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He flinched at my words, as though they struck him physically. “Alright.”
“You know why. It wasn’t…professional of us. So it’s for the best we end things now.” I stood facing him, knowing the next thing I’d have to do was leave. But my feet were unwilling to move. The bracelet suddenly felt very heavy on my wrist. “Here.” I started to undo the chain.
“No, no. That’s yours to keep regardless of anything. It was a gift.”
“But it’s much too generous.”
“It wasn’t.”
“I can’t keep it.”
“You have to.”
“Ihaveto?”
It was a standoff. His brown eyes held my own that were burning with fire. I was scorching him with my gaze, not meaning to cause harm but trying to maintain control.
Unfortunately, things like that never really worked.
I dropped my wrist and pushed my hands into my pockets. “Fine.”
“Good.”
Lucy was the queen of inconvenient timing, but at this moment, I wanted to thank her for it. She rushed in, holding her coloring book high. “Look! I finished! Giraffes!”
Wesley forced an expression of wonder onto his face. “Wow! That’s an incredible coloring book! Let’s go sit down and you can show me all the details, alright?” He hustled her into the kitchen, leaving me alone in the front hall.
He didn’t look back, and I slipped out the front door noiselessly.
§
Going home to my empty apartment did not sound appealing. Instead, I drove directly to my parents’ house on Long Island. Dad answered the door, shocked I had come over unannounced.
“Cara! I didn’t know you’d be by for dinner. Did you tell Mom or Katie —”
“No, my plans fell through. But if there’s not enough, I don’t have to eat.”
Dad chuckled. “There’s always enough for you, Cara. Come here.”
He gave me a big hug in the doorway.
“Is there a window open? It’s freezing in here!” Katie yelled as she rounded the corner. Over Dad’s shoulder, our eyes locked. Her frustration turned into confusion and then to understanding.
It hadn’t gone the way either of us had wanted. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been there.
“Come in, come in. I’m going to go let Mom know to set another place for you.” Dad ushered me inside and then hurried out of the hallway.
Katie and I stood opposite one another, not saying anything. Ever since she was born, we had an uncanny connection. And we could feel each other’s pain, even without words. She was feeling mine at that moment, her eyes filling with tears.
“Don’t cry, Katie.” I felt tears in my eyes, too. I hadn’t cried on the way over. I had been willing myself not to.
“I can’t help it. I’m so sad.”
She closed the space between us and grabbed me in a fierce hug.
“Me too.”
“I can feel you trying to be strong. Stop that.”
