Her chin trembled, pink lips pressed tightly together, but she still didn’t speak.
“I would never say no to you, Rose.”
Her head snapped toward me, her eyes glassy.“You did say no.Every time I tried to talk about our future, every time you deflected with a joke or changed the subject or shut down, it was a no.You didn’t have to say the word.”
“I said no to the one thing I never wanted.The one thing you knew I didn’t want.There’s a difference.”
Uncomfortable silence spread between us.Had I been that oblivious?The road stretched ahead, long and empty, and I had no idea where we were going, or if we were even going there together.
I swallowed.“So what happens now?”
She glanced out her window, her fingers curled in her lap, voice soft.“We pretend we’re still perfect for a few hours.”
I wanted to argue.We were stronger than this.Eleven years didn’t just disappear because we’d hit something hard.
But I could smile.Deflect.Hope the hard conversations would just… pass.
Pretending was my specialty.
“You can come home whenever you want.”
Wyatt’s words popped in and out of my head as he got dunked for the umpteenth time in the last two hours.Man, did I want to go home.I wanted to be in my own bed, throwing up in my own toilet, surrounded by my things.Ourthings.
My morning sickness had been awful; if I went back home, he would know something was up.I’d been able to hide it from Meadow, but it hadn’t been easy.I slipped a bland cracker into my mouth and chewed slowly.
Chardonnay and Brady made their way through the crowd, holding hands and stopping to converse with people every few feet.Finally, they stood in front of me, and Brady immediately handed over a hundred-dollar bill.
“How many dunks does that get me?”
I took the hundred and placed it in the lockbox.Looking up, I handed him the ball and smiled.“Until your arm gets tired.”
“Fantastic.”He positioned himself on the taped line.
Wyatt, who had just climbed onto the platform, flashing his bare chest in my direction—again—spotted Brady and sighed.“Oh, come on.”
“Go get ‘em, Brady!”Chardonnaycheered.I didn’t know my sister knew how to cheer.
Brady wound up and released.Wyatt closed his mouth and held his breath.The ball hit a little to the left, and Wyatt let his breath out.
“Ha!”he exclaimed.“You been drinking your inventory again, Brady?”
Brady smirked.“I’m just warming up.You have a very drownable face today.”
“And you have the throwing arm of a dehydrated geezer,” Wyatt shot back, adjusting on the platform, water dripping from his hair into his eyes.
Brady rolled his shoulders and grabbed the next ball.“Keep talking.You’re giving me motivation.”
Wyatt spread his arms wide, the muscles in his chest tightening with the motion.“Motivate this.”He curved his arms into a flex, and I had to look away.
Brady wound his arm and released, hitting the target dead center.The platform dropped, and a high-pitched squeak came out of Wyatt as he plummeted into the cold water.
He surfaced, whipping his hair back, water flying everywhere.“You got lucky,” he said as he climbed onto the platform.Before he could even get settled, Brady threw again, hitting the target.Wyatt disappeared beneath the surface again, his surprised face blinking in the clear tank.
Chardonnay nearly snorted.“This is going to be the best hundred dollars we've ever spent.”She sat in the chair next to me and got comfy just as Brady dunked Wyatt again.
My stomach flipped, and I slipped another cracker out and placed it in my mouth, trying not to let Chardonnay see.
“Why aren’t you cheering Wyatt on?”she asked, turning toward me with the intensity of a lion about to attack its prey.
