Page 58 of Counting the Stars

“I’m so sorry.” I gasp. “It was an accident.” I point to the redhead who I realize is Seamus. “He bumped into me.”

“Oh, so now you’re going to put the blame on my husband?! I can’t believe your audacity! I’m so happy my parents are introducing Alex to Octavia right now. At least she knows what it takes to belong here.”

My head spins at Victoria’s words. I knew I wouldn’t fit in, but they’re introducing him to someone else? A wave of nausea hits me. Technically, Alex and I aren’t officially anything, but would he choose someone his parents approve of?

It hurts to think that they went to such lengths to make me feel unwelcome, especially without even getting to know me. Well, all except for Lilli. Normally, I wouldn’t care what others think of me, especially if I were back home surrounded by my friends. But being here, amongst all this wealth and arrogance, is making me crumble.

“Move along, folks. Nothing to see here!” a familiar voice chimes in. Lilli makes her way up to her sister and stops. “Go fix your makeup, Vic, your mascara looks a little runny. I’ll handle this one.”

Victoria turns on her heels and stomps in the direction of the bathroom. Seamus, still not paying attention, spins and bumps into a waiter carrying a tray full of shrimp.The little crustaceans scatter around the floor. Guests jump back as if the shellfish will come back to life and attack them.

“Oh, this just keeps getting better and better.” Lilli breaks out into a mischievous grin.

“I’m so sorry.” I grasp onto Lilli’s arm, trying my hardest not to fall apart.

“Oh, honey. I’m not talking about you. I’m talking about my brother-in-law and his phone obsession. Trust me, no one is going to remember a little champagne spill after this.” She points to the floor as three waiters frantically clean up the shrimp.

“Victoria said your parents are introducing Alex to someone.”

“I know.” Lilli grimaces. “I mean, I didn’t know, but I overheard Roberto telling Isabella and I started looking for you. I’m so sorry we got separated.”

“There you are.” Alex steps around a waiter. A look of relief washes over his face when he spots Lilli with me. “We need to leave.”

“What on earth is going on here?” a man’s voice bellows throughout the crowd.

“Shit.” Lilli stands on her toes to look over the mass of guests. “That’s our dad. You guys better get out of here before he catches up. Even though none of this was your fault, he’ll put his own spin on it and make you feel guilty.”

“She’s not wrong.” Alex frowns.

“Go ahead and take the limo we came in. I’ll catch a ride back home with Luis.” Lilli pulls us in for a double hug and before I know it, we’re back on the road to Starboard Beach.

***

The mountainous landscape passes by in a blur as I keep my focus out the passenger side window. I look at the time on my phone and realize it was less than twenty-four hours ago that we were on the same road, just headed in the opposite direction. What a crazy twenty-four hours it has been. We heeded Lilli’s advice and took the limo back to Alex’s parents’ place where we changed out of our formal wear, packed up our belongings, and hit the road. Alex was silent during our time in the limousine and also as we gathered up our stuff from the guest house. I figured he’d be more talkative once we got in his car, but we’ve been driving for about an hour and he hasn’t spoken a word. Well…I guess that goes both ways because I haven’t said anything either. I’ve been debating if I should bring up the events of the night or open with a lighter topic and work our way up to the harder stuff.

“Did you know that Scotland’s national animal is the unicorn?”

“What?” He turns to look at me.

“I had a patient last week—a little girl with a nasty case of pneumonia. Anyway, she was obsessed with unicorns and told me that.”

“What the hell does that have to do with anything?”

“Nothing really. It’s just better than sitting here in silence.” I cross my arms over my chest and glare at him. Unfortunately, my body language doesn’t work because he keeps his eyes on the road. I know he’s trying to keep us safe while driving, but we can’t ignore what happened back in Elmwood Grove and apparently, that’s what he’s doing.

“I’m going to stop at the next exit and fuel up,” he says flatly. “It’s the last one for the next fifty miles, if you need to use the bathroom or anything…”

“Perfect. I’m starving.” Besides the one little stuffed mushroom and mini crab cake I had at the cocktail hour, I haven’teaten anything since lunch with Lilli. I begin making a mental list of junk food I’ll purchase at the rest stop because this night certainly calls for all things sweet, salty, and bad for you.

A few minutes later, Alex pulls up to the gas station pump and I hightail it into the convenience store. I choose an assortment of snacks and do a little victory dance when I come across the display of Alex’s favorite brand of beef jerky. I’m not sure if he’s eaten anything since breakfast. Maybe all we need is some food in us to get a conversation rolling.

My hope deflates as soon I settle back in the SUV and take in Alex’s stiff demeanor. Even worse, he rejects my offering of beef jerky or any other snack, for that matter. We’re about twenty minutes back into our journey and I can’t take it anymore.

“Okay, clearly, you’re upset about what went down tonight and I get that. But do we have to drive back the rest of the way like this? I can’t stand the silent treatment anymore.”

“I’m not giving you the silent treatment.” He takes his eyes off the road for a second and gives me a confused look.

“Well, you could’ve fooled me because you’ve been as cold as ice ever since the limo drive back. I’m sorry the party turned out to be a disaster and I’m sorry I didn’t live up to your family’s expectations—”

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