“Okay.” Elena turns to me, smiling before she presses her lips against mine, whispering, “I love you” as she rises from her chair.
Carlos remains seated, reaching across Elena’s empty seat, and landing a pat to my cheek. “Siempre te he visto como a un tercer hijo, muchacho. No lo arruines.”
“Was that a threat?” I ask, eyes drifting to Elena, who stands in front of me now. “Is he threatening me?”
“No,” she chimes at the same time Everett scoffs, “Yes.”
I’m having heart palpitations.
Everett and I descend into heavy silence as Carlos and Elena walk away. Lou is still fast asleep against his shoulder, and he gently adjusts her into a more comfortable position as I whisper, “We obviously planned to sit you and Leo down and talk about all of this. We didn’t intend to keep it a secret forever. We needed time to figure things out for ourselves, but I’m sorry it came out how it did.”
His brows draw together, his lips a hard line, eyes distant as he stares me down. “Why was it a secret to begin with? Wereyou two having an affair while she was still with him? Was there overlap?”
I shake my head. “No. I mean…” I pause. “I’ve been in love with Elena my entire life, so if you’re speaking to feelings? Yeah. A ton of overlap on my end. She never told me she loved me back until after my brother left for Wyoming. We didn’t kiss, didn’t touch, until months later.”
“When did you start sleeping together?”
“A few months ago.”
His brows raise in surprise. “You weren’t intimate back then?”
“You didn’t ask if we were intimate. You asked if we slept together.”
“What does that even—” He shakes his head. “Never mind. Doesn’t matter.” He leans back in his chair, running a hand down his face. We’ve been here for hours, and it has to be close to dawn by now. “The night before…I was with him. Zach. He kept asking me about Elena’s new boyfriend, and I had no idea what he was talking about. I assumed she had some casual fling happening that he was exaggerating.” Everett’s eyes raise to me. “But he was talking about you, wasn’t he?”
I nod.
“He never found out?”
“No.” I sigh. “He did. That morning. Just before.”
“Fuck.” Everett’s voice breaks as he leans his head against the wall behind him. “She always spoke of this guilt she had, and I could never understand it. I didn’t know what she had to feel guilty about. I didn’t know how to fix her.” His throat moves as he swallows thickly, and when he faces me again, there are tears glimmering in his eyes. “You knew, though. You fucking knew what was really wrong with her, why she couldn’t get better, and you kept it to yourself.”
“It wasn’t my truth to share.”
“It doesn’t matter!” he snaps. “If I’d have known, I could’ve helped her!”
Suddenly, Lou stirs. Everett and I both pause as her eyes flutter open and she sits up, headphones falling off her ears. “Everett?” she asks groggily.
“Hi, Luz. I’m sorry, bug. I didn’t mean to wake you.” He cuts his gaze to me, eyes fierce and simmering. “We’ll finish this later.”
She blinks around the empty waiting room. “Where is everybody?”
“They’re getting drinks and snacks. Do you want something?” He shifts, pulling his phone from his back pocket. “I can call Dad and ask him to grab?—”
Monica comes flying around the corner with Carlos and Elena in tow. “They paged Dahlia while we were getting coffee. Darby is pushing!” she squeals. “They said we can head up to their floor and wait outside the room until they’re ready for us.”
Everett and Lou jump out of their seats, but I’m suddenly unsure if I’m supposed to go with them. I haven’t been present for, well, any birth in my life. I don’t know what the protocol is, but I’d assume only direct family members go inside the room when the baby is born.
When Everett stopped by the shop earlier, I was so flustered by our conversation, and by his news, that I left with Elena, but I now realize for the first time that I’m not actually sure I’m supposed to be here.
Yes, Darby is my best friend. So is her husband, and I’m dating his sister, but I’m not family. Not truly.
Lou jogs after Monica and Carlos, who are already heading toward the elevator, but Elena stands at the intersection of the hallway, tilting her head at me curiously. Everett pauses in front of my chair, glancing back. “What are you doing?”
“I don’t know if I’m supposed to go. Isn’t it family only?”
“Augustus, you are—” Elena starts.
