Within seconds I feel Tyler by my side. “What did you do?”
“What did I do? What did you fucking do, Tyler?!”
“Sunny…” He tries to cradle my hand.
“Leave me alone.” I pull from him as Sam guides me to the sink.
“I have a first aid kit. I’ll go grab it,” Cole says, leaving the room.
Macey starts cleaning up the stupid fucking mushrooms and the cutting board. From the couch, Shelby watches as the family moves fluidly to aid me. The family she clearly isn’t a part of.
“Okay, let’s see it.” Anthony shuts the water off, grabbing a dish towel to wrap my hand.
“Do you need stitches?” Tyler asks.
“No,” I snap. He wants to see a fucking fire? Well mine is ready to rage.
“Are you sure?” he presses again.
“I’m a fucking nurse, Tyler. I know what I’m looking at.”
“Maybe just go sit down with your fiancé?” Sam suggests.
“No,” he growls through clenched teeth.
“She’s not your concern anymore, Tyler,” Sam snaps.
Shelby’s eyes flick back and forth between all of us, watching the tension unravel. And dare I say there’s a glimmer of amusement.
“Got it.” Cole holds the first aid kit up in the air. “Okay, let me take a look.” He unwraps the towel from my palm. “Damn, you got yourself good. How did you do that? It’s not even a finger, it’s your palm.”
“I was distracted.” I meet Tyler’s eyes. His back is to his fiancé who now stands behind him as her eyes bounce between us. She curls her hand on his shoulder and around his forearm.
“I can do this myself.” I try grabbing the kit from Cole.
“Not with one hand you can’t.” He takes the kit back.
Everyone is around me now just watching.Stupid fucking mushrooms.They’re my least favorite food now.
“Mace, can you take over the food for me? Anthony, maybe you can pick a movie for us to watch tonight? Sam, maybe get a glass of wine for Sunny. And you two love birds, go sit down and relax. I’m sure all theexcitementhas been tiring.” Cole takes lead.
Everyone springs into action, except for Tyler. He stands still, his emeralds on my hands, but his thoughts somewhere else.
“Come on.” Shelby tugs his arm, trying to bring him back to the living room.
“I’ll be over in a second,” he says, not taking his eyes off me.
Shelby glances between us again.She knows. Tyler isn’t necessarily being subtle, and neither am I. How can we be? How can we keep going like there’s nothing there, when it’s so prevalent to everyone in the room? Wheneverythingis there.
And how,howcould I have asked him to pretend, to shut down his feelings and move on. Andhowcould he have broken such a vital promise between us, running straight into the labyrinth instead of getting out of it? Because of course,of course, that is not what I want at all. Not in the slightest. Seeing him do it makes me wish I took back all those promises.
Or just never made them at all.
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
SUNNY
The cooking isa little delayed due to my mishap with the stupid fucking mushrooms. So everyone mingles as they wait for dinner, munching on appetizers and sipping the wine Tyler brought in hopes it’ll ease the clear animosity that lingers. Suffocating us all and sticking to our skin in the most grotesque ways.
