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Wait. What am I even saying? Since when do I want something likethiswith Henry? No. That’s crazy. Sure, he’sattractive,incredibly so, but that doesn’t mean…
…oh, God. I’ve got it bad for him, don’t I?
How long have I felt this way?
As I look across the picnic table at Henry, and watch him smile down at Aria as he adjusts the wrap around her, I finally realize how deep into this crush I really am…and how desperately I’ve been in denial all these years.
6
HENRY
Something’s going on with Celeste.
Ever since we got back to the house, she’s been acting strange. First, she refused to let me help out when she gave Aria a bath. Then, when I asked her if she had any dinner cravings, she said she wasn’t hungry and would make herself something to eat later on. And a few minutes ago, when I tried to accompany her upstairs so we could put Aria to bed together, she told me she would do it herself and hurried off before I could say another word.
I don’t know what I did wrong. But, fuck, I must have donesomething. Otherwise she wouldn’t be acting like this.
I’m standing in my kitchen, the edge of the countertop digging into my palms as I lean against it. I left out a plate for Celeste with the pasta and salad I fixed up for dinner, but it’s gone cold. She’s been upstairs for a long time now. I’ve got a bad feeling that she’s not going to come back downstairs tonight.
I push myself up off the counter and walk over to the base of my stairs. Should I give her space? Wait until tomorrow to see if she’s still acting like this?
No. Screw that. I need to find out what’s wrong, and I need to know right now.
My feet are heavy as I climb the stairs. I reach the top and am walking toward Aria’s nursery when I pass by Celeste’s room and my feet suddenly halt.
The door to Celeste’s room is open most of the way, giving me a clear view into the room. And what I see makes my stomach sink: her bags are sitting by her bed, fully packed.
She’s going to leave. My worst nightmare is about to happen all over again.
I force my legs to start moving again, bringing me to Aria’s nursery. The door is ajar and Celeste’s back is facing me. She’s standing at the crib, looking down at Aria.
“Celeste,” I say.
It takes her a second to turn around. When she does, she moves away from the crib and comes out of the nursery, moving past me.
“You can say goodnight to her,” she says, avoiding my eyes.
I watch helplessly as Celeste starts to walk away. Feeling myself torn in two, I step into the nursery, peer into the crib and whisper a quicksweet dreamsto Aria, and then step out of the nursery, careful not to pull the door closed too hard.
“Wait,” I whisper loudly to Celeste, who’s about to disappear into her own room. “Celeste, wait.”
She stops in her doorway, her shoulders visibly growing tense. As I catch up to her, she turns around and looks at me with unsettled eyes.
“What did I do?” I ask, my heart pounding with worry.
She frowns. “What?”
“I obviously did something wrong. You’ve been acting strange ever since we got home.”
“You didn’t do anything,” she says.
“What’s bothering you, then? Whatever it is, you can tell me.”
Her eyes briefly meet mine, then flit away again. “Don’t worry about it. I’d just prefer to be alone right now.”
“How can I not worry about it? I care about you, Celeste.”
She swallows. Her eyes meet mine again ever so briefly, and she opens her mouth to say something, but then closes her mouth and gives a tiny shake of her head.
