Skyler shrugs. “Probably.”
I shake my head, pick up my own brush, and go back to staining the wood. “He can’t have had feelings for me for six years Skyler.” The bristles hush against the surface, the silky varnish soothing my mind a little. “He just can’t. That’s insane. He turned me down.”
“Yeah but…” Skyler twists her lips.
“But what?”
Henry drills a bolt into the wall to secure the bottom of Africa then walks over to us and grabs the wooden piece of Europe. “But,” he says, “you’re his best friend’s little sister.”
I stare at him for a moment, trying to figure out if he’s serious. Then I dump the paint brush in the tin and bring my hands to my head. “Oh my god, my life is the shitty part of a romance novel.”
“Plus,” Skyler adds, “six years ago you were eighteen and he was twenty-five. It’s kind of decent of him to wait.”
“It’s not decent, it’s infuriating!” I exclaim. “He can’t have been pining after me for six years. That’s ridiculous. At this point it’s quite possible I lost my mind and hallucinated the whole thing.”
Skyler raises a brow, her smile lopsided. “Hallucinate getting pushed up against a tree and kissed stupid a lot, do you?”
My cheeks heat furiously. I pick up the brush again and stare at the half-painted counter like it’s the most interesting thing in the world. “I never said it was against a tree.”
“Oh my god, I was right, it was totally against a tree!” Skyler cackles.
“Shit,” Henry swears.
Skyler and I shut up and twist to face him because Henry doesn’t swear.
He grips his phone in his hand, staring gauntly at the screen. “Shit, shit, shit.”
“Henry, what’s wrong?”
“It’s Jaya, she’s gone into labor but it’s too soon.” His free hand latches on to his low ponytail. “She’s only at eight months.”
“Shit, okay. Okay. Is she at the hospital?”
Henry nods. He’s lost so much color his face is gray. “Her mom’s taking her in now. I need to go.”
Skyler jumps up and swipes her keys off the counter. “Come on, I’ll drive.”
Henry shakes his head. “No, no it’s okay. You guys need to get this place ready.”
“You’re shaking, Henry. We’re coming with you.”
Henry glances at me, his eyes wide. He’s twenty-two but right now he looks seventeen and scared as fuck.
I shrug. “What she said.”
Henry calls Jaya from the back of the car as Skyler drives. The second he hears her crying he settles himself and works on calming her down. He talks to her about the honeymoon they’re going to go on, walking barefoot on the beach and swimming with turtles. I feel like I’m intruding, and I try not to listen but my heart hurts at how intimate it sounds.
I want that. I want what they have. And I want it with my brother’s best friend.
Jaya gets to the hospital before us and Henry and I rush up to the obstetrics ward while Skyler parks. He panic splurges to the nurse at the desk until she takes him to the delivery room.
He comes out a half hour later wearing a pink paper gown and gloves, his hair sticking to his forehead. “They have to operate. I can’t— They won’t let me…” He chokes on thin air and tears off the gown before sinking to the floor.
Skyler and I join him against the wall, one of us on either side of Henry. We peel the latex gloves off his wrists and clasp his hands in ours.
Henry’s fear permeates off of him and I do my best to stay calm. “You know I was born prematurely?” I say. “Gave my parents a real scare but the doctors were great, and I was home in a week.”
Henry squeezes my hand.
