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“Cricket,” he said, his voice shaking. He fell to his knees and hugged her waist, then looked into her face. “I don’t understand this at all. How could you consider this a sacrifice, if I don’t? I love you.”
“I love you too,” she told him sweetly. Although the words matched, their meanings were completely different.
“We were on schedule,” he said, not realizing it. “Everything was so perfect. What’s changed?”
Cricket fell to her knees and held his face in her hands. “Ethan,” she said, then broke down crying. “It’s too much to ask. It’s just too much.”
“It’s not. I’ve offered because I’m in love you. I want to marry you, Cricket. What better reason to do this than that?”
“I can’t,” she said, explaining nothing else and stood.
She pried Ethan’s hands from around her waist, but he fought her, begging her to reconsider whatever it was they were arguing about. The tears streamed, but she had made her decision and shook her head twice before bounding up the stairs. It took everything in me not to chase after her, but I knew it wasn’t my place, so I held back.
Ethan slumped into himself, his hair falling forward, shielding him.
Surprising me, Ellie fell to the second step on the bottom of the stairwell, buried her face in her hands and wept openly. Emmett sat with her and held her hand but didn’t say a word.
The other hands had dispersed back to the dining hall, realizing they’d overstayed their welcome from the beginning. I turned around and went to Jonah and Bridge.
“What’s going on?” I asked him.
He looked down at his feet. “I’m, uh, not really sure.”
“Bull, Jonah. Just tell me what’s going on?”
He looked at me with sympathy. “You’re in love with her, with Cricket,” he stated.
“I’m not.”
“Then it seems you shouldn’t worry about it,” he told me. “It seems to be a private matter to me.”
He led Bridge off toward the dining hall and left me there speechless. I turned when I saw Emmett pass me and follow Bridge and Jonah. Ellie still sat on the steps but she’d stopped crying, though her head hung low, thinking. I looked around and saw that Ethan was nowhere to be found.
“Ellie,” I said softly, and sitting next to her.
She looked up and smiled genuinely at me. “Yes, son?”
“I’m not sure what’s going on, and I’m not asking, but I do want to know if you’re okay.”
She patted my knee. “You’re a good boy, Spencer Blackwell. You’re still a little confused about life, but you’ll figure it out yet.”
She kissed my cheek and headed for the hall with the others, leaving me bewildered.
ldn’t help my chuckle. “It was Eugie. I fell asleep with Eugie.”
Her shoulders sagged in relief. “Good.”
At the mention of his name, Eugie climbed off the banquette slowly and stretched before making his way over to me. He rested his head on my shoulder and watched me.
“What’s up, dude?” I asked him.
“He probably needs to pee,” Bridge explained.
“Probably,” I said, standing up and opening the door for him.
Eugie found the least snow-covered grass he could and relieved himself. I stood at the door, freezing my ass off in only my track pants and waiting for him to come back inside when he unexpectedly took off down the lane. I narrowed my eyes and saw Cricket walking toward us.
Without thinking, I bounded out into the cold snow, no shoes, no shirt and bed head. “Cricket,” I said, when I reached her.
