In The Between

✧･Chapter 29 Every Time

"Where's June?" Lucas asks as Helena walks out of the patio door with two glasses in her hand, filled with an amber colored, which I assumed had to be whiskey.

"Bathing and putting the girls to bed. She ordered me to come back out here." Helena says, moving to her seat, with an empty one next to her where June had been sitting not too long ago.

"You? Taking orders?" Claire says with a teasing tone, taking one of the glasses from Helena and taking a sip.

"From her? Yes." Helena replies shortly, making all of us chuckle.

The pool day lasted until the sun started to lower in sky, and all of us decided to change into more comfortable clothing and to just sit down and enjoy each other's company.

The girls had a blast with swimming and playing with all of us.

Claire and I... kept our distance from each other for the most part, mainly because we had agreed to take things slow.

Over the past few days, during one of our texts, we had agreed to not tell anyone what was happening between us, besides Helena and June because they already knew it was happening before we even did.

August and Lucas is sitting near each other, with Lucas in the middle of explaining some story that I hadn't been listening to at all and August is laughing at it, like it's the best story he had ever heard.

Claire is sitting across from me with a blanket drape over her, her eyes already on me with this soft smile that brings butterflies all over my stomach.

"You're not listening to a single word he's saying, are you?" Claire calls out suddenly, loud enough to cut through Lucas and August's laughter.

Lucas pauses mid-gesture, hand frozen in the air like he's been personally betrayed. "Excuse me? I'm telling a very important story right now."

August immediately leans forward, grinning. "No, you're not. You're telling a story about you getting humiliated, and I'm invested."

"I was not humiliated," Lucas argues, pointing at him. "I was... strategically outmaneuvered."

Helena, sitting back in her chair with her drink, lets out a slow breath like she's heard this exact conversation a thousand times before. "That sounds like a polite way of saying you lost."

Claire laughs into her glass, shaking her head as she leans back under her blanket. "He absolutely lost."

Lucas turns on her instantly. "Wow, very supportive. Thanks, Claire."

"What?" She says innocently, lifting her shoulders. "I'm being honest."

August laughs harder at that, practically doubling over. "She's right though."

"I hate all of you," Lucas mutters, crossing his arms dramatically.

Helena takes a slow sip of her drink, completely unbothered. "You'll survive."

Lucas points at her like that's not the point. "I don't want to survive, I want respect."

"You won't get that from me," Claire says, a slight grin tugging at her lips. "Not with everything I know about you."

My heart does something stupid at the sight of it, even though that smile isn't for me.

"I am a world-famous baseball player," Lucas huffs. "I will not take this slander."

Helena lets out a loud, unexpected laugh, and all of us glance at her in mild shock. "Oh- sorry," she says, still smiling as she brings her glass back up. "That was just really funny."

Lucas groans, dragging a hand down his face before pointing directly at me. "You," he says. "I have questions."

I raise an eyebrow, leaning back slightly in my chair. "I might have answers."

He straightens a little, clearing his throat like he's about to conduct an interview. "So..." he starts, eyeing me carefully. "What happened with you and Chris?"

The air shifts instantly, and I feel it before I can even react. My mouth opens, then closes again, the question hitting harder than it should. For a split second, I don't know what to say - don't know which version of the truth I'm supposed to give.

And then I glance at Claire, she'd been mid-sip, glass tilted toward her lips, but now it's just paused there, not moving. Her eyes aren't on me yet, but I can already feel it, the stillness, and I force myself to look away from her.

Keep it normal... keep it easy.

"It just... wasn't working," I say, giving a small shrug.

Lucas immediately leans forward a little, squinting. "That's it?"

I reach for my drink, buying myself a second. "Yeah. We just, wanted different things." Even to me, it sounds thin and incomplete.

There's a pause, and I make the mistake of adding, quieter, "We had different ideas about the future."

The second the words leave my mouth, I feel it.

Claire doesn't react in any obvious way - no sharp inhale, no dramatic shift - but she stills in a way that's almost worse. Her glass lowers slightly, her gaze drifting out toward the pool, her jaw tightening just enough that I catch it.

No one else would notice, but I do, and I know exactly how that sounded. Like she was never part of that future, wasn't even a factor.

"That'll do it," Lucas says with a nod, already halfway moving on.

But I can't, because Claire still hasn't looked at me, and the quiet between us suddenly feels heavy and wrong. Like she's already taken whatever that was and shoved it somewhere deep enough that no one else has to deal with it.

I shouldn't say anything. We agreed on slow and quiet. On not making this bigger than it already is. But when I look at her again, really look this time, I see it... how controlled she is, how contained, not angry or outwardly hurt.

Just used to it.

And something in me just... breaks.

"Okay- no," I say, the words coming out before I can stop them, and the conversation around us falters immediately.

Lucas blinks. "What?"

I don't look at him because my focus is still on her. "That's not the real reason."

Now Claire turns her head slightly toward me, confusion flickering across her face. "Mae..."

Lucas frowns. "What are you talking about?"

My heart is beating too fast, but I don't stop. "I left him because I'm in love with someone else."

The reaction is immediate and loud. "What?" August chokes, coughing as he nearly inhales his drink the wrong way.

Lucas just stares at me like I've started speaking another language. "You're- what? Hold on, what did you just say?"

Helena makes a sharp sound, somewhere between a laugh and a choke, bringing her hand to her mouth. "Oh my god."

"I have been for a long time," I add, quieter now, but steady.

Lucas leans forward hard; both hands braced on the table. "No, no, no- who? Mae, who?"

I don't hesitate, and I don't look away.

"Claire."

For a second, it's like everything glitches. August actually spits his drink out this time, coughing harder. "I knew something was weird-"

Lucas jerks back in his seat, running both hands through his hair. "You've got to be kidding me. No- no way. You're serious? You're serious right now?"

Helena is full-on laughing now, shaking her head like she cannot believe it took this long. "I cannot believe you just said that out loud."

But I don't hear any of it properly. because I'm still looking at Claire, and she's looking at me.

Not moving or speaking. Just staring like she's trying to process how we got here, how something that's been quiet and hidden and careful just got dragged out into the open in front of everyone.

There's shock there, but underneath it, there's something softer. Something that looks a little like it's been waiting for this and didn't expect to actually get it. And now neither of us knows what to do with it.

The noise around us doesn't stop right away.

Lucas is still talking and half arguing, half trying to piece it together out loud, while August keeps coughing and laughing under his breath like he just witnessed something he's going to bring up for the rest of his life.

But it all fades, because Claire is still looking at me, and I can't tell what she's thinking.

Her expression hasn't fully settled into anything yet-there's still too much moving through it. Shock, yeah. Confusion. Something deeper that she's trying to keep contained before anyone else can see it.

Lucas slaps a hand on the table suddenly. "No, okay, hold on- we're not just moving past this. Since when?"

"Lucas," Helena warns, but there's no real heat behind it.

"No, I'm serious," he insists, pointing between us again. "Since when has this been a thing? Because last I checked, Claire doesn't even-" he stops himself, then pushes through anyway, "-she doesn't do this. She doesn't do any of this."

Claire exhales slowly, like she's already tired of where this is going. "Drop it," she says, voice low.

But Lucas doesn't. "Did you know?" He asks her directly. "About this? About her being in love with you?"

That lands and I see it in the way Claire's shoulders shift - barely, but enough. She doesn't answer right away, and that hesitation stretches just long enough to make something twist in my stomach.

"I..." she starts, then stops, jaw tightening.

August leans back, rubbing his face. "Dude, you're pushing it."

"I'm not pushing, I'm asking," Lucas shoots back. Then, softer but more pointed, "Because it kinda feels like I'm missing a lot here."

Claire's grip tightens around her glass again, and I hate that I did this to her here. Like this. In front of everyone.

"I said drop it," she repeats, sharper this time.

Lucas exhales hard, leaning back but not letting it go completely. "Fine. But don't act like this isn't... insane."

That word lingers, and Claire finally moves, setting her glass down a little too carefully before pushing her chair back.

"I'm going inside," she says, not even looking at anyone when she says it, especially not me, and something in my chest tightens immediately.

"Claire-" I start, instinct kicking in.

But she's already shaking her head slightly, not stopping. "Just give me a minute."

And then she's gone, the back door sliding shut behind her with a soft sound that somehow feels louder than everything that just happened.

"Okay, nope," Lucas says, sitting up straighter. "We're not just letting that happen and pretending this is fine."

I close my eyes briefly. "Lucas-"

"No," he cuts in, pointing at me again, not harsh but insistent. "You don't get to drop something like that and then... what- expect us to just move on?"

August leans forward too, less intense but just as confused. "Yeah, I mean... Mae, seriously. Since when? Like actually since when?"

I swallow, my throat suddenly dry. "It's not-"

"How long have you known?" Lucas interrupts. "And don't say 'a while' again, because that clearly means something completely different than what I thought it meant two minutes ago."

"Years?" August adds, eyebrows raised. "You said years. What does that even look like? Were you guys, what? Talking? Seeing each other?"

"Nothing," I say quickly. "We weren't... nothing happened back then."

Lucas blinks. "That somehow makes it worse."

"It's not worse," I say, a little sharper than I mean to. "It just, is what it is."

He exhales hard, dragging a hand through his hair. "Okay, but then why now? Why this? Why say it like that, here?"

Because she thought I didn't choose her, because she still thinks that.

August studies me more carefully now, tone softer. "Does she know? Like, did she know before tonight?"

I hesitate just enough, and Lucas catches it immediately. "Oh my god! She didn't know?"

"She knew," I say quickly, shaking my head.

"Jesus," he mutters, leaning back. "So you just publicly confessed your love to someone who clearly wasn't ready for that in front of all of us."

"I didn't plan it," I say, quieter now.

"No, yeah, that part's obvious," Lucas says.

"Okay," August cuts in, holding a hand up. "Back up for a second. Mae, are you guys together?"

The question hangs there and I don't answer right away, because I don't actually know how to.

Lucas lets out a disbelieving laugh. "That's not reassuring."

"It's not that simple," I say finally.

"Nothing about this is simple," he shoots back, and he's not wrong.

The questions keep coming - how long, why didn't I say anything, what happened back then, what changed now - stacking on top of each other until it all starts to blur together.

I try to answer what I can and dodge what I can't. But it's too much and too loud. Too many eyes on me, too many pieces of something that was never supposed to be public getting pulled apart in real time.

"Alright, that's enough." Helena's voice cuts clean through all of it.

Lucas pauses mid-sentence, looking over at her. "I'm just trying to-"

"I know what you're trying to do," she says, setting her glass down. "And now I'm telling you to stop."

There's something in her tone that actually makes him listen, and then August leans back slightly, exhaling. "Yeah... okay."

Helena's gaze shifts to me, softer now but still steady. "She asked for a minute, it's been longer than that. Go check on her."

I nod, even though my chest still feels tight.

"And you," she adds, glancing back at Lucas, "are not helping."

Lucas raises his hands in surrender, though he still looks like he has about fifty more questions ready to go. "Fine. I'm done."

"Good," Helena says simply, then tilts her head toward the house. "Go."

I don't hesitate this time. I push my chair back and stand, my pulse still a little too fast as I head for the door Claire disappeared through.

Because whatever just happened out here, doesn't matter as much as the way she walked away.

The door slides shut quietly behind me, the noise from outside fading into something distant and muffled. Inside, the house feels still, almost too quiet after everything that just happened.

She didn't go far, just stopped a few steps in like she wasn't sure where else to go. Her posture is straight, arms relaxed at her sides, but there's something paused about her, like she's still catching up to the moment.

"Claire," I say, softer now.

She turns, and the look on her face makes my chest tighten, not because she's upset, but because she isn't. There's no anger, no hurt - just shock.

For a second, neither of us speaks. Then she exhales lightly, almost like she doesn't quite know what to do.

"Why did you say that out loud?" she asks, calm but distant, like she's still piecing it together.

I take a small step closer. "Because of what I said before, about the future. I saw what you were thinking."

She shakes her head a little. "Mae, I wasn't... thinking anything. It was just an answer."

"I know," I say, my voice steady. "But I heard it, and I saw your face. I know what it sounded like."

Her brows pull together slightly, like she hadn't realized I'd noticed. "What did it sound like?"

"Like you weren't part of it," I say. "Like I didn't choose you."

That quiets something between us and she doesn't interrupt this time, just watches me, more focused now.

"I couldn't let you think that," I continue. "Not when it's not true."

She studies me for a long second, something shifting behind her eyes as she tries to reconcile what I'm saying with everything that just happened. "You didn't have to fix it like that," she says.

"I wasn't fixing it," I tell her. "I was being honest. Maybe not at the right time, maybe not the right way, but..."

Another step brings me closer, close enough now that I can see every small change in her expression.

"You are my future," I say more quietly.

"I'm choosing you now. I should've chosen you then, but I didn't. I can't change that.

But I'm not going to keep pretending you're anything less than that now. I'm always going to choose you."

Her gaze flickers, dropping for a moment before lifting back to mine. She still looks a little stunned, like she hasn't fully landed yet.

"Even when it's complicated?" She asks, her voice small.

A small breath leaves me. "Every time, from here on out."

She doesn't respond right away. Instead, she just looks at me, like she's searching for hesitation and not finding it. The shock is still there, but it's softer now, blending into something else, something more certain, more grounded.

And then she closes the small distance between us.

It's not rushed, not uncertain. One step, then another, until she's right in front of me, close enough that I can feel the shift in her breathing. Her hand lifts like she might stop herself, like she might second-guess it, but she doesn't.

She leans in and kisses me.

It's not hesitant, but it's not overwhelming either. It's steady and intentional, like she's making a choice just as much as I did. Like she's meeting me there, not just reacting to what I said but accepting it, testing it, believing it just enough to take that step.

For a second, I freeze in surprise, then I kiss her back.

She kisses me like she means it.

Not rushed - just steady, warm, and real in a way that makes everything in my chest soften all at once. For a split second I'm too surprised to move, but then I do, my hand finding her waist like it belongs there, like it always has.

And she doesn't pull away, if anything, she leans in just a little more. It's a quiet kind of kiss. Not desperate or overwhelming, just certain. Like we're both finally standing in the same place at the same time instead of circling around it.

When we part, it's not far. Her forehead rests lightly against mine, her breath still a little uneven, and for the first time since I walked in, she lets out a soft, almost disbelieving laugh.

"That," she murmurs, "was not how I thought today was going to go."

I can't help the small smile that pulls at my mouth. "Yeah, me neither."

Her hand comes up then, hesitating for only a second before it settles against my cheek. It's gentle, grounding, like she's making sure I'm actually here.

"You really meant that?" she asks quietly. "All of it?"

I don't hesitate. "Every word."

She studies me for a second longer, like she's checking for cracks, for doubt, for anything that might make this less real, but she doesn't find it.

And something in her expression eases in a way I don't think I've ever seen before - like a weight she didn't realize she was carrying is finally starting to lift.

"Okay," she says softly.

Just that, but it means everything.

My thumb brushes lightly against her side, a small, absent motion, and she doesn't pull away. She stays right there, close, like she's not in a rush to put distance back between us again.

Claire lets out a slow breath, her gaze flicking between my eyes like she's still adjusting to this version of us.

"You know they're going to have about a million questions," she says.

I huff out a quiet laugh. "Yeah. They already had about a hundred before I walked in here."

That earns a small smile from her, softer now, easier. "Maybe we... don't go back out there just yet," she says, almost like a suggestion, but there's something hopeful in it.

I nod without hesitation. "Yeah, I'm good with that."

She lingers for another second, like she's deciding something, and then she leans in again, this time softer and slower, like she's not proving anything now, just choosing it.

Choosing me. And when I kiss her back, it feels less like something fragile and more like something we're finally allowed to keep.