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“She loves you, Easton. Stop cutting her off before you can hear her out.”
I groan loudly and turn to her with an eyebrow arched. “Do you not understand what none of your business means, Autumn?”
“I do, I’m just not caring right now because she didn’t deserve that from you. She hates seeing you alone all the time, which is understandable as she gets older, and it’s about time you start thinking about that.”
Every instinct in me is telling me to end this conversation, but my heart knows she’s right. I’m saved from answering when the doorbell chimes and I hurry to answer it. Elijah walks in with his sister, Raine, who’s smiling brightly next to him, which is a stark contrast to the constant frown her brother always seems to wear.
Elijah has had a bug up his ass ever since shit went down between his sister and some famous actress. Apparently the other girl ‘stole’ Raine’s boyfriend and Elijah has been going downhill ever since. I’ve personally never gotten in the middle of that kind of drama, but I’d probably be just as salty if it were Savanna it happened to.
“Raine, Elijah, always a pleasure to have you two here.”
It’s rare that Elijah has the time to be able to come over for dinner and it’s nice to be able to catch up with each other after a week or two. We’ve been having these get togethers for a while now and until I moved to this house, we’d always meet at Elijah’s. He slaps me on the back as we give each other a bro hug before pulling away and turning his attention to Autumn who looks him up and down appreciatively.
My blood heats with jealousy and I try to shake it off, knowing it’s the wrong thing to feel at this moment, but instead I clear my throat to gain her attention and get her eyes off him. She looks over at me and the way her eyes are shining in amusement as she does pisses me off. Is there something in my reaction that makes her think this is amusing?
“Autumn, you know Elijah, and this is his sister, Raine.”
Raine has been MIA from Maple Creek ever since she made it big as a model, which is fine, and the only reason she’s back here now is because of everything that happened with her now ex-boyfriend. I’m not going to lie, Raine is a beautiful woman, but not only would I not be able to form a relationship with her as Elijah’s my best friend, I don’t feel that type of connection with her.
Our connection is more on a sibling level. She’s like a sister to me and I know she feels the same way about me.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Raine says softly, her hand held out to Autumn for a hand shake. Her eyes widen when Autumn walks over to her with arms spread wide and pulls her in for a hug instead.
Autumn chuckles. “You’ll come to realize I’m a hugger.” There’s a bubbly energy about her that has everyone in the room smiling brightly, but my smile falls when Bethany makes her way into the room.
“Hey, Uncle Elijah,” she wraps a loose arm around him, sadness reflected in her young eyes when she glances at me and gives Raine a small smile. “Raine.”
Elijah tugs her tighter against him and scoffs. “Is that the best you can give me, Bethy?”
Savanna was the first one to ever give her that nickname and it seems as though everyone else has joined in with it as well – everyone except me that is. I’ve called her by the nickname a few times, but I usually stick with her full name.
Bethany giggles when he tickles her side, getting a big smile out of her, and he nods. “That’s what I like to see. What’s got you so down?”
Before the conversation can steer toward me and my lack of love life, I clap my hands to gain everyone’s attention. “Who’s ready to eat?”
While the girls stay in the living room and talk animatedly with each other, our bellies full from dinner, Elijah and I grab a beer before heading out back to my large patio. Throughout the entire dinner Bethany barely looked at me or talked to anyone and it only made me more upset about the way I spoke to her.
It’s hard to be in this situation where I have to be both mother and father, but I’m doing the best I can. I have no doubt that if Elena were alive, I would’ve ended up being the strict parent while Elena would be the one to calm her down and talk through everything. But as that’s not my reality, I have to walk a fine line and I don’t always get it right. I make a mental note to talk to Bethany later and I’ll apologize to her.
“What’s going on, man?” Elijah finally asks, cutting the silence.
“What do you mean?”
He sighs. “Bethany wasn’t acting like she normally does and you’ve been keeping an eye on her all night. So, what’s up?”
“She brought it up again.”
Elijah has been around long enough to know exactly what I’m talking about, so he nods slowly and leans forward with his elbows resting on his knees. “She’s just watching out for you, bro. You’ve got to give her something. Throughout the last five years, coming up on six, she hasn’t seen you with anyone else. It’s hard on her, I’m sure, just try to understand that.”
He’s like a smoother version of Autumn and it infuriates me. I glance through the glass sliding door and can’t help but wonder what Autumn and Raine seem to be talking about so intently. Autumn’s arm is around Raine’s shoulders as they talk with serious expressions on their faces. Knowing Raine as I do, I’d be surprised if she was sharing the mess with her ex so quickly with someone she’s just met, but I also know Autumn.
She’s easy to talk to and from the looks of things, Raine seems to think so too. A warm feeling I don’t want to recognise burns in my chest as I watch them and cast a look over at Bethany. I assume if Autumn and Raine were talking about anything too heavy, they wouldn’t do it in front of her and I’m happy to see she’s smiling as she sits between the two girls, looking back and forth between them.
I hate that she hasn’t been able to look at me tonight.
Bethany and I have a great relationship, except when it comes to this topic.
Could I try to find happiness with someone for her sake?
