“You okay?” I asked quietly.
She shook her head, her eyes glistening. “If one more person talked crap about you and Hudson, I might’ve gotten suspended. But Mr. Harrison told everyone to focus on the upcoming tournament, or they’d lose their spot. With our team hosting, nobody wanted that, so they actually listened and kept their mouths shut.”
My hands tightened on the steering wheel. “I’m so sorry, Aves. You shouldn’t have had to deal with stuff like that because of me.”
“It’s not your fault.” Her tone was fierce as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “It’s hers. And his, I guess. She keeps doing crap to you, and you keep trying to be nice about it because you’re the best girlfriend a guy could ask for, while he’s too busy ignoring what’s going on to notice how far you’ve drifted away. You deserve better.”
“It’s going to be okay.” I reached over and squeezed her knee. “They actually had a two-bedroom bungalow available at Château Marmont for tonight. Just you and me. Old movies, room service, no phones, and no gossip sites. Sound good?”
“Can we get spaghetti Bolognese? It’s supposed to be amazing.” Her face brightened just a little. “And watch the old rom-coms Grandma used to love?”
“Absolutely. All the spaghetti you want. And every rom-com on the list.” I shot her a half smile. “They also have a sundae with peanut butter gelato, brownie, pretzels, and hot fudge. We can drown our sorrows in those, too.”
“Yes, please,” she eagerly agreed. “As much as today sucked, I’m really glad to escape like this with you tonight. Thanks for thinking of it, Sis.”
“And I’m really glad you’ll be with me.” I reached over to pat her hand. “It wouldn’t be any fun all by myself.”
The rest of the twenty-minute drive to the hotel was quiet. After we drove down the steep driveway to the underground garage entrance, the valet took the car, and a staff member escorted us to our bungalow. Other than a couple of paparazzi lingering off to the side of the narrow road as we drove in, there were no camera flashes.
The hotel took its security seriously, and the bungalows offered the highest degree of privacy. That was the beauty of places like this, they knew how to protect their guests.
Once the door closed behind us, Avery dropped her backpack and flopped onto the huge bed. “This is nice. Way better than dealing with stupid high school gossip.”
“Maybe I should check to see how long the bungalow is available.” I smiled, unpacking the few things we’d brought. “Not right now, though. Let's order room service and forget the rest of the world exists. Tomorrow, we can decide what we want to do next.”
We got way too much food, but it was all so good. When the food arrived, we set ourselves up in the living room. Since we had a fireplace, I lowered the thermostat and started a fire so we’d have even more of the old Hollywood vibe while we watched the old rom-coms our grandmother made us watch on rainy afternoons.
She’d been so thrilled when I was cast as a minor side character with only five lines. I was just happy that she was still with us when the first movie I starred in came out. I accredited a lot of my success to the hours upon hours I spent on her couch, two decades of market research before I started to make a name for myself as an actress.
For a little while, our movie marathon worked. We laughed at the cheesy lines, twirled spaghetti on our forks, and pretended we were just two sisters having a normal night in.
But the quiet moments between movies let the real feelings creep back in. I kept thinking about how good it felt to be in his arms last night. But every time I remembered the way he continued to defend Maddie, the hope dried up. Love wasn’t enough if he kept letting her erode everything we had.
After dessert was delivered and we made a dent in the sundaes, Avery set her spoon down and looked at me. “Do you think you’re really done with Hudson?”
“I don’t know. I still love him so much it hurts.” I swallowed hard, the gelato suddenly tasting like ash. “But I can’t keep doing this. Every time I think we’re turning a corner, Maddie finds another way in. The cake. The party. The dress. The photos. It never stops. And Hudson keeps defending her as if she’s this innocent friend who just doesn’t know any better. It’s exhausting.”
Avery scooted closer and wrapped her arm around me, hugging me tight. “You’ve always put me first, even when it was hard for you. You deserve someone who does the same for you. I really thought Hudson was that guy.”
“So did I.” Tears slipped down my cheeks as I hugged her back, burying my face in her hair. “Things changed so quickly, I’m not even sure how it happened. I want us to go back to how happy we were the day before Maddie came to town, but there might be too much water under that bridge for us to do that.”
We stayed like that for a long time, hugging and crying quietly while an old black-and-white movie played in the background. Avery eventually pulled back, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her hoodie.
“Whatever you decide, I’ve got your back. Even if it means we stay here forever and eat spaghetti every night.” She flashed me a watery smile. “I’m willing to make that sacrifice for you.”
“Gee, that’s very generous of you since I know it’d be a big hardship.” I laughed through my tears, pulling her close again. “I love you so much, Aves. Thanks for being the best little sister a girl could ask for.”
“Only because I had the best big sister to look up to,” she mumbled against my shoulder. “And if Hudson doesn’t wake up and see how amazing you are, then he doesn’t deserve you.”
“Yeah,” I whispered. “If Grandma were here, she’d wag her finger at him with a warning not to be the frog who gets boiled.”
Avery scrunched her nose and asked, “I’m not sure, maybe you’d be the frog in this scenario?”
“Could be,” I mumbled, thinking about one of the metaphors our grandmother had used all the time. Hudson had an awareness failure that fit since he completely missed the issue with Maddie until too much damage had been done. But I used up all of my energy trying to adjust to the ever-changing situation with her, which was also part of the lesson Grandma had tried to teach us. “Or maybe both of us are, just in different ways.”
I stayed where I was until the sun came up, stroking Avery’s hair while an old black-and-white movie played in the background. With my little sister curled up beside me, I thought about what it would take for Hudson and me to get back on solid ground. But for the first time since we started dating, I couldn’t picture our future together. And that scared me more than I wanted to admit—because it meant I might have to choose my peace over the man I still loved.
12
