But then she went and fell in love with him, and now the things he kept back were the things she needed to know. To hear and feel and respond to. She said those three words, and he didn’t say anything back, and now he was gone, and she was supposed to leave for San Diego in three hours.
She forced herself off the bed and into the shower, moving through the motions of life with two feet stuck firmly in this miserable moment. She packed quickly and ignored the ping of her phone until it drove her to shut it off completely.
Her sister could wait. She’d be seeing her in a few hours anyway.
Sid made the bed and gathered her bags. She left them near the front door and made a pot of coffee. She was about to pour herself a cup to enjoy for the last time on the back deck when a sharp knock and the jangling of the doorknob caught her attention.
Her heart leapt into her chest.
Beck.
She rushed to the front door and yanked it open, only to find her sister standing there, hand raised as if to knock again.
“What the…” Confused, Sid tumbled over her words. “Why are you…” Then, panicked, she got control of herself. “Did something happen to Mom?”
“No. Sorry. Mom is good. I just… I tried to call, but you didn’t pick up.”
“Why? What are you doing here?”
Kylie lowered her eyes and picked at the cuff of her light jacket. “Can I come in?”
Still confused, Sid stood back and then closed the door behind her sister once she was inside. She headed to the kitchen and grabbed a second mug from the cupboard, filled it, and handed it over to Kylie, who watched in silence.
She added cream and sugar to hers and nodded toward the back. “Follow me. We can have this conversation outside.”
The sun enveloped the deck, dappled beams of gold that spread its warmth over the entire area. With no breeze, it was cozy and inviting. Kylie ditched her jacket and sank into one of the chairs, while Sid took the one opposite to her sister.
“You know I’m supposed to leave for the airport in an hour.” Sid took a sip of coffee and let the caffeine do its work while her sister nodded.
“I was hoping to catch you before you left.”
“Why? This is crazy, you being here.” She shook her head. “If Mom’s okay, what is it? One of the girls? Did Francine go into early labor?” She felt bad that she hadn’t spoken to any of her girlfriends since she’d been in Michigan.
“No. Everything back home is good.”
“Is something going on with you?”
Again, her sister said no.
“Okay. Well, you need to explain to me why you felt the need to fly across the country to see me an hour before I leave for my flight home. Which, coincidentally, is in the same city that you live in.” Sid didn’t bother to keep the sarcasm from her voice, because having any kind of conversation with her sister wasn’t something she wanted to deal with. Not when she was still processing everything that had happened the night before.
Kylie sighed and tucked a long piece of ink-black hair behind her ear. She took a drink from her mug and set it on the table.
“I came to make sure you don’t ruin your life.”
“Excuse me?” Sid had been eyeing the robin on the tree to her right and whipped her head back so fast, she felt her neck crack.
“You heard me.”
“I might have heard you, but you sure as hell need to elaborate.” She narrowed her eyes. “Just a little bit.”
“So, this Beck guy.”
“Not talking about him,” Sid replied, anger giving her words some depth. “Tell me you did not come all the way out here to talk about some guy I met on vacation.”
“I did.” Kylie sat up. “I am.”
“Well, you wasted your time and a lot of air miles, because I’m not discussing Beck with you.”