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“Aster.”
She looks surprised to see me, but she quickly recovers to give me a weak smile. “Hey. I thought you were still out.”
“I just came back.”
“Oh.” She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “Well, Leander just arrived, too, and – ”
“I know,” I cut her off as I step forward. “Are you okay?”
My question makes her pause. She draws a breath. “Yeah. I’m fine.”
“Sure?”
Aster narrows her eyes at me. “I’m fine, Mason. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Because Leander brought home a girl,” I say bluntly.
I can’t help it. I’m not a faker like the people left behind in that living room.
She crosses her arms over her chest. “Oh. So you think I’m jealous?”
“You tell me,” I dare her.
That’s right. Be honest now.
Her jaw drops. “I am not jealous.”
I’m disappointed. “Oh, come on, Aster. Let’s not lie to each other. We’re old friends, remember?”
Her eyebrows furrow. “Oh. Is that what we are?”
I frown. “What? Are you going to pretend we didn’t live next to each other for years? That we didn’t kiss?”
That makes her eyes widen slightly. Then she looks away.
“That… We didn’t.” She shakes her head. “It was just you. And it was… a mistake.”
So that’s what she’s been telling herself, huh? I’m not sure I’m glad I know.
“But that day, you were feeling bad for Leander because Sharon died,” I remind her. “You were worried about him. You were in love with him.”
She says nothing. No denial. Is she finally getting honest?
“And you still are,” I add.
I saw it earlier.
Aster glares at me. “What makes you think you have a right to tell me these things, hmm? What makes you think you know me?”
“I do know you.”
“You knew me,” she corrects me. “But not anymore. You left, remember?”
I place my hand over my chest. “Aw. I didn’t realize I broke your heart. Did you miss me, Aster?”
She snorts. “I wish you never came back.”
Now she’s honest.
I wave a finger at her and grin. “Ah. There’s the Aster Higgins I know.”
The daggers in her eyes grow even sharper. “Why can’t you just leave me alone, hmm?”
God, I wish I could.
“Do you really get such a kick out of making me lose my temper?”
Well, she does look a tad more attractive when her forehead is all bunched up like that.
“Do you enjoy seeing me suffer?”
Now, that’s not fair.
“Do you enjoy suffering?” I ask her. “Because it seems to me you’re still chasing after the same man who still doesn’t see you as anything more than a little girl.”
Aster groans as she lifts her hands and lets them fall at her sides. “God, I hate you.”
I grin. “Your favorite line. What? You haven’t been able to come up with anything new?”
“I fucking hate you,” she sneers.
I rub my neck. “Well, that’s slightly different.”
She rolls her eyes. “Why do you have to do this to me, huh?”
“Do what? Make you honest?”
She shakes her head. “You know what? Forget it. I don’t have time to give you the attention your family never gave you.”
I arch my eyebrows. “Whoa.”
That’s new.
“I don’t have the time to deal with your insecurities or whatever other problem you may have. I have my own problems, okay?” She beats her hand against her chest. “Serious problems. My father has Alzheimer’s. I don’t know why he got it. I don’t know why a man like him who’s only ever done good things would be punished with something like that. But he has it. And guess what? There’s no cure.”
I know.
“There’s no telling when he’ll start forgetting all about me, but it will happen. He’ll forget he ever had a daughter even though he gave up so much and did so much for her. And there’s nothing I can do about it. There’s nothing I can do for him. I can’t even give him the only thing he wants even though I want to so badly.”
Aster’s hands clench into fists. Then they loosen up and her hands fall to her sides as she lets out a deep breath.
“I’m the world’s worst daughter.”
I shake my head and step forward. “You’re not. You’re – ”
She puts a hand up to silence me. “Just go. Just leave me alone.” Her eyes look into mine. “Please.”
I nod. I don’t want to leave. I want to wrap my arms around her again, just like last time. I want to do that until she lets out all the pain in her heart and cries against my chest. I want to do that and never let go. But there’s no way I can turn down her request, not when she’s begging me.
I turn on my heel and go back to my own house. Tomorrow, after Giselle’s wedding, I’ll leave town. And maybe this time, I’ll never come back.
~
“So you came back to town, huh?” Leander asks me as he occupies the empty wicker chair next to mine on the patio.
