did. She’s not speaking to me or seeing me either.” Rory admitted, once again feeling upset at the thought of the other woman. 

Walter cleared his throat, “Well, give it time. I’m sure Peach simply needs time to process... things.” 

Rory narrowed her eyes, “What things?” 

“We were hoping you would tell us.” Amber said. 

“What makes you think I would know?” Rory asked defensively. 

Amber and Walter shared a look before Amber spoke, “Honey, Ansley and I saw you and Peach dancing the other night. It was clear as day how happy you both were together; it was like nothing else mattered to you two.” 

There it is. Rory groaned, “Can we not have this talk? Like ever?” 

Amber frowned, “We should, you’re going about things the wrong way.” 

“I’m going about things the wrong way?” Rory asked incredulously while pointing to herself, “You don’t even know what’s happening!” 

“Because you won’t tell us, you never want to talk about these kinds of things.” 

Rory looked away with a sigh, now speaking with a bit less reluctance, “Because I’ve never had a reason to. This is different, and new, and I don’t know what to do.” 

Walter cleared his throat, never liking to see his child upset, let alone as defeated as she was now. “What happened at the party?” 

Rory explained the events the led to this complete shutout from Peach, from Peach’s drunk ramblings to Rory’s angry words during their fight, her confession, and then finally their kiss. 

Amber blinked, surprised by what she heard, “That was more dramatic and eventful than I thought it would be considering you’re involved.” 

Rory huffed, “Can you not kick me when I’m down? I feel bad enough already.” 

Amber looked at her daughter softly, “I know, baby. But I don’t think there’s anything you can do here; Peach is the one who needs to come to terms with everything.” 

“I know.” Rory muttered, her shoulders drooping. 

Walter reached over and patted Rory’s back, “I’m sure she’ll come around soon enough and give you an answer. Just be patient.” 

Rory went back to eating, not feeling all that comforted by her parents’ words, still dreading when next she would hear from Peach. 

Deep down, she feared the answer that Peach would give her as she knew that Peach would not tell Rory what she wanted to hear. 

From what Rory saw, Peach was too far deep in her glass closet to be comfortable giving Rory what she wanted or admitting anything to the world. 

Rory knew that the next time she saw Peach, the other woman would be giving her a sound rejection this time around, and Rory worried that not even their friendship would be able to survive this. 

~X~

Joe figured that trying to get into a building such as 30 Hudson Yards, would be a difficult to impossible task, but he was surprised by the lax security he encountered inside simply because of how well dressed he was. 

Joe had slicked his hair back, put on Benji’s Patek Philippe watch, and wore his best and fanciest looking suit and tie as he strolled into the lobby of 30 Hudson Yards. No one looked at Joe twice, assuming he was one of the building’s rich residents. 

Cleary the security guards need better training, but this works in favor. Joe thought as he glanced at the guards both at the doors and the front desk. Still, a building like this will have cameras at every vantage point, I just need to find and get into the security room.  

After a few minutes of watching, Joe finally spotted a security guard walking down a hallway and went to follow them at a distance. Joe then spotted them entering a sign less door that was far removed from everything else on the floor. 

Jackpot, now I just have to wait for them to leave.  

Joe found himself strangely clam even as an hour passed with him waiting for the guard to leave, trying not to look suspicious as he did so. 

He was going to finally put an end to whatever was going on between Peach and his sister, so he felt a sense of anticipation and triumph coursing through his body, one that made him smile. 

Eventually the same security guard that Joe had followed earlier had exited the room, walking past Joe without a single look as he was looking down at his phone. 

Joe looked around to make sure that he was not being watched and entered the room, his smile turning into a satisfied smirk when he looked around, seeing the CCTV cameras, access control systems, alarm systems, and communication devices. 

Oh, this will do nicely. Joe thought as he looked at the monitors, seeing video of parts of the building. 

Once again, Joe was surprised by the building’s lax security as when he walked upon to one of the controls, he was immediately able to look through the footage that had been saved in its hard drives. 

But he certainly was not complaining, more than happy to take advantage of their incompetence and their overconfidence in their abilities. Things were going his way, and once he was finished destroying Peach Salinger, he could focus on getting rid of the therapist that wanted to steal his woman. 

~X~

Peach laid in her bed feeling defeated as she stared at the tv screen, her mind wondering as the images moved, making no attempt to focus on the movie that was playing. 

For the first time in a long time, Peach did not know what to do and was too afraid to talk to anyone close to her. 

Peach had expected everyone to know about her and Rory’s hookup, as much as she cared about Beck, the woman was terrible at keeping a secret and not butting her nose into other people’s business. She felt relieved when no such accusations came when reading her friends’ texts and listening to their voicemails. 

But Rory was entirely different, and Peach could not find it within herself to even look at Rory, purposely hiding when the other woman came to her door because she was afraid of the conversation that would have to happen if she did. 

It would make everything far too real; her feelings would no longer be something she could hide, ignore, or reject outright. The thought of doing that, terrified Peach like never before, and it was that terror that kept her wallowing in bed. 

Peach jumped when she heard someone turn the doorknob and open her bedroom door, and she quickly glared at the three women who tentatively entered. 

Was I that out of it that I didn’t hear that come all the way in here? Peach thought, watching them with barely concealed anger as they now stood at the foot of the bed, back her sight of the tv. 

“Leave.” Peach said tersely. 

The pity in Beck’s eyes angered Peach further, and what Beck next almost pushed her over the edge. “Peach, we’re here because we’re worried about you. You’ve been pushing everyone away and not speaking to anyone. We know this has to do with Rory.” 

“Because you felt the need to open your big mouth and tell them something that had nothing to do with you and you don’t know anything about.” Peach spat, “Now can you get the fuck out?” 

“We tried.” Annika said, trying to make her way back to the door, “Let’s go.” 

Beck grabbed her arm before she could make it far, still looking at Peach, “We’ve known for a while that you’re not... straight. But that doesn’t change how we feel about you, we’re still your friends, and we accept every part of you.” 

“Also, how do you feel about ship name? Because I’ve thinking of a few that could really work for you and Rory.” Lynn added. 

Peach felt her eyelid twitch, “I am not gay.” 

Beck’s expression became more pitiful, “Peach-” 

“I am not gay!” Peach screamed, “I'm not some fucking faggot, alright?! So, stop acting like I am!” 

Peach ignored the wide-eyed way her friends were now looking at her as her bedroom became deathly quiet. “Get out.” 

To her anger, Beck remained stubbornly persistent, “No, Peach, we’re not going to leave you here to waste away. I get your afraid, but you have to accept yourself, you can’t keep living hating who you are, it's not healthy.” 

Accept myself? Accept myself?! What the fuck would you know about accepting yourself?! Of course, stupid little Beck would never understand what it's like to have people look at you differently, to know that she wouldn’t be accepted. Why would she, she’s too busy forcing her head to stay in the clouds to avoid having deal with reality.  

“Beck, I really think we should just leave Peach alone.” Annika said, looking at Peach’s furious expression wearily. 

Beck turned and gave Annika a glare, “We’re not leaving, we're not going to let her bully us like she usually does.” 

“And what is that supposed to mean?” Peach immediately asked, still glaring at the blonde. 

Beck scoffed, “You know what I mean, you hate being vulnerable with people, so you constantly belittle and abuse them.” 

Before Peach could say anything in retaliation, each of their phones began to blow up, the pinging of notifications ringing out. 

Lynn was the first one to reach for their phone, and when she did, a gasp left her lips, and she looked at Peach with nervousness and dread. 

Peach tensed, “What?” 

Annika leaned over to look at Lynn’s phone and looked up with the same expression. 

“Will you tell me what’s wrong already?!” Peach snapped. 

Lynn gulped and handed her phone to Peach, “Don’t freak out.” 

When Peach looked at the screen, she saw an article that made her heart drop and her stomach fill with lead. 

Caught on Camera: Elite Socialites Caught in a Steamy Lip Lock!  

Along with this headline, was a picture of her and Rory kissing on the balcony, their names listed below it. 

“How did...” Beck quickly looked back at her friend, “Peach, it will be....” 

Peach could no longer hear what the three were saying, only hearing a static noise as she watched Beck, Annika, and Lynn frantically speak and move about, her body becoming numb. 

It’s over... It’s over... I... I... Fuck... How did this happen? Everyone knows now, I can’t hide it anymore. My life is over... It’s over... What... What will daddy do when he finds out?  

It was then that Peach felt her entire world shatter and collapse in on itself, no longer able to hold herself up as she fell back onto her mattress. 

I’m dead, I’m dead, I’m dead, I’m dead, I’m dead, I’m dead, I’m dead, I’m dead, I’m dead, I’m dead, I’m dead, I’m dead, I’m dead, I’m dead, I’m dead, I’m dead, I’m dead, I’m dead...  

That numbing feeling soon turned into an icy fear that gripped her heart and threatened to overtake her in that moment. 

~X~

Rory sat on her couch, her eyes feeling heavy as she struggled to stay awake and not fall asleep, barely paying attention to what was on the tv. 

Just when her eyes fluttered shut, Rory almost jumped out of her skin when she heard loud heavy knocking at her door. 

Who the fuck? Rory thought, standing, and slowly walking to the door. 

When she opened it, Rory’s brow furrowed as she looked at the wide eyed and smiling for of her best friend. “Why the fuck are you banging on my door like that?” 

Max laughed as he pushed past her, “Man, if I wasn’t so proud of you, I’d be pissed at you for not telling me you finally made your move.” 

Rory furrowed her brow, “What are you talking about?” 

Max pulled out his phone and showed Rory the picture of her and Peach kissing, causing Rory’s eyes to widen. 

“Fucking hell. How did this even get online?” Rory said, “Who could have posted it?” 

“Okay, why are you freaking out?” Max frowned, “Isn’t this a good thing?” 

“No, it's not a good thing, Peach ran away after we kissed and hasn’t spoken to me since! And now there’s a picture of us kissing on the fucking internet! So, I think you can see why I’m freaking out!” Rory yelled, gripping Max’s phone tightly in her hand. 

“Woah, woah, clam down, Rory.” Max said. 

Rory sighed, handing Max’s phone back to him before clutching her head, “Sorry. It’s just, Peach isn’t out, and now she’s been forced too.” 

“And you’re worried about what this could mean for her and whatever the hell you guys have.” Max said. 

“I. Am. Fucked.” Rory said, thinking about all of this was affecting Peach, knowing that it could not be anything good.