Chapter 16 #4
“Oh really? I’d say you look pretty dumbfounded that I know this information, but I think dumb found you a long time ago,” Celeste continues, her hands clenched so tightly together behind her back her knuckles are white, the only indication she’s upset, “And what does Daddy think of this? Does he change the subject when you’re brought up amongst his friends?
Are you the epitome of a stain on the family tapestry?
Can’t scrub it out so it just sits there, stinking up the living room.
It’s nice to see someone like you be so confident, really, it’s great to see your hairline isn’t holding you back from approaching women.
Now I know these are some big words for your underdeveloped brains so maybe I’ll dumb it down to a level you’ll understand.
Go row, row, row, your boat gently off a cliff, because a night with you two would only end in disappointment.
” She gives them a small wave and turns on her heel pulling me along and leaving Corey and Payton standing like pylons by the side of the road.
“I’m incredibly impressed,” I say with a chuckle, breaking the silence as we approach her car.
When I turn to her though, she’s shaking and tears have filled her eyes.
“Celeste? Sweetheart, what’s the matter?
” I ask with concern, the endearment slipping out without thought.
I tilt her chin up gently with my hand as she tries to look down.
“I just got so mad. I cry when I’m mad, okay?
Like when I’m really, really mad,” she sniffs, crossing her arms and leaning her back against her car.
“I didn’t know when I first met them that day at the cafe, but then I met up with Angelica again, the girl I tutor,” she explains and I assume she means Espresso Barbie, “and she explained that Corey sexually assaulted her and she’s pressing charges.
” She shakes her head again and releases a very long breath.
“I’m so sorry, Celeste. I had no idea, I would have…” I’m not sure what I would have done, because Celeste truly held her own back there and if I had started anything I’m sure I would have had my ass handed to me by the whole football team.
“No, it’s not your fight. Fuck,” she looks up to the sky, “It’s not even my fight.
” She sighs and looks towards me. “I just can’t stand for men being pigs and slimy with women.
With anybody. I feel for what Angelica is going through.
She’s so strong and is fighting with all her might not to have it turned into a he-said-she-said thing where a male judge says Corey has a bright future ahead of him.
” Celeste is out of breath, frustration written across her brow at Angelica’s fight, at a broader issue at hand.
I honestly don’t know what to say to make her feel any better.
“How can I help?” I ask softly.
“Thank you, Dom. Seriously, I appreciate that, but I’m good.
Angelica’s okay, it’s just…a constant fight.
” She nods at me with an appreciative smile and hands me her keys.
I take them, since I only had one beer compared to her two fruity concoctions.
I jog around to the passenger’s side door and open it. She looks at me in confusion.
“You can’t be a passenger princess without a little chivalry.” I tip an imaginary hat to her. Her face brightens, making my heart thump. She stands in front of me, biting the inside of her cheek as she looks up to me.
“What is it, your Highness?” I ask with a curtsy.
She giggles and shakes her head at me, rolling her eyes in amusement. “Absolutely nothing fair, jester, come with haste,” she plays along, plopping herself into the passenger seat.
I close the door gently and move around to the driver’s side. “So I’m the jester, am I?” I ask with fake annoyance, starting up the ignition and checking Celeste has buckled up before pulling out of the parking lot.
“Well I don’t think you’re a clown, if that’s what you’re implying.
In a medieval court you’d be the equivalent of a judge, brooding from the sidelines of course.
” She giggles again. I snort a laugh at her accuracy.
“Okay, let’s revisit that conversation with Ellie because it seems I’m on a roll with expressing my feelings tonight,” she says with determination.
I grip the steering wheel a little tighter.
“Okay,” I say tentatively. Not my favourite topic, but it had to be brought up eventually, I guess.
“Well, you never told me Ellie was dating Delaney, so let’s start there.” There’s no judgment in her tone, just a hint of sadness, like I was keeping something from her.
“If I had known, I promise I would have told you. No one has ever referred to my sister as ‘Ellie’ before, so I didn’t even consider it,” I explain.
“Okay fair. It seems like you guys have a lot to talk about.” she says quietly, cautiously, like I’m an anxious street cat she’s holding out a can of tuna out for.
I sigh and turn a corner Celeste’s gestures toward, “There’s just a lot of history between us that makes every conversation that much harder. She brings up everything over and over, I…I can never win.”
“But win what? The argument? From where I was sitting it looks like you two may have spent some time together but grew up very differently. I think Ellie just wants you to see how she had it, without sounding like she’s whining or complaining about how she grew up,” Celeste says, and in all fairness I can’t disagree.
“I know. I wish I could tell her how proud I am of her, her sobriety, and her relationship with Delaney. You’re right, I don’t know her that well, but I’ve never seen her smile at someone like that, not even my parents.
” My brows pull together as I try to recall a time where Ellora, myself, and our parents were all together and happy.
My mind goes blank. Maybe that time never existed, maybe none of us were happy at the same time in the same space. My heart breaks a little at that.
What the fuck would Celeste think of this family? She wouldn’t want any part of something so broken.
“You have to tell her that, Dominic. You have to voice your pride in her, or she’ll never know.
” She looks at me with so much earnestness in her eyes that I fight to keep my eyes on the road.
I can’t imagine Celeste having a hard time remembering a happy family memory.
She is the epitome of happiness. As much as I hated those football guys calling her sunshine because they couldn’t be bothered to remember her name, “sunshine” truly is a great description of Celeste.
“I will. I’ll tell her,” I say as I pull up to the house Celeste is pointing toward, putting her little yellow car in park and stepping out, stretching my legs. I hustle to the other side to open her door before she can.
“Why thank you, Prince Peggy,” She winks at me as she hops out, her purse flung over her shoulder. As she meets the little white fence surrounding her small property, she turns back to me. “Thanks for driving me home, I’m glad I can count on you.”
“It’s no problem at all,” I say before turning to begin my walk home.
“Dominic?” My name sounds like heaven on her lips, and I turn on instinct. With her face blushed from the sweet alcohol and her hair swung over one shoulder, she’s just perfect.
“Yes?”
“In case no one’s said it before, I’m proud of you.” She smiles and my heart explodes in my chest. Warmth radiates from my heart through my veins down to the tips of my fingers. I smile so big I feel my eyes crease.
“Goodnight, Hoot.” I say, then bite into my lip and turn before I spill my heart out to her.
I walk back home with a stupid, big, fat, grin on my face that I just can’t shake.
I probably look like a serial killer to anyone else on the streets, smiling like an idiot and walking alone at night, but I just don’t have anything in me to care after hearing Celeste tell me she’s proud of me.
The praise rings in my ears much longer than my walk home.