Chapter 4
THEA
I’ve had plenty of rock-bottom moments in my life.
Like the time I got back together with an asshole ex-boyfriend because I needed a place to stay.
Or when the top three buttons of my uniform blouse popped open at work and no one had the balls to tell me my boobs were out for half my shift.
I thought accidentally flashing a bunch of families would be my lowest point. Face in the dirt. Nowhere else to go.
But the universe had apparently decided rock bottom wasn’t enough for little old me, and chose instead to push me through the Earth’s crust and boil me in hot magma made of my own embarrassment and shitty decisions.
The Earth’s core is a bathroom in the Blue Ridge Mountains, where I stand, stripped down to my bra and hole-filled shapewear, with streaks of blue icing in my hair.
My once beautiful dress is half soaked under the stream of warm water. I stare at the red fabric, realizing I should have googled “how to clean stains on silk” before sticking it in the sink. Now my dress is 50 percent covered in cake, 50 percent drowned in water, and 100 percent ruined.
I also now realize I should have gone to the car for a change of clothes before stripping. I wonder how people will react if I walk through the front of the restaurant like this. And will Addy bail me out of jail after I’m arrested for public indecency?
Behind me, a sliver of the bathroom door opens, and Addy’s head peeks around just as she says, “You in here, Tia?”
I hate that I just arrived, and I’ve already brought out Addy’s worried voice.
It’s the same one she used at seven when she brought me frozen peas to ice my first black eye from a fight with our much bigger foster sister.
Or at nine, while she petted my hair as I cried over losing my first job as a cashier because while shopping there may have been a pleasure, I apparently was not.
Or at ten, when she listened to me rage about the boy I thought loved me, who promptly followed up taking my virginity with Come on, babe, you know this is just fun.
In retrospect, my baby sister didn’t need the details on that one.
I watch her expression closely as she comes inside, letting the door swing closed. Her strong brows are wrinkled, and she slips a hand over her mouth as her eyes track the dress in the sink, then my mostly exposed body, and up to the blue streaks in my hair.
She removes her hand, opening her mouth to say something, but instead a wild laugh bursts out of her, so forceful she drops back against the door.
Relief courses through me. This situation is a disaster, but at least she’s not upset with me.
And I love this laugh, the free, genuine sound that’s pure joy and amusement.
None of the forced levity she puts on for others.
She wipes at her eyes. “I’m”—another laugh—“Oh my god”—the chuckles swirl around us—“I’m so sorry. I can’t stop.”
I twirl away from her, showing off the pièce de résistance, matching holes on the middle of each butt cheek. “You think that’s funny, look at my ass nipples.”
She devolves into laughter again, and I brace myself. Wait for it … wait for it …
Her blasting snort echoes off the bathroom tile, and a satisfied smile splits my face.
That snort has been my guiding light for years, the ultimate sign that Addy is happy, amused, and, most important, comfortable.
I hope Harrison pulls out her snort, even as a selfish part of me hopes it’s something that will remain mine alone.
Addy walks over, wiping the last of the tears from the corners of her eyes, then wraps her arms around my waist from behind.
She’s so much shorter than me that I can’t see her face in the mirror, but I feel her cheek against my shoulder blade, the way her love twines around my heart the same way her arms twine around my body.
“You okay?” she whispers.
“I’m fine,” I say, having to clear my throat to get the words out as I shimmy out of her embrace to face her. “And you’ve been patient, so hit me with your questions.”
She looks a bit sheepish, but then dives in. “What the heck is going on?”
I lean back against the counter and take a steadying breath, preparing to lie to my baby sister for the first time in my life. We agreed when we were young that if we could only count on each other, we had to really count on each other. No lies.
But if I tell her the truth, it’ll go one of two ways.
Either she’ll demand we come clean, and the rest of the week will be spent with people gossiping and making Addy feel like she’s not welcome.
Or she’ll agree that keeping up the ruse is best, and she’ll spend her wedding stressed about the truth coming out.
I’ve taken so much from her over the years, and I won’t take this moment, too.
“Owen and I dated,” I say.
She blinks like I just told her the Earth is a tiny ball sitting in a giant’s hand. “You and Owen? Clean-cut, serious Owen?”
Indignation shoots through me. I know who I am, but her utter shock feels like an insult. “Is that really so unbelievable?”
She lets out a little chuckle. “I mean, you aren’t the first people I’d put together.”
I huff. “Yeah, well, we did.”
“Oh, come on. I didn’t mean it like that!” Addy says. “How don’t I know about this?”
“It was your junior year. We didn’t talk as much because I wanted you to focus on school.”
She looks hurt, and I hate myself a little more. “It was serious enough for you to meet his family, but not for him to meet me?”
I pinch my lips to avoid saying she’d be the first person I’d introduce to a real boyfriend. “There was a family wedding.”
“Why have you never mentioned him? Did he…” she trails off, her shoulders steeling as her eyes go hard. “Did he hurt you?”
A guffaw explodes out of me. “God, no. You’ve met Owen. Do you think that man would ever hurt anyone?”
Her lip twitches, but she doesn’t let it go. “I didn’t mean physically. Did he break your heart?”
My smile falls. We didn’t break each other’s hearts, but his family thinks we did, and I need to give her an answer that doesn’t contradict what Harrison is going to tell her tonight.
I hate lying so much.
“I think we both changed each other in a lot of ways,” I say hesitantly, “but we’re okay. We just talked, and we both agree there’s no need for drama.”
Technically, that part isn’t even a lie. Neither of us wants the drama of our deception coming out and ruining the wedding. If she thinks I mean drama between us, that’s on her.
She releases a sigh, all the tension flowing from her body as she plants her hands on the countertop. “What’s your plan?”
“Plan?” I squeak out. I’ve never been much of a planner.
“You two probably don’t want to see each other much, right? It has to be hard, even if you’re fine now.”
“I don’t know if we need a plan—”
“I’ll move things around,” she says, nodding her head once like she’s leading a board meeting and just got everyone’s approval.
“I mean, we’re the maid of honor and best man. I don’t know how—”
She takes my hand, squeezing tight as fierce determination takes over her face. “There’s plenty to do where you won’t have to overlap. You’re my sister. I’m not making you do something you aren’t comfortable with.”
There’s a small, concerning pinch behind my breastbone, and I recognize it for the disappointment it is. I had fun with Owen that weekend, and part of me was excited for another chance to be around him.
Plus, I’ve seen Addy’s schedule. There are a dozen events, and at least some of those will include both me and Owen. I don’t want her spending the week stressed about keeping us apart.
“Please don’t worry about this. We broke up years ago. Both of us are fine. I just want to focus on the wedding and all the amazing things you’ve put together.”
Addy opens her mouth like she’s about to argue, but the bathroom door creaks open again.
Owen’s mother, Diana, slips in with a dress in one hand and a toiletries bag in the other.
I fumble for the silk dress, pulling the wet, uncomfortable fabric over my hips, more to hide my embarrassingly ratty Spanx than to cover myself.
“Quite an eventful evening,” Diana says with a soft smile, holding the dress out to me.
“Oh, thank you, but I’m fine,” I say.
Diana clucks. “I hate to tell you this, but that dress is ruined.”
I glance over my shoulder at my ass, which is a darker blue now, almost purple, with the combination of the light blue icing, red fabric, and terrible attempts to rinse the icing away. “It’s not my best look, but I’ll be fine.”
“Is she always this stubborn?” she asks Addy, the lightest Southern drawl snaking through her voice.
Addy snorts, then clears her throat. “Yes.”
When I don’t respond, Diana grabs my hand, placing the dress directly into it. It is a lovely light blue, ironically almost the exact color of the cake I sank my ass into.
“Do you have dresses lying around?” I ask.
She smiles and gestures for me to dress while she spins to face the wall, giving me the illusion of privacy even though she’s already seen everything I have going on.
“It’s my niece’s,” she says. “She lives a couple blocks away, and you’re about the same size. I’m sorry it’s wrinkled.”
Wrinkled, but otherwise flawless, if a bit short on my tall frame. It hugs my hips beautifully, and the light material swirls a few inches above my knees, soft and flirtatious. Addy runs her hand down the back, letting out a soft sigh.
“It’s beautiful,” I say, and Diana turns around to look at me. “Thank you.”
“I knew it would fit perfectly,” she says, towing me to the little primping area, complete with vanity and padded benches.
Diana’s a tall woman, but even she can’t comfortably reach my hair with my three-inch heels that put me at six feet. She encourages me to sit, then plants the toiletries bag on the counter, fishing out a comb. She wets the teeth and works it through my icing-covered hair without a word.