Chapter 5
Chapter Five
Darcy sat on the couch next to Emerson, both of them riveted as Blythe paced the living room floor in front of them.
Even though Darcy would never want to move back to Pineford – living with her home base in L.A.
for over a year had really reinforced that.
Admittedly, not that she loved everything about L.A.
, either. But their house was perfectly her vibe – she’d always admit that when she was in Blythe’s house, it was like a dream.
Specifically, she really loved the sunken living room that her sister had made sure was relatively modernized but was still warm. This house always felt like a home.
Then again, being where her sister was felt like home, much like the way being with Juliet did. She supposed she was hardwired in that way, given that their physical home had always been so unpredictable when they’d been younger.
“Everything on your list has been checked, right?” Blythe asked, clearly going through her own mental checklist.
Darcy glanced down at the notebook in her lap, where she had, indeed, checked off everything they’d discussed. All final calls with the florist, with the caterer, the videographer, the photographer, and the officiant – done. Emerson would be playing the piano as Blythe walked down the aisle.
And Darcy would walk her sister down said aisle.
She looked back at her sister. “Blythe, I promise you. Everything is ready to go. We have spent the last forty-eight hours doing nothing but wedding preparation.”
“We even went on a mission to get the blue sign from Sandra today at the bowling alley, for the something borrowed and something blue,” Emerson pitched in quietly, giving Blythe a comforting smile.
Blythe blew out a low, deep breath, nodding as she did so, shaking out her hands.
More nervous than Darcy would have ever imagined for this moment.
She couldn’t help but let her eyes drift over to her phone, quickly tapping to see if she had any new messages or updates from Juliet.
Nothing.
And she hated that.
Somewhere along the line, she’d become someone who missed Juliet, after not having seen her for only a couple of days. Yes, she could function without her, and she’d been doing a damn good job as a Maid of Honor, if she said so herself.
But she didn’t like being without Juliet, and she definitely didn’t like it right now .
Blythe tsk’d at her. “I haven’t seen you check your phone like that since the feud, you know.”
Darcy snatched her hand away from it, shooting her sister a glare. “Mind your own business. Rearrange your bouquet for the millionth time. I give you permission.”
“I can multi-task,” Blythe shot back. “And, as I’m doing so, I’m going to take it upon myself to call you out.
Remember how much crap you used to give me about missing Colton when we were away?
And we were gone for far longer stretches than a few days,” Blythe pressed.
She flicked her gaze to Emerson, nodding her chin toward Darcy. “Tell her I’m right.”
Emerson pressed her lips into a thin line, wincing, but otherwise acted like she didn’t hear Blythe.
Blythe gently nudged her foot. “Emerson! I know you can hear me. Now, tell Darcy I’m right. Because I know you know it.”
Emerson gave up on reviewing the sheet music in her hands – like she didn’t already have it all memorized anyway – before she heaved a sigh, looking at Darcy with big, apologetic eyes. “Ah… you did give Blythe crap.” She darted her eyes back at Blythe. “Happy?”
Blythe folded her arms over her chest, a cat-ate-the-canary smile blossoming over her face.
“I am, indeed, pleased. Now, to take it one step further: you used to give me so much shit for wanting to make sure I got to have my phone call with Colton, and… hmm. Who has been here for days now and is a little mopey when your girlfriend is busy…” Blythe reached up and tapped her chin.
“I’m wondering who that person could be. Do you know, Emerson?”
Affronted, Darcy shot her best friend a warning look.
Emerson’s eyes narrowed in sympathy before she glanced at Blythe and whatever resolve she’d been holding onto crumbled into dust. “I, uh, if I had to hazard a guess, I suppose I’d say… Darcy.”
“Traitor!” She accused. The most affronting thing, really, was that she could tell from the look on Emerson’s face that she was amused by Blythe right now!
Blythe was victorious. “Why yes , the answer is Darcy. Thank you for playing.”
Darcy couldn’t have rolled her eyes harder if she tried. “Okay, well, everything regarding my relationship with Juliet is in a whole… flux right now. You and Colton were, as always, perfect. It’s different.”
She expected her sister to come back with something mirroring the same energy, something energetic, volleying back and forth with her. She didn’t expect Blythe to drop down on the other side of Emerson on her couch, as she stated, “Colton and I don’t have a perfect relationship, you know.”
Darcy merely tossed a look back at her, riddled with disbelief.
Blythe lifted her hands up in defense. “I’m not saying it’s not a really great relationship. But… there are reasons why we’ve been together for over ten years and haven’t gotten married, you know.”
“No, I didn’t know.” Leaning heavily back against the couch cushion, Darcy felt those words echo through her. “How did I not know that? I mean… I literally lived with both of you for years.”
Blythe didn’t even blink as she returned, “And during that time, I didn’t officially know you were a lesbian; I only found out because of some gossip.”
Darcy reached up, pushing a hand through her hair, her mind spinning a bit. “I guess I’ve always felt like we were – are – really close. What kind of issues did you and Colton have?”
Blythe scoffed. “I’m not going to run through the list of bad moments we’ve had the night before our wedding. That really feels like a recipe for disaster.”
Darcy pursed her lips before letting out a sigh of acceptance. “All right, fine.”
Her sister’s voice gentled slightly. “Darce… you and I are close. But we both know that talking about – about the hard stuff isn’t our strong suit. Not with one another.”
“It’s probably the childhood trauma,” Emerson stated, knowingly.
Darcy couldn’t help but laugh, tossing her head back against the couch as she turned to look at her best friend.
“Is everything okay with you and Juliet?” Blythe asked. “If we want to get into talking about real things together. Seems like a good place to start.”
Darcy’s stomach tied into knots as she tapped the end of the pen rapidly down against the paper in her lap.
“I mean.” Blowing out a deep breath, she affirmed – yeah, it wasn’t easy for her to tap into serious emotions with Blythe.
She felt like she was putting them on her sister’s shoulders, when she already had enough going on.
“A lot of times, I feel like my relationship with Juliet is kind of perfect.”
Not necessarily in a silly, fairytale way.
They pushed one another when it came to their music. Juliet could be possessive and reserved. Darcy could be stubborn and idealistic. They both met fire with fire when they felt passionate about something.
But they never took things too far. They always put one another first. And Juliet had become the person Darcy could open up to. The person she did want to discuss emotions with, good or bad.
“I think I’ve felt like the only thing that wasn’t perfect about our life was that we weren’t able to be together publicly.”
It was the first time she admitted that out loud.
She’d never wanted to put it on Juliet, because she’d known they had to be that way throughout Juliet’s contract with Copper Canyon. It wasn’t her fault .
And still, Darcy had her fantasies about it.
About what it could be like to be a real couple with Juliet.
For people to see them and know. Know that they coordinated their outfits for events with one another, know that they coordinated their schedules to align with one another’s, know that their music was written for and with the other.
She’d wanted it since Juliet had been “with” Robbie, and that want had only grown stronger. Which was why, even though it hadn’t been sunshine and daisies, she had no regrets about being out.
Both her sister and Emerson stared back at her, their focus intense. And she knew, in this moment, they’d both been waiting for this since she’d arrived. Waiting for Darcy to really open the door to how everything had been going in the last month.
She spun her ring around on her finger, twisting. Twisting. Before she heaved a sigh. “I’m really worried that Juliet isn’t going to be happy that we’re out.”
What if the thing she’d longed for was going to be the thing that broke them? Darcy wasn’t really sure how to manage that. She didn’t know what she’d do, and that thought was petrifying. To need someone so much. To love someone so much.
She could see the understanding on both Blythe and Emerson’s faces, but before either of them could say anything, her phone buzzed on the arm of the couch next to her.
Darcy wasn’t sure her reflexes had ever been so quick as she snatched it up.
Only to be disappointed that it wasn’t Juliet’s name on the screen.
“… Sandra?” Darcy answered, confusion sliding through her.
“Sandra?” Blythe echoed, exchanging a baffled look with Emerson before they both turned their curious stares back to Darcy. “Why is she calling you?”
Darcy rolled her eyes. “I don’t know; I obviously just answered the phone.”
Her sister made a point of rolling her eyes right back, before turning back to Emerson as if pretending she wasn’t invested in the phone call. Which was objectively funny, because Darcy knew they were both incredibly invested in whatever was going on.
She reached up with her free hand to cover her ear, straining to hear Sandra’s end of the line because of the ruckus at the bowling alley. Which seemed even louder than usual?