Page 4 of Almost
Is he fucking serious right now? Please don’t hang up? How about don’t fucking call me again.
“Give me one reason why I shouldn’t hang up. Make it good, Sebastian.”
Penelope looks very concerned by the tone of my voice as Blake steps away to talk to Owen. I don’t blame Penelope for being worried. I was a wreck after Mimi’s funeral, but over the last few months, the hurt turned to a simmering rage that I’ve kept at bay by not being in the same vicinity as Sebastian. I still kept my mouth shut because as pissed as I am at him, if I told Owen what Sebastian said to me that day,I don’t know for certain he’d be able to look the other way again.
I remember vividly how he came to me after Sebastian and I fell apart, and Owen tried to pick my side. I wouldn’t let him. Even after Sebastian broke my heart, I couldn’t let him lose Owen too. I love my brother for trying, but I’d never ask him to pick me over his best friend.
“I need to ask you for a favor.”
“Excuse me?” I can’t help the laugh that escapes from my mouth. “Fuck you.” I’m being childish, but he fucking deserves it. Chris isn’t going to believe me when I tell him this.
“Thalia, please.”
I’m not sure what it is about Sebastian saying please, but I stop my pacing that I hadn’t even realized I’d begun. It’s pathetic that a simple six-letter word can make my willpower crumble. “What do you need from me that you can’t get from someone else?” I ask roughly, my voice shaking in disbelief. I should hang up. Sebastian and I are bad for each other, and nothing good will come of this.
I hear him sigh on his end. “Just don’t hang up until I’m finished. I know I have no right to ask you this, but Kiera is hell-bent on having you as…our wedding photographer. She loved the photos from Owen’s wedding, and I’ve tried to talk her out of it, but Kiera insisted I call you.”
My brain glitches, trying to process this ridiculous request. I’m not sure what I expected him to say, but I’m really wishing I’d hung up when I had the chance.He’s crazy.That’s the only explanation. Sebastian has officially lost his goddamn mind. That was the last thing I expected to come out of his mouth. I mean, seriously? He has the nerve to ask me to photograph his wedding without apologizing forwhat he said to me at Mimi’s funeral. For fuck’s sake, I was there to…well, it doesn’t matter what I was there to do.
“Why the fuck would I want to do that? I’m not a wedding photographer, find someone else,” I snap, setting my glass on the ground before I throw it or spill it. Penelope’s eyes bug out of her head as she stares at me questioningly.
“I don’t blame you. I know it’s not fair of me to ask this of you, but I’ll do anything. Name your price,” Sebastian begs. The petty part of me wishes I could record this and play it on a loop through the speakers. It’d be a better piece of artwork than anything I could ever display here. Music to my ears.
I run a hand through my short hair, resisting the urge to pull it out. “I don’t need your money, Sebastian. I have plenty of my own.”
My career exploded after Africa. I had a steady income due to my year in France, but my phone never stopped ringing afterward. I pick the jobs I want, and I’ve had the freedom to go where I want. I spent a better part of the last two and a half years in Europe, but when Owen told me that Mimi wasn’t going to last much longer, I finished out my obligations before coming back. From there, I decided to stay and open a gallery to be closer to my family. After it’s up and running, I’ll be able to travel again, but for now, I want to set down roots. Thankfully, Penelope came with me and is my partner in the gallery.
“I know, I’m just—I’m desperate, Thalia.I’ll do anything you want if you agree, I promise.”
I fall silent because what do I want from Sebastian? The only thing I want is nothing. It’s more painful than anythingknowing that the boy I grew up with and the man I loved is gone. He’s not that person anymore.
“If I agree—and this is a really big if—I want you to leave me alone. For good, Sebastian. Delete my number and anything that ties us together. If we’re in the same room, you pretend I don’t exist. You can have Owen’s friendship and I’ll share my parents with you, but nothing else. I mean it when I say I wantnothingto do with you.”You broke my heart,is what I don’t say. Sebastian broke it the night he walked away from me after proposing without having a single conversation with me. I waited a week for him to come back before I packed my bags and left. He broke it again the same day we were at Mimi’s funeral and he told me that I was the worst thing that almost happened to him.
I turn away from my friends because I can’t bear to see their expressions. I know what an awful idea this is, but I’m done. I’m ready for it to be over.
I hear thewhooshof his exhale, and my heart thumps painfully in my chest. “I don’t blame you for wanting nothing to do with me. I promise I’ll leave you alone,” he says finally, and I take a deep breath.
I wish I could say no to Sebastian, but this is too good of a deal to pass up. “Have Kiera call me. You’re lucky I’m a better person than you are, but don’t ever fucking call me again.” I hate who Sebastian has become, but I have no ill will toward Kiera. In fact, I even kinda like the girl. She’s like a little kid you can’t tell no.
“Thank y—” I hang up on him before he can finish saying it, and I reallyreallywant to throw my phone. Instead, I opt to pick my glass up to chug the rest of my wine as Penelope and Blake stare at me. They’re probably tryingto figure out if they need to admit me to the psych ward for observation.
“Looks like I’m going to a wedding,” I say bitterly, casting a short glare at the portrait from Blake and Owen’s wedding already hanging up. Photographing their wedding was my present to them after Blake all but begged me to. My love for my sister-in-law is what got me into this mess. She sweetened the deal by throwing maid of honor in there, which required me to call in a favor with an actual wedding photographer because I couldn’t be in the wedding and photographing it at the same time. It slipped past my attention that Sebastian would be Owen’s best man when I agreed to it.
Blake’s mouth opens and Penelope slowly inches toward the wine bottle, knowing exactly what kind of a mood I’m in right now. It’s the kind of foul mood that only he can put me in.Fuck, I’m going to regret agreeing to do this. I can feel it already. But, it might be worth it to have Sebastian fucking Walker completely out of my life for good. Does it still count as being out of my life if I’m pretending he’s dead to me when we’re in the same room?
“What the hell did I get myself into?” I mumble under my breath. Penelope hands me the bottle, and I sit on the ground after taking it. I should have fucking let it go to voice mail.
“Thalia, I hate to be the one to point this out, but it’s four in the afternoon. Do we really need to start drinking now?” Blake asks hesitantly, and Penelope plops down on the floor across from me. I never have to ask her twice to day drink with me.
I shake my head, still in disbelief that I agreed. “He asked me to be their wedding photographer. Set the clocks an hour forward if it makes you feel better.”
Blake gasps, finally connecting all the dots. “No way.” She sits on the ground, her eyes wide in astonishment. I’m glad I’m not the only one surprised Sebastian asked me this. “I knew Kiera wanted you to do it, but I tried to tell her it was a bad idea. Wow, I can’t believe he actually called you.”
Penelope pulls the bottle from my hand to drink straight from it before passing it to Blake. I should have asked Blake to grab another bottle since she was the last one standing. “Drink up, B, the look on her face says she isn’t joking.”
Stupid Owen. I never would have answered the phone if I knew he was okay. Too bad I love my brother.
I could always call Sebastian back and tell him I changed my mind and won’t photograph the wedding. I drag my hands over my face. I think I can be a professional, but really? Photographing my ex’s wedding? This might be a new low for me.