4
STELLA
“How are you feeling?” I ask Camila, who is absolutely glowing. It’s still early in her pregnancy, but she looks fantastic. There is something in her gaze and the way she holds herself that she’s never had before, and it might make me sound terrible, but I envy it.
She’s happy.
Truly and fully.
Content yet excited.
“I’m good. Morning sickness hits right when I wake up, but all the books say it should go away in a couple of weeks,” she shares as I nod. I don’t know the first thing about pregnancy, but whatever I can do to help her, I will.
“Good!” I squeeze her hand. “I’ll look up things that might help, and we could make sure you have them close to you in bed when you get up to try to prevent it.” She smiles and leans her body into mine.
“Reed has bought up all the ginger candies and saltines available in a forty-minute radius.” She laughs. I chuckle because that sounds like her guy. I don’t know him all that well, but I have met him on video chats with Cam here and there.“So…” Her eyes are full of mischief, and if I’m not wrong a little bit of concern is swirled in.
“So, what?”
“What happened?” I knew it was coming. I was praying she wouldn’t say anything in front of Eli, and somehow, she didn’t.
“Jake turned out to be…” My words drift off to nothing as I sigh.
“Fake?” she guesses, and I smile because my bestie knows me too well.
“Yeah, you can say that.” I shake my head. “I don’t know how I could have been so wrong about him. Hmm…. He was super sweet at the beginning. I told you.”
“You did.”
“And then… I don’t know,” I sigh, trying to think of why I didn’t see it as it happened. “I let things just pass. Little comments or faces he’d make, and then, three weeks ago…” I look down at our hands in my lap, and she squeezes them.
“Did he…”
“No.” I shake my head. “He was over, and we started making out, like we usually did. But when he tried to, you know, go further, it didn’t feel right.” My face starts to get hot. “He wanted to take off my shirt. I told him no and…” My words drift off to nothing for a moment. She gives me time. “He started yelling, then yelling turned into throwing stuff, and that’s when Tracie came over and asked him to leave.” My eyes are still on my lap. I hate that he did that, yet I’m the one feeling shame for it. Am I prude and a tease for not going through with it and just doing it? Millions of people have sex regularly. There’s nothing wrong with the act. I just want my first time to mean something with someone I at least care about.
And I knew Jake wasn’t it.
“I’m so sorry I wasn’t there.” My eyes met hers, and that’s when I see it.
Guilt.
Guilt is eating at my beautiful best friend, and if that doesn’t make me love her even more.
“It wasn’t your fault,” I try to reassure her. “Just like I know it wasn’t mine.” I glance away and worry my lower lip. “Jake… He kept calling after that, showing up and knocking at the door. He didn’t want to end things, but I was done. Am done. I needed the change, and, well, when you offered to rent your cabin to me, I took it.”
“Good.” Her arms wrap around my shoulder. “I’m glad you’re here, Stella-kins.” I laugh at the old silly cutesy nickname.
“Me too, Camila-boo,” I whisper back. And as I sit on the couch of my best friend’s new home, I know I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. I might not be sure how long I want to stay in Moonlit Pines, but from everything I’ve seen so far, I’m not leaving anytime soon. Especially not with my bestie living across the street.
“You’re the closest thing I have to family,” she reminds me, and even though I smile, I shrug.
“I don’t know about that. Doesn’t your guy have a handful of siblings and a mom who loves you like her own?”
“He does and they do… but you’re my sister. That hasn’t changed. We’ve been through so much. It has always been you and me against the world, you know that, yeah?”
“I do.” I smile. “And vice versa,” I add, and she smiles.
“Duh.” She winks, and I laugh.
