“You should know that Antonio messaged me last night.” I still don’t look at him; I just continue to listen to his husky morning voice. “He wanted to come out to Malibu when he realized you left.” I look at him now, and he shakes his head.
“Don’t worry. I told him no and not to bother coming around.”
“Why?” I hate that I just asked that. His face tells me he does too.
“Because he hurt you, Stell.”
“You’ve hurt me before.” His face falls flat as he considers my words.
“But not like this. I’ve never seen you this sad.” I look back out at the sunset, take a labored breath, really wanting to get to the place he’s at, but something in me wants to avoid giving up as an option. Still, I want what I wanted when this whole thing began, and I’m not even close to getting it if we “break up” because of a fight. If anything, it makes things worse for both of us.
“I’ve also never seen you this happy with anyone.” His words take me off guard, and I glance at him for a second, a sympathetic grin revealing his dimpled cheeks. I must be a better actor than I realized. Me, happy with Antonio? Not just happy, happier than my friend who has known me all my life has seen me. It’s rather perplexing (borderline concerning), or I should take Jens’ job.
“You’re thinking?” Brandt nudges me after I’ve been watching the sunrise for a while.
“Yeah.” I nod. He lets this be a good answer, though I know it’s shit when he just wants to figure out why everything is so weird. He’s a good friend. All of my friends are. Like the siblings I always wanted. I’m pretty sure we’re the reason our families never had more than one kid. We always had each other, and that seemed like enough. It still does, but something has changed. And I hate to admit it, but I know it’s because of Antonio.
I shouldn’t be thinking like this after we’ve had such a messy fight. I mean, I shouldn’t be thinking like this because we were never supposed to be anything more than a deal. That’s it. Just a business deal.
Brandt holds his hand to me when the sun is almost at its spot in the sky, and the smell of breakfast is wafting up the stairs. I press my lips into a smile and grab it. Together, we stand, pulling the blanket off and carrying it down the stairs. I already hear the rest of the group laughing, probably waiting in the kitchen for breakfast. I always like eating meals in the kitchen. As much time as it takes to keep up after the plants flowing throughout it, it’s worth sitting in. Our dining room is nice, but the kitchen feels much warmer and inviting.
“Well, well, well, where have you two been?” Grey teases— a morning person.
“Shut up, bro.” Brandt tosses the blanket at his head, and he scowls. I take my seat between Iris and Ainsley on the back side of the wood farm-style table that is already set and garnished with fresh flowers from the garden. We sit and commence in a pleasant breakfast, chatting a little about the day's events. Jens gets up about halfway through to head to set while the rest of us finish up eating.
After the last person leaves, and I’m alone, I turn to head back to my room, but my mother is right behind me. I nearly jump out of my skin at her proximity to me.
“Jesus,” I gasp. “You scared me.” She laughs, eyes trail to my naked ring finger.
“So--“
“Mother. It’s barely the morning yet—“
“It’s 9 am.”
“Exactly. I need time before I get into the details of—“
“You told me we would talk in the morning.” She pouts.
“No. You told me that. I promise we’ll talk soon. I want some alone time because I’ve been with Antonio every day.” (A lie, but a good one.) She perks up.
“Okay!” She quickly smiles and waves a hand for me to go. I nod and escape to the elevator alone, closing the doors with a sigh of relief. All I have to do is avoid her for the rest of the day. It shouldn’t be too hard, hopefully. But I promise myself as I step into my room that no matter what, I will not think about Antonio San Giovanni today.