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“We’re lying at the end of the parking lot in the rain,” I commented.
“You know, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen you laugh for real.”
“I laugh all the time.”
“Whenever you laugh, it’s always so serious,” she said, giggling behind her hand. “I mean, one where you’re clutching your stomach and laughing so hard that nothing comes out and you can barely breathe.”
“You shouldn’t be laughing until you can’t breathe, love.”
“Something’s wrong with you if you don’t laugh like that, Steven.”
“We should go.” The rain had already soaked through my shirt. “We don’t want to be late.”
But Sierra didn’t move. Instead, she stared up at the gray clouds.
“When I was younger, my dad used to let me jump on the back of the cart while he jumped on the front. And we’d roll down to our car. My mom would hate it, but it was the highlight of my childhood.”
My lips curled into a small smile. Rain poured down on us and the pavement, the heavy drum of splattering drifting through my ears. I rolled onto my knees and grasped her hands to pull her up so we could get out of this storm, but she lay on the concrete with her lips trembling.
“I miss my family,” she whispered, staring up at the gray sky. “So much.”
After dropping her hands, I lay down beside her and stared up at the sky, my fingers intertwined with hers. I couldn’t relate to her in the slightest, but I didn’t want her to be upset. She was mine to take care of. And sometimes, that meant lying in the rain with her while she cried her eyes out.
33
sierra
“Sorry that we’re late,” I said, walking into Heather’s house.
“Sierra!” Heather’s mother, Ms. Hodge, exclaimed. “You brought a boyfriend.”
Heather’s mom and dad had divorced years ago, but they were still on good talking terms with each other for Heather and celebrated the holidays as a family, which I was always so, so jealous of.
I stiffened and glanced up at Steven. “He’s just a friend.”
Steven squeezed my hand. Hard.
Ms. Hodge smirked at our hands. “Seems to be a little more than just friends, but never mind that.” She turned to Steven and furrowed her brow, looking him up and down. “I know you from somewhere, don’t I?”
Please don’t say Radiant. Please don’t say Radiant. Please don’t say Radiant.
“I’m Hector Patton’s brother,” Steven said.
“Hector and my ex-husband are business partners and the best of friends,” she said. “That must be it.”
After she grabbed the bottle of wine that Steven had convinced me to bring over and the cheese platter that I had made earlier, she ushered us into the house and toward the living room, where people mingled together.
“Didn’t think you’d be here,” someone said from behind.
I twirled around to see Hector Patton walking up to us, his gaze on his brother.
“This is Sierra,” Steven said, introducing me to his brother. “Sierra, this is Hector.”
“We’ve met before,” I said. “I’ve seen him at Heather’s mom’s party.”
“Ah, yes,” Hector said, about to say more. But then glanced past me to Heather, standing near our friend group in the corner by the piano. She wiggled her brows in our direction, but I wasn’t sure who she was flirting with. Me or Hector.
“I’m gonna say hi to my friends,” I said, looking at the group.
