Chapter 41: Chapter 41

AVERY

The week that follows is a quiet one, but I don’t mind the solitude. When I’m not at the clinic, I’m holed up in my room, avoiding calls and texts from Josh and Reed. Olive has been unusually quiet too, a stark contrast to her usual vibrant self. I suspect she’s giving me some space, which I appreciate. I’m still not sure how I feel about our fight.

I’m cleaning dishes one night after dinner when there’s a knock at the door. I turn from the sink and answer to find my brother standing on the other side. I cross my arms and wait, not inviting him in.

“Avery, I can’t express how sorry I am for what I did to you. You’re my sister, and I was just trying to protect you,” Josh says, his voice heavy with remorse.

I sigh, moving to the side. “Come in. We don’t need to have this conversation in the hall”

He flashes a relieved smile and hurries past, waiting by the island as I close the door. I throw the damp cloth I was using to dry the dishes onto the counter and place my hands on my hips.

“Why did you think you had the right to control my life, Josh? Who I could date? Who I could be friends with? That wasn’t your job.”

“I know. After we lost Dad, I didn’t know what to do, but I knew it was my job to watch over you. A big brother is supposed to protect his little sister. Shield her from the world’s ugliness. That’s all I was trying to do. But I overstepped. I never intended to hurt you,” he insists.

I can feel the sincerity in his words. He really believed he was doing the right thing, and he’d been willing to go to any lengths to spare me from more pain.

As much as I hate to admit it, I understand. We’d both just lost our father, and Josh had rushed to fill the void because it gave him a way to cope. He didn’t have a dad to guide him, so he made mistakes, a lot of mistakes.

~Can I really blame him for trying? What kind of person would that make me?~

A sudden urge to throw myself into my brother’s arms washes over me. But before I even consider letting this ice melt, there’s one thing I need to know.

“So, Reed is something ugly in this world?”

He sighs, running a hand over his guilt-ridden face. “The old Reed was. He didn’t care about anything. He was out to hurt the world because he’d been hurt. He didn’t have anyone to help him through the loss of his mother, so he spiraled. Then he fell even harder after his dad walked out on him.”

He gives me an apologetic look, pleading for me to understand. “I didn’t want that version of him anywhere near you, Avery. I knew he’d destroy you. Break your heart like he did to so many girls before and not even care about it.”

“But he’s not like that anymore.”

“I know. We talked. He’s a different man. A better man,” Josh says with conviction.

“Okay…I’m not saying that I forgive you, but I think I can see your point of view.” I let out a heavy sigh. “I still need to process all of this…but I don’t think you’re a bad brother, Josh. A pain in the ass, sure, but your intentions were good. I see that now.”

Relief floods his face, his eyes, so similar to mine, brimming with joy. “Thank you, Avery. Thank you for giving your old brother another chance. I promise, from here on out, I’ll back off and let you make your own decisions, your own mistakes.”

“Good, because I’ve been thinking about getting a tattoo.”

Josh’s face pales.

I let out a laugh. “I’m kidding, Josh. Just testing you.”

He gives me a nervous smile and chuckles. All the bitterness I had at the start of our talk just disappears, and I feel more at ease than I have in a long time.

“Good one. Can I ask you one more thing?” he asks.

“What?”

“Can you give Reed another chance too?”

A hot flush creeps up my neck.

~I’m not sure. I haven’t thought that far ahead. I just decided to forgive my brother. I haven’t even considered what it would take to forgive Reed. Or if I even want to.~

“Isn’t it enough that I forgive you?”

“Yeah.” He steps closer. “But for what it’s worth, I truly believe he loves you. I’ve seen my best friend look at a lot of girls throughout our friendship, but I’ve never seen him look at any girl the way he looks at you.”

I can’t deny that his words thaw my heart a little more. “You just promised not to interfere.”

“This isn’t me interfering. This is me being a good wingman to my best friend and encouraging my sister to date a guy that’s worthy of her, like I should have from the start.”

“You think Reed’s worthy of me?”

“Yeah. I do.”

“Why now? Why bring this up now?”

“Because I’m getting married in a few days, and I want to make sure you’re looked after when I go back to Florida,” he says.

“And you want Reed to be the one that looks after me?”

“I trust him,” he says with a shrug.

I nod and stare at the floor, my thoughts swirling like a tornado.

“The rehearsal dinner is tomorrow night. Are you ready to see him?” Josh asks.

I look up. “Guess we’ll find out.”

***

I’m not exactly thrilled about the rehearsal dinner tonight. The thought of seeing Reed makes my stomach churn. I still haven’t decided what to do, and Josh giving his two cents only made my feelings more unclear.

I sigh at my reflection, brushing a bit of blush along my cheeks. If I had my way, I’d skip this whole thing and wing it at the wedding, but I can’t do that to Josh and Madison. I want to make their big day to be as perfect and unforgettable as possible.

Olive appears in the mirror behind me. I freeze.

We haven’t spoken in days. I miss her like crazy and feel guilty about the tension between us, but I don’t know how to bridge the gap. Luckily, she takes the first step.

“Hey,” she says, her voice soft.

She’s dressed in a beautiful blue dress, her hair pulled back and held in place with a black, jeweled clip.

“Hey.”

She takes a deep, shaky breath. “So, I’ve learned a lot this past week. The most important thing is that I hate it when we fight. I absolutely hate it.”

I turn around to face her, her lips trembling.

“Avery, if I ever made you feel less than, I’m truly sorry. I never want you to feel bad about yourself, or that you’re not good enough. You are incredible, and I love you so much. You’re not just my best friend, you’re my sister. I only want you to be happy.”

My eyes fill with tears. “I know. I’m sorry for snapping at you. I was feeling sorry for myself and… I hate when we fight too. Let’s not do it again, okay?”

A relieved smile curves across her face.

“Deal. Never again.” She wraps her arms around me, hugging me tightly. “You don’t have to talk about Reed if you don’t want to. I won’t push anymore, and I won’t mention him again if that’s what you want, but I think he makes you happy. Like ridiculously happy.”

“He does,” I admit, letting out a sigh as we pull apart.

It’s time to finally admit how I feel. I love Reed. I’m in love with him, and I have been for as long as I can remember.

“You’ve been right all along, Olive. I love Reed. I love him so much that I can’t breathe. But I’m hurt because he didn’t think I was worth fighting for. Not enough to risk his friendship with my brother. Not enough to just be honest with me. How am I supposed to deal with that?”

“I don’t think him waiting this long to tell you has anything to do with you not being enough. I think it has more to do with his close relationship with Josh. From what you’ve told me, Reed didn’t really have anyone he could count on growing up except him, right? Maybe he was afraid of losing you both if things went south and winding up alone.”

~Damn it. Why does she have to be so right?~

“I know that look,” she says with a sympathetic smile. “You’re thinking about forgiving him, aren’t you?”

“Does that mean I’m wrong for feeling the way I do? That I’m the bad guy because I turned him away?”

“Absolutely not, Avery. You have every right to feel the way you do. I’m just saying that his friendship with your brother kept him alive, so maybe he did what he thought was best, what he thought would make everyone happy. Everyone except himself.”

~Himself and me.~

“I don’t know, Olive,” I say with a small sniffle. “We have to finish getting ready though, and if you keep being so right, you’re going to make me cry and ruin my makeup.”

She laughs. “Well, we can’t have that.”