40. Gigi
CHAPTER 40
Gigi
I put on my flower-shaped earrings in front of the mirror; the ones with the fake pearl in the middle that make me feel pretty. The golden petals complement the moss-green color of my satin dress, and the green complements the dark shade of my hair.
“Wow.” My lips curve when I hear the voice. Turning around, I’m spoiled by the sight of Luke wearing beige slacks and a white, button-down dress shirt leaning on the doorframe, his suit jacket slung over his arm. “You look amazing.”
I can hear the sound of my heartbeat hammering in my ears. Dress to impress . I spent a lot of nights searching and a lot of shifts at the restaurant to get this dress. No one has ever invited me to be their plus-one to a wedding before. If that wasn’t enough pressure, Luke told me that Andrew’s parents were going to come, as well. Back then, I didn’t know that they’d swallow down the news of us dating semi-easily. I thought, if all else fails, at least Luke would have an arm candy as a date.
But it’s him. He’s the arm candy. He looks absolutely mesmerizing. The only times I’ve ever seen guys wear formal wear were during school dances. The man standing in front of me doesn’t look like he’s an acne-ridden teenager. No, Lucas Palmer is the absolute dreamboat on a stick right now.
“I’m ready!” Becca yells from her room. A few seconds later, she waltzes into my room, twirling around in her lavender-colored maxi dress that Mom picked out for her.
Luke’s eyes do a double take and I swear, I swear , I see them turn glassy, even if it’s just for a blip. Shoving one of his hands in his pocket, he stalks over to his little sister and roughs her hair up playfully, causing her to frown. “Baby sis all grown up,” he says with a hint of humor. “Give me a few more years and then you’re going to start dating.”
“Oh, like how you and Gigi are dating?” she snaps back as she swats Luke’s hand away and fixes the headband on her head.
Luke and I both stiffen and speak at the same time.
“How do you know that?”
“Who told you that?”
Becca shrugs. “Aunt Judith. She picked me up from Kimmy’s house the other day.”
“What do you think about me dating your brother, Becca?” I take a deep breath. It must be weird for her to know we’re a couple. Becca spent years with Luke at home, and then after that she spent time bonding with me as her sister. In a way, I became a surrogate sibling. She must think we’re messed up.
“I think you two look real pretty together.”
I hear Luke let out a relieved breath, his eyes glittering with happiness as they steal glances at me. “Oh, yeah?” Luke asks, a grin plastered all over his face.
“Gigi makes you less grumpy, too.” Now it’s me who’s tilting my head back, laughing. I guess I do.
Luke saunters away from the dance floor toward the bar, getting himself a beer and me a club soda. My eyes quickly scan for an empty chair. With the way the straps of my heels are digging into my skin, I can’t stand another minute on my feet.
Click. Clack. Click. Clack. I plop myself on a wooden bank under an apple tree, thankful for the shade. My fingers directly go to the buckle of the straps before tracing the red, angry blisters. “Shit,” I utter to myself. You should’ve splurged on the good shoes, Gigi.
“You’re back quick!” I say when I hear footsteps approaching me, thinking Luke cut the queue of guests waiting for their drinks. When I tilt my head up, it’s not him I see. It’s Judith Palmer with an amused look on her face. “Sorry. I thought you were Luke.”
“He’s right there,” she points toward the bar as she sits next to me. “So, how are you, Gigi? Enjoying the summer?”
I have a feeling she’s not here to ask about my break, but I force a smile out, anyway. “Yeah, I am.” I nod. “It’s nice to not have to think about assignments and exams for a change. What about you, Mrs. Palmer? How are you doing?”
She ignores my question. “So I heard Vince didn’t take the news of you two dating very well.” Judith makes a face as she says dating , like it physically pains her to admit Luke and me are together out loud.
“No, he didn’t. They got into a fight afterward, actually.” I look over to Luke who’s chatting and laughing in line with Ross, the groom. Before I can think about who I’m speaking with, my mouth decides to betray common sense. “I’ve never seen Luke so angry before. It was kind of scary.”
“Hmm.” Judith follows my line of vision and looks at her nephew, too, crossing her legs. “You know, out of everybody, Lucas is the one who had it the roughest. I was there when we heard the news about the fire.” I heard about this. It was his birthday and Andrew’s family took him to his game because, by some miracle, his mom and his grandma decided to call a truce during Luke’s twelfth birthday and throw a party for him. If only they never set foot in that church…
“It must have been tough for him,” I say, looking down at my lap. “He was just a kid.”
“That he was. But he grew up to be an amazing young man. Broken, but amazing.” Judith smiles to herself, then angles her body so that she’s facing me. “Gigi, trust me that I don’t mean anything malicious when I say this.” She pauses, and in that span, my heart rate picks up, thumping in my chest. Nothing good ever comes after trust me that I don’t mean anything malicious when I say this. “I don’t think you and him should be in a relationship together. You two are just trauma bonding.”
I fight the urge to fight her on the correct definition of trauma bonding. The phrase she’s looking for is shared trauma. “That’s not what we’re doing,” I say instead.
“Oh, honey,” she coos condescendingly, making my heart cave in. Hold it in, Gigi. This woman is important to Luke. “I know it’s confusing. You both lost Andrew and being at the same college together must be comforting. But Luke is fragile. He won’t withstand a girl like you.”
I flash her an angry smile. “And what kind of girl am I, Mrs. Palmer?” Andrew’s dad was nothing but nice and friendly when we first got together, but his mom? She always gave me fake niceties, being sweet when her son was around and cold the moment he left the room. I always knew that she thought Andrew deserved better than me, the big city girl whose working mother married a tourist bus driver.
Her lips thin as she lets out a breath through her nose. “You know, my son left to go to your house one night and came home drunk out of his mind with a busted lip. What happened, Gigi? He didn’t tell me what happened, but I was also young once. I know what pretty girls are like.” Which night is she talking about? “Making the boys fight over them.”
“I never asked him to do that!” I defend myself, still clueless as to which night she’s fucking referring to. Something like that did happen, but it was only once. He wasn’t drunk and he ended up sleeping in my room, only leaving the day after. Andrew didn’t fight. It wasn’t his thing. He was the binge-drink-but-nothing-else kind of guy.
“You might not have asked him, but he did it anyway, dear.” Judith raises her tone as her jaw clenches. “He started dating you and the next thing we know, he turned into a mess, getting into fights, partying, and…” Her eyes are filled with angry tears and they’re all directed at me. “Killed himself.” My unshed ones are dropping now, streaming down my perfectly made-up face. Did I do that to Andrew? “Imagine what Luke would be like. Please, Giuliana. Be a smart girl. Think this through. You might not mean it, but Luke will end up hurt. He’s even more vulnerable than Andrew.”
“Think through what?” Judith goes rigid next to me, her head tilting upward to face her nephew while mine stay planted on the ground, only giving me a glimpse of his leather Oxford shoes.
“Luke! I didn’t see you come.” Again, she goes with the fake smile and the giggle. “I was just asking Gigi how her summer was.”
Luke regards his aunt for a second before his jaw clenches. “I don’t think that’s what I heard, Aunt Judith.”
“Look,” she answers as she puts a hand on the side of her head, resting her elbow on her lap. “I think you two are making a mistake.”
“I’m not making a mistake.”
“Honey, you’re young and grieving. I know it feels good to have someone, but do you really think Gigi?—”
“Don’t talk about Gigi like she’s not there, Aunt Judith,” Luke cuts her off. “If you can’t get on board with this, then I’m sorry. But I’m not going to change my mind.”
Andrew’s mom stands up, her heels digging into the ground. “Very well then,” she sighs as she smooths out her dress. “Have a nice summer break.”