Page 98 of This Broken Heart
“You want to go for a walk?”
She tilts her head, glancing outside. It’s pitch dark. “Now?”
“Yeah. It’ll be quiet.”
“Okay.” Erin says, slowly climbing to her feet.
Mom gives me a secret look. It’s too knowing. This woman can see right through me—she’s always known what I’m thinking before I do. “Take a blanket, Josh. It gets chilly at night.”
We walk down to the beach together and as soon as our feet hit the sand, I take Erin’s hand. I was looking forward to taking this trip with her, but I didn’t anticipate how crowded the house would be. We’ve been under a microscope from the moment we arrived and I’ve had to pretend like my fingers weren’t itching to touch her hair. We find a little spot to sit down, and I wrap the blanket around both of our shoulders. She leans into me and I put my arm around her.
The only sound is the constant crash of waves on the beach. There’s a full moon and it almost lights up the horizon, spilling silver light across the water.
But no matter how perfect the setting, it doesn’t feel complete, unless she’s there with me. She feels like the missing piece. I turn, pressing my lips to her hair, breathing her in. I’ve been wanting to do that all day.
“Why do I get the feeling that your sisters don’t like me very much?”
It’s not all of my sisters, just the one. “They like you.”
“Hmm.”
“You just need to spend more time with them.”
“I do?” She sounds very unenthusiastic.
“Yes.” I let my fingers slide up her side. “For my sake.”
She sighs. “It’s a good thing you’re cute.”
“Just cute?” I ask, nuzzling her neck until she’s laughing, squirming in my arms.
65.
Erin
The strange thing about being attached to Josh is that it gives me automatic big sister status, when I’m actually between Reese and Parker in age.
They’re all still in college and I think they assume, because I’m already working, that I’m older than them.
We drive into the nearest beach town, finding the little shopping district Lisa told us about. I end up driving us, even though that may not have been anyone’s best choice.
Charlie scours reviews before deciding which coffee shop we should stop at. Half of my travels revolve around finding the best local dives and Charlie does not disappoint. She finds a little hole-in-the-wall Cuban place. Reese and Parker seem somewhat indifferent, but I have a cortado that knocks my socks off.
The girls launch into a rapid fire gossip session that’s almost hard to keep up with. They’re trading stories about their classmates. Occasionally, some of these stories involve Bo, Dusty, or Skyler. It’s almost conveyed in a different language. They share a connection that allows them to speak in half sentences or partial stories.
I feel a little left out, but as an only child, I’m mostly just enthralled by their relationship. I’ve only really seen them bickering, but this is giving me insight into how close they really are.
It makes me a tad jealous.
It’s a beautiful day and I just let their laughter and gossip wash over me. We step into a little boutique and Charlie stops by a rack of seashell earrings. The smile slides off her face. “Ana would have loved these.”
A hush falls over the girls. The light that usually glitters in Reese’s eyes fades and it occurs to me that Ana and Reese would have gone through most of high school together. I find myself wondering if they traveled in the same circles. When Josh’s wife died, did the girls lose a friend?
And then, all at once, it hits me why Charlie doesn’t like me. “How long did you know her?”
Charlie picks up some earrings, running her fingers over them. “Pretty much our whole lives.”
Reese tries to smile. “She was actually in my grade. We were friends before Josh and Ana ever started dating. I used to say he stole her from me.”