“Carol.” I crossed my arms, glaring at her. “I know you. Spill!”
She hesitated, guilt written all over her face. With a sigh, she finally broke.
“It was Chris…” His name hit me like a punch to the chest, leaving me breathless. I blinked, trying to make sense of this.
“He never even read this script,” I said.
“Well… he asked me to send it to him. So, I did,” Carol admitted.
“Why would you do that?” I snapped. Oh, I was pissed. “I hadn’t even edited it yet!”
She crossed her arms, ready to defend herself.
“Come on, Jules. You’ve edited it like a million times.”
“It doesn’t matter! It was not your place to?—”
“I get it, ok?” she interrupted. “You were always taking care of everyone. Of Mom, then of me, then of your kids…”
I shook my head, trying to follow where she was going with this. “What are you…”
“You can do something foryounow. It’s ok. We’ll be ok,” she said.
I froze. The words hung in the air like glowing neon:It’s ok. We’ll be ok.I didn’t think anyone had ever said that to me. Not once. Ever. I was so young when I stepped into the caretaker role—first for my mom, then for Carol, and eventually for my kids. Hearing it now felt like someone had reached into my chest and held my heart in their hands. Tears welled up in my eyes before I could stop them. Shit. I didn’t want to cry.
“I know he might be wrong in so many ways. But you were too, remember? You were bat-shit crazy before the kids.”
I let out a small, bitter laugh, shaking my head at the memory.
“I kind of miss her sometimes,” I admitted quietly. That version of me felt so far away now, buried under the weight of responsibility.
Carol smirked. “I miss her, too. She was fun.”
My mind scanned through memories of younger me and all the little and big things I’d gone through that had shaped who I was now. The heartbreak of leaving behind my dream career, moving back to New York, building a new one from scratch. Meeting George. Getting married. Having the kids. All things Chris never got the chance to go through. I forced my brain not to replay his words from that day—when he said I got it all and he didn’t. I didn’t want to think about it, because on some level, he was right. I ended up with the kids, and that alone had changed and improved me in ways he couldn’t understand.
“But I don’t think we can be what the other one needs right now.”
“Maybe not,” Carol said gently. “But you two deserve at least some closure, right? I know you’ve only known each other for a couple of months, but… I don’t know. You two seemed good. Like you’ve been together for years.”
Did she know? She couldn’t possibly. I hadn’t told her anything. But maybe Chris had? God, the idea of him confiding in my sister… was almost laughable. Still, I couldn’t deny there was something to what she said. For a moment, Chris and I had felt so…right.Like we’d lived a thousand lifetimes together.
Maybe we had.
“You don’t need to take life so seriously all the time,” Carol said, nudging me with her shoulder.
“I don’t think I can turn it off.”
Wouldn’t that be nice? Ten more years of therapy might get me close, but for now? Not a chance.
Carol smiled knowingly. “Well… you can try to tone it down. Maybe? At least for the next few days, there’s no one you need to think about. Except…you!”
Me?The thought was almost laughable. It was impossible to focus on myself when every fiber of my being was hardwired to put everyone else first. Part of the reason I was so happy in my daydreams was because, for once, I had found someone who put me first. Who cared and worried about me before anything else. Chris. That was howhechangedmethere.
Carol leaned closer, resting her hand on top of mine and locking eyes with me.
“Just go,” she said. “Go.”
I stared at her, caught in my own spiral of overthinking. Chris and I were a disaster waiting to happen. One nice gesture didn’t erase the mess we’d already made of each other. And still… I wanted to see him. Damn it, I wanted to thank him. To kiss him.
