Chapter 28 #2
A few hours later, we’re gathered around the table eating, talking over each other the way we always do. Even though we speak almost every day, there’s never a shortage of things to catch up on. Stories overlap, laughter comes easily, and for a while, it feels like no time has passed at all.
Still, now and then, I catch something in June’s expression that doesn’t quite match the moment, like she’s trying a little too hard to seem okay.
Eventually, I excuse myself, telling them I’m going upstairs to change into something warmer. The evenings cool off fast here, and the house always feels a little chillier once the sun starts slipping away.
When I step into my room, I stop.
There’s a neat stack of folded towels sitting in the middle of my bed.
I frown, moving closer, and then I notice the small piece of paper resting on top. My name is written across it in careful handwriting.
I pick it up.
I figured you might need clean towels, so I washed these for you. Please feel free to bring your laundry over to my house whenever you want to. I hope you have the best time with your sisters.
Aiden.
I read it twice.
The warmth that spreads through me catches me off guard, settling somewhere deep in my chest. It’s such a simple thing.
Ordinary. Thoughtful in a way that feels almost intimate.
I stand there staring at the towels, the note still in my hand, unsure what to do with the rush of feelings moving through me.
The door opens behind me.
“We are thinking about opening that tub of ice cream,” April says, then stops when she sees me. “What’s going on?”
I turn and hold out the note.
She takes it, reading it out loud, her eyebrows climbing higher with every line. “Holy shit,” she breathes.
Out of the corner of my eye, I notice June, tears sliding down her cheeks.
Not quiet tears. Full, shaking sobs that seem to surprise even her. April and I exchange a quick look before we both move toward her, wrapping our arms around her as she folds into us.
“Hey, hey,” I murmur. “What’s wrong?”
Neptune trots into the room, ears alert, circling us before pressing himself close as if he knows something isn’t right.
“I’m okay,” June says through tears, but she’s clearly not.
We ease her down to the floor, sitting with her while she cries. Neptune curls right in front of her, resting his head near her knee, watching her with concern.
She wipes at her face, but the tears keep coming.
“I’m sorry,” she says finally, voice cracking. “I don’t mean to make this about me, but this is so fucking sweet I can’t stand it.”
I rub slow circles across her back. “June… what happened with Luca? You know you can tell us.”
She takes a shaky breath.
“I knew it wouldn’t work out between us,” she says quietly. “I knew it. We’re too different. From different worlds. But I got my hopes up anyway, and now I’m paying for it.”
April shifts closer, her voice gentle. “Tell us what happened.”
June nods, staring at her hands. “You know I’ve been seeing him for a few months now.
From the beginning, I knew it wasn’t going to be serious.
I was just having fun. He’s the hottest guy I’ve ever met, and he’s into me, like…
” She laughs weakly through tears. “I’m fat, and this guy worshiped me in bed. It was amazing.”
“As he should,” April says immediately.
June smiles briefly, then her face falls again.
“We agreed to keep it secret. I mean, Catalina knows, and Marianna knows because Thiago knows, since they’re best friends, but that was it.
We’ve gone out a million times, and we’ve been pictured together before, but nobody’s ever thought much of it since I’m always around the team, but we went out.
Someone took a picture of us… he was touching my ass, and from one moment to the other it ended up everywhere. ”
Her voice breaks.
“And in the past few days, the entire internet has said the most horrible things about me. About my body. About how I don’t deserve him, and how he would never date someone who looks like me, and he hasn’t said anything. Not one thing.”
The room goes quiet except for the sound of her breathing.
“I understand why,” she adds quickly. “We agreed it would stay private. But I guess I hoped he’d say something.
Just… anything. That he’d admit he’d actually date someone like me.
That they’re wrong.” Her shoulders shake again.
“And now I’m heartbroken over expectations I created myself.
And the worst part is, I can’t even blame him. ”
April reaches for her hand, squeezing gently.
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” she says softly.
I keep rubbing her back, letting her talk, letting the words spill out without trying to fix them. The three of us sit there on the floor, Neptune pressed against us, the evening light fading slowly through the window as June lets herself fall apart safely between us.
Eventually, her breathing steadies, the tears slowing.
The room grows quieter, softer.
June leans into me, April’s knee pressed against mine, Neptune warm at our feet, and for a while, none of us move.