“I know,” E nods. “I know I should’ve listened to everyone. I won’t make that mistake again.”
“What about WITSEC?” Seb brings up again. This is where we differ. I’m not upset he didn’t want to go into WITSEC with me, but I’m sad for Hurry.
“WITSEC is where you lost Seb,” I tell E, in case he doesn’t know.
“I was scared. That’s a big deal, and I made the wrong call. I know I would’ve regretted it. All I can say is I’m sorry. If it helps, I would've been miserable the rest of my life without youtwo.”
“You chose money over us, E. You were my forever,” Seb says as a tear escapes the edge of his lashes. I lean my head on his shoulder to remind him he’s not alone.
“I’m so sorry,” E says, his eyes watering too. “I love you so much, and I fucked this all up. I swear it was never you or the money in my head. To me, I just had to play along for a while, and then I could provide for us. I had so many plans for our future, Seb. The money was going to pay for your university, in case you didn’t get a scholarship to the school you wanted. I was gonna pay for Gabs, too. I wanted to buy us a house on the beach and travel the world together. Someday I wanted to open my own restaurant. Our kids would have everything they wanted.
“I couldn’t see the truth of who they were, too caught up in my dreams. It took me too long to realize who they truly are. I had no intention of ever giving you up. I was willing to play along, but if they had come out and said it’s you or the money, I would’ve chosen you. When I realized they expected me to marry someone else…there’s no way,” he shakes his head. “No way. I could never. I thought playing along would give me time to get my inheritance, but they never intended to let me have it. They’d hold it over my head forever. I’ve learned my lesson, and I’ll listen to my friends from now on. I promise. I’m so sorry I hurt you both,” E cries. “Please, please forgive me.”
Seb looks torn, so when his eyes meet mine in anguish, I give him a nod, and he goes over to hug E. E is genuinely remorseful for his actions. I think that’s enough for Seb to forgive him, and I’m happy for them.
Alex stands and comes over to sit beside me.
Once the embrace ends, they both wipe their eyes. “I’ll forgive you on one condition,” Seb says, getting all serious on us.
“Anything,” E nods.
“You choose us first over all else. Money, career, whatever happens, we stand by each other first. Everything else comes second. That includes agreeing to WITSEC.”
“I promise, although I hope we never need WITSEC in the future.”
Seb gives E a quick kiss on the lips, which makes E beam at him in return, and then Seb turns towards me. “What do you think, Sunshine?”
I smile sadly back. “I love you, Hurry, and I’m so happy for you both, but I’m not in the same place as you are. I can’t be more than friends with E right now.” Seb opens his mouth, but I put my hand up to stop him. “Hurry, you can have a relationship with E and a separate relationship with me. I’m okay with that. E is still one of my closest friends.”
“I won’t lose you, Sunshine, so yeah, if that’s what you need, then I’ll do it. It’s gonna be weird though.”
“Is there nothing I can do, Summer?” E asks, his arm still wrapped around Seb.
“For me, I think you need to mature a little first. Your priorities and inability to see the hurt you were causing concern me a lot. Putting yourself in the situations you did is a big red flag for me. Maybe if we had been together for years, I might feel differently. I don’t know, but at this time in my life I can’t be more than your friend. I’ve got too much on my plate already.”
“I’m sorry,” E reiterates, deflating into Seb’s side.
“I know you are E. Some introspection, maybe therapy, would be helpful, not for my benefit, but for yourself.”
“That is a good idea, Summer,” Alex replies, giving me a head nod.
“I promise I'll do both,” E tells us.
After our talk, we pile into my Jeep to go shopping. Bay and Olivia are meeting us at the mall. I purchased a gift online for Alex, so I just have Seb and a few smaller gifts to get. I pre-ordered Seb's present and have to pick it up from customer service. Once I park, we walk over and meet Olivia and Bay at the front door. “Hello Olivia,” I smile.
“Hi Summer. Hi everyone,” she waves. “We have to buy a present for Daddy today, come on,” she waves, pulling Bay along inside.
I smile as we follow her to the back of the hardware store. Seb steps up to ask her questions about her Christmas list, as Bay drops back to walk beside me. “This gives Dad a chance to shop, wrap her gifts from Santa, and hide them,” Bay whispers.
“Ah. Makes sense,” I reply.
“Who are you shopping for today?” He asks.
I point at Seb’s back first. “I need to pick up one of Zander’s presents nearby and a few smaller things. I still have to wrap everything, too.”
“You’ve been very busy. I’m happy Jake is doing so well.”
“Thanks, and yes, I have been. Crossing my fingers, next year is a lot quieter. Hey, I forgot to ask, how did the SAT test go?”
