Page 47 of Fragments of You

“Hey, wait for me.” He laughs when I pull open the door and step outside.

“WHY DO YOU KEEP DOING this?” My sister’s voice feels distant, like she’s on the other end of a long tunnel.

“Me? I’m not doing anything. You’re the one who has the problem.” It’s Felix this time, his voice a little closer but still far away.

Sleep holds me hostage, despite how hard I try to pull away from it.

“Not doing anything?” My sister’s shrill laugh has my eyes darting open.

I look around, quickly realizing I’m still lying in the same lounge chair as earlier, a beach towel draped over my head and torso to protect me from the sun.

I hadn’t intended to fall asleep, though I’m not at all surprised that I did. I didn’t sleep well last night, for obvious reasons. My mind too hyper focused on Nash to ever truly let me settle. And even when I did doze off, visions of him lying on a dirty floor, foaming at the mouth, plagued my dreams.

“You’re hilarious, you know that.” Celine’s voice drips with disdain, pulling my focus back to what woke me in the first place.

“And you’re a child,” Felix sneers, aggravation so clear in his voice.

“How long do you think it will be before she runs back to Nash? We both know it’s only a matter of time.”

“You don’t know anything.”

“I know that he’s been coming here, visiting with my parents.”

My stomach twists at her words. I wasn’t aware my parents had even seen Nash since he had returned.

“And?”

“He’s been gone four years and he’s still more a part of this family than you will ever be. You’re kidding yourself if you think this wedding is ever actually going to happen.”

“You’re wrong.”

“Am I? Or are you just in denial?”

As much as I want to hide under this towel and pretend like I’m still asleep, I can’t listen to another second.

“Celine!” I hiss, tossing the towel to the ground as I bolt upright.

I find her on the edge of the pool, her legs dangling over the edge into the water. Felix is in the pool not far from where she’s sitting, an innertube wrapped around his middle keeping him afloat. He’d look ridiculously cute if it weren’t for how angry he seems.

“What the hell are you doing?” I demand, throwing my legs over the side of the chair as I stand. “Why are you saying these things like you have any idea... You know less about my life than basically anyone else I know, so don’t for one second presume like you know anything.”

“Whose fault is that?” She, too, climbs to her feet. “You’ve always kept me at arm’s length,” she fires back. “And I don’t have to know you to be able to see what’s right in front of me. Nash is back and you’ve been weird ever since. Tell me that’s a coincidence.”

“Nash was part of my life for a very, very long time. Of course him coming back affects me. It affects everyone who loved him—Felix and our parents included.” I try to pretend like him reconnecting with my parents isn’t a complete shock to me, which I guess it shouldn’t be, but the fact that not a single person felt it prevalent to mention it does catch me a bit off guard.

“Some a little more than others, it would seem.” She gives me a look that makes me want to slap her, even though I’m the least violent person ever.

“What is your end goal here? You think you’ll plant a few seeds, take a few shots at me while I’m sleeping, and what? Felix will suddenly want to be with you instead?”

She draws back at my words, almost as if I had actually hit her, but she recovers quickly, a calculated smile tugging at her lips. She opens her mouth, like she’s really going to give it to me, but I cut her off before she has the chance.

“You think I don’t know that you’re like obsessed with him?” I gesture somewhere in the vicinity of Felix. “You have been since you were young. Newsflash, Celine, he doesn’t want you!” I feel horrible for saying it, but someone has to. This infatuation of hers has gone too far.

She deflates in an instant. Tears well behind her eyes, embarrassment seeping into every pore of her face, and what started as anger quickly turns into guilt.

“Celine...” I reach for her, even though she’s not even remotely close to me.

“Go to hell,” she spits, turning on her heel so fast she nearly falls.

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