Chapter 18 #2
Knox puts the coffee and sandwiches down in front of us and drops into the chair in front of the panoramic windows. Behind him, the white tips of Aspen Highlands kiss the sky.
“Is insurance going to cover it?”
My eyes still on the chandelier above us, I shrug. “No idea.”
“Let me know if you need any money.”
“Wyatt.” Camila turns to me and pulls a leg up onto the couch. “You think the workmen will be done by tonight?”
I burst out laughing. “No, Mila, of course not. They said it could take weeks.”
“But where are we going to sleep?”
“You all can stay here as long as you want,” Knox says. “Paisley and I have moved into the attic room, so my old room is free, and there are the four guestrooms…”
I sit up so quickly that Knox breaks off mid-sentence.
“Oh my God,” I say.
“What?” Camila asks.
“I’ve got an idea.”
“Oh, no.” Knox’s forehead sinks into the palm of his hand. “Whenever you say that, it doesn’t mean anything good.”
“No, no, for real. It’s perfect.”
Camila crosses her arms. “Spit it out, Wy.”
Eyes wide, first I look at my sister, then my best friend. “We’ll stay at the B&B.”
Neither of them moves. They just stare at me like I’m an alien, but I don’t care what they think or say. This is perfect, just perfect.
“Wyatt…” Camila begins. She sounds cautious and careful—the tone she’s perfected over the years whenever it’s got to do with Aria. Helplessly she looks over at Knox, who slides forward in his chair and puts down his coffee.
“Listen, bro.” He watches me take a bite of my sandwich, pour myself some coffee, and add two spoons of sugar with a grin. Man, this coffee is wonderful, and this life! Everything’s beginning to fall into place.
Knox clears his throat. “I can understand that…umm…the idea of moving in with Aria is really attractive to you. But you’ve got to understand that this is just a knee-jerk reaction and that Aria and you are never…”
“We kissed,” I say before he can finish. “Twice.”
Camila’s face turns gray. “Wy, please tell me you didn’t force her and…”
“Que merda, Camila, no!” I glare at her. “What the hell kind of person do you think I am?”
“Well, explain then,” she says, laying her hands on her knees. “Aria hates you, Wy.”
I swallow the last bit of sandwich and grind my teeth. “Apparently not.”
“Was she drunk?” Knox asks. “Or a little messed up?”
“No!” I spring up and begin pacing back and forth behind the couch. “It just happened. And she wanted it to, okay? And ever since we’ve been texting each other every day, every minute, so don’t be coming at me with this I-forced-her crap.”
“She’s texting you? Don’t you mean she’s writing to the lobster?” Knox asks.
“The lobster? O meu Deus. Wy, you can’t be serious, right?” Mila adds.
“You have no idea what’s going on!” I can feel the rage boiling up in me until I’m just about ready to burst. “Knox, you’re with Paisley, and you love each other and are happy, every day. And, Camila, you don’t know what it’s like to lose someone you love.”
All the blood drains out of her face. Knox says, “Duuude,” and only then do I realize what I’ve just said.
Shit. “I didn’t mean that. Mom and Dad, I mean, yeah, of course you loved them. I only wanted to say that there hasn’t been a guy that you, I mean…”
“It’s okay, Wyatt.” My sister closes her eyes and takes a deep breath before opening them again.
“It’s okay. I know what you mean. You’re right.
I have no idea what being so obsessed with a person is like, what completely losing your shit over a person is like.
But to be really honest? I don’t think I wanna know. ”
I feel a heavy weight on my chest as I sit down next to her again.
I hesitantly reach out my hand and, when I see that she’ll allow me, put it over hers.
“I’m sorry for saying what I just did. That was dumb.
And I’m sorry for not exactly being the best role model as far as love goes.
Actually, it’s something beautiful, Mila.
And the fact that I’m so messed up just means that the feelings Aria and I shared were on some kind of super-dimensional level where nothing should have ever gone wrong.
” I squeeze her hand. “Think how great it’s going to be when you find someone. ”
She grunts. “Yeah, before it goes to shit, and I end up in a dark, dirty hole like you.”
“That won’t happen,” Knox grins. “You’re smarter than your brother.”
I laugh. “A lot.”
A faint smile appears on her lips. She looks up and holds my gaze. She must see something, something that softens her heart, for all of a sudden she sighs and says, “Tell me there’s a ghost of a chance that you and Aria could get back together, and I’ll be okay with it.”
“There is.” Two words and I feel like I’m in the clouds.
Camila lets out a breath. “Well, good, Wy. Then let’s go to the B&B.”
Knox groans. “I take back what I just said. Apparently you’re both batshit.”
“Knox,” I say in a businesslike tone while lifting up my coffee and looking my best friend right in the eyes. “If Aria asks why we’re not staying with you, I’m going to tell her your relatives are visiting. And please promise me you’re not going to call her to convince her not to put us up.”
“As if she’d put you up anyway, Wy. You’re her ex, man. That aside, the season just started, and every guesthouse is booked out.”
I grin. “We’ll see about that.”