Chapter 32 Sienna
Chapter 32
Sienna
They’re settled on the couch, Lucy’s foot resting comfortably on the ottoman.
“I’m guessing this is why we haven’t seen you this year ... why you’ve been distant. How could you have kept this from us?”
Lucy’s blue eyes are dull and dim. “Henry’s been going through some stuff. It hasn’t been an easy few years.”
Sienna asks about counseling, a fix Lucy believed in.
“It’s complicated.”
“I thought we tell each other everything.”
Lucy gazes out the window.
“Have I done something wrong? Did something happen between the kids?”
“No. It’s nothing like that.”
“Then why does it feel like you’ve been avoiding me? Why can’t you talk to me?”
Lucy looks about to cry, her lip trembling. “It’s been awful for a while ... I didn’t want to bother you.”
Sienna tries to comfort her, but Lucy moves away.
“I’m your person. We tell each other everything.”
“This is different. Embarrassing.”
“More embarrassing than the time you walked out of the fraternity party with a panty liner stuck to your ass?”
This gets a scant laugh out of her friend.
“We shouldn’t have come,” Lucy says.
Sienna brushes the hair off her friend’s face. “Talk to me.”
That’s when Lucy breaks down.
“We’ve been distant. I don’t know what happened. I mean, I do ... we just can’t seem to connect.”
Sienna doesn’t know if Lucy’s referring to herself and Henry, or the two of them.
“What happened, Luce?” She wants the answers to all of it. “You know you can tell me anything.”
Lucy’s eyes fill with tears. She’s wrestling with something.
“This won’t change things,” Sienna assures her, wrapping her arms around her friend.
“You know how these things work, Sienna. People always take sides.”
“Nothing can come between us. You’re my sister from another mister. There’s no one I trust more in the world.”
This only makes Lucy cry harder and louder. Sienna finds her a tissue and squeezes her fingers. “It’s going to be okay. We’re going to get through this together. We got through losing Harry at the airport and Julius getting attacked by that horrible dog. We’ll get through this.”
Lucy’s shaking her head, but Sienna reminds her of her strength, their collective strength.
Lucy whispers, “I’m sorry, Sienna. I’m sorry I fucked everything up.”