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I’ve spent most of my life convinced they only saw the worst of me. Every bad choice, every dirty secret. Every time I let someone use me because it meant they wanted me around—even if only for a moment.
I always thought the stars were keeping score.
But standing here now, surrounded by strangers who welcomed me simply because they love Christian, I’m starting to wonder if that’s not true.
Maybe the stars haven’t been waiting for me to fail at all.
Maybe… just maybe, they’ve been my support system this entire time. Quietly watching until I learned the hard way that I can’t keep blaming the sky for the choices I've made on the ground.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Christian
By the time we pull up to my mom’s house, music thumps from the backyard, rattling the driveway. String lights crisscross everything, glowing warm and golden against the night. I can hear laughter spilling over the fence before Huck even kills the engine.
“Wow,” he says from behind the wheel, peering out the window. “Taylor's birthday party was lame compared to this.”
“Told you,” Tay laughs between us. “Christian's family doesn’t fuck around.”
“You sure it's okay that we're here? I don't want to, like… intrude.”
“Yes,” I say flatly, fixing my tie. Changing into a suit in a moving vehicle is about as fun as it sounds, especially with the two of them watching.
“We aren't dressed, though,” Taylor murmurs, gazing down at the same shirt and jeans he's been wearing for the entire thirteen-hour drive.
“It's fine. I'm required to be, but you all can wear what you want. Stay long enough to eat, and then no one will notice you leaving.”
Truth is, I'm fucking scared to face my mom when she's disappointed, but having Tay around might soften the blow. My phone buzzes in my pocket for the hundredth time in the last half hour, probably her or my sister asking where I am and why I sent some random dude to deliver the cake. I haven’t answered a single one.
Shoving the truck door open, I step out into the night and inhale the scents of grilled meat and sugar.
Taylor gets out too, eagerly straightening his backwards hat. “I'm so fucking hungry. Can't wait to have your mom's cooking again.”
I snort, but that’s the only response I offer as I move toward the side gate. We don’t even make it two steps into the backyard before her voice halts us all in our tracks.
“Christian…”
Slowly, I turn around with my heart pounding in my throat.
My mother stands near the edge of the patio, arms crossed, perfectly composed in a deep blue dress that probably took weeks to pick out. Her salt-and-pepper hair is pinned back, large earrings catching the light when she tilts her head at me. “Llegaste tarde,” she says sternly.
Sweat dampens my pits already. “I know,” I answer automatically, then switch to Spanish. “Lo siento, Mamá.”
Tay appears beside me with a disarming smile. “Sorry for making him late, Ma. Work stuff got in the way, but I brought him back safe and sound.”
Her gaze softens when she looks at him, and she spreads her arms wide for a hug. “¿Dónde estabas?”
Fucking Taylor. Why does everyone love him so much, that asshole?
“We were in San Francisco,” he answers, giving my mom a tight squeeze. “Uh, trabajo. Twins of Terror business.”
She exhales through her nose, releasing him before moving onto me. The muscles in my shoulders relax instantly when she pulls me into her arms and tells me that Marisol has been waiting.
It's on the tip of my tongue to tell her that I know. My little sister's only been blowing up my phone all day, but I simply apologize again and hug my mother.
For a second, I think she’s going to reprimand me like she used to when I did something like forget to pick up Carlos from school. Honestly, he was fine and walked home by himself, but it took her a long time to ask me to do shit like that again.
Mentally, I brace myself for the talk I'm sure is coming… but instead, her eyes flick past me, scanning the backyard. “Tu amigo es gracioso.”
