Page 72 of The Road Sometimes Taken

Natalie’s eyes are soft but relentless. “We’re not gonna stop asking, Cara. Not until you talk to us. We’re your friends. We know you’re struggling. We know you, we see it. Doyoueven know? Do you even know you’re not happy?”

I bite down on my lip to keep from saying something I’ll regret. I don’t want to be seen. I want to keep pretending everything is fine and nothing is missing until that becomes a reality.

Before I can say anything, Allie walks out of her bedroom, looking both annoyed and determined. She sits next to me with a sigh, her eyes locking onto mine with that look—the one she always gives when she’s about to say something she knows I won’t want to hear.

“You’re not fine. We all know it and we’re done beating around the bush. Today, we’re talking about you and Manny because you two idiots can’t get it together on your own.”

The room falls into a heavy silence. The air feels thick with unspoken things, and for the first time, I’m not sure I can hide behind my tired excuses anymore.

“What?” I ask.

"Don’t even try to hide it, Cara," Allie demands, her voice cutting through the tension in the room like a knife. She doesn’t wait for me to reply, her eyes already narrowed, like she’s been holding this in for far too long.

"When you came back into town, I was hoping you’d tellme the truth—any version of it, since you already talked about it in Nashville leaving me out of it completely. I’m not an idiot, and I’m not blind. I saw it, okay? And then at the wedding, I told my stupid brother to finally tell you how he felt. So imagine my surprise when you came back, and we went to breakfast, and you looked even more heartbroken than when I left you in Chicago almost a year ago. You didn’t say a word, not a single thing. And that’s when I knew something was off. The minute we left the restaurant, I called Manny. He didn’t answer, so I put two and two together."

My stomach lurches. I stare at her, wide-eyed, as if the words are still circling around my brain, trying to find their place. I knew Roe and Natalie had figured out what happened with the fling, but this? This is something else entirely. Allie kneweverything? How had I not seen that coming?

"What the hell, Allie?" I manage to choke out, the shock in my voice louder than I want it to be.

She doesn’t flinch. Doesn’t back down. She leans forward, her eyes hazel eyes hard but still kind. "No, Cara.Youdon’t get to ‘what the hell’ me. Listen up." Her words are slow, deliberate, like she’s making sure they land where they need to. "For the past three weeks, I’ve watched you—this version of you. You pretend you’re fine, you wake up and you go places with your fake smile on your face that I think even you believe, when in reality you’re heartbroken. You’ve been sad—and I mean really sad. A kind of sadness that’s deeper than I’ve ever seen in you. And if it was for a good reason—if you were hurting because of something real, something we could work with, we could deal. But you didn’t say anything. You just kept it to yourself. Have you even admitted to yourself you miss him?"

I feel the weight of her gaze like a physical pressure on my chest. She’s right—I have been sinking into something darker,something I don’t know how to explain. Something I can't seem to shake.

"You didn’t say anything. I gave you three weeks, Cara. We’re supposed to be best friends and you didn’t say anything about being in love with my brother and missing him. So I went to see Manny," she continues, her voice lowering just slightly, as if the next part of this story might be a little too much for even her to say. "And guess what I found? He’s just as bad off as you. Equally sad, maybe worse."

I blink, stunned. Manny? My Manny, the guy who always made me laugh, who had his flaws but somehow made me feel seen in a way no one else ever did. He has his job and his back into his life. Why would he be sad and why hasn’t he told me?

"What? Why?" My voice cracks on the question, and I hate how vulnerable I sound. But I can’t help it. I’m actually worried about him now. I’m worried about both of us, if I’m being honest. My stomach churns as I imagine him, sitting in some dark corner, just as lost as I feel. I need to know. I have to know.

But Allie just shakes her head, her jaw tight. "I don’t know yet, Cara. But something’s broken between the two of you, and I can’t keep watching you both fall apart like this." She rubs her temples, like the weight of it all is finally hitting her too. "You two need to figure it out. You need to talk."

The silence that falls between us is thick, suffocating almost. There’s no easy way to undo what’s been broken, no neat bow to tie around this mess. And now, knowing that Manny’s just as wrecked as I am? It feels like I’m standing at the edge of something, too scared to jump, but not sure I want to climb back up, either.

“Talk about what, Allie? We’re friends. We got closer on this trip, yes but he said he was going to message me when he was done with work. I’m sure he had a lot of catching up today now that he’s back but overall, he doesn’t owe me anything.And honestly, he’s back at work doing what he loves. And yeah, we haven’t talked as much as we did on the trip but that’s no reason for him to be desolate like you are implying. Why would he look miserable?”

“Because he loves you, you clueless, clueless girl! I’m pretty sure he has loved you all his life. Didn’t he tell you?”

I’m a better person because of you and honestly I want that for more than just these three weeks.The words that have been echoing in my mind for the past three weeks come out loud now, even clearer than before.You’d make me happy, Cara. You do.Was he trying to tell me that he loved me? Was he trying to tell me more than what I let him say? I know I interrupted him and I’ve been playing that interaction in my mind every night all this time. But I’ve considered that sharing while with words may be hard for him, he did spend weeks showing me I was priority for him, and I just didn’t listen.

“He told me he cared about me, not that he loved me.”

“I’m pretty sure what he said was that he wanted more than three weeks with you and that he was ready to wake up next to you every day, or am I wrong?” Allie asks.

“Allie,” I whisper.

“Am. I. Wrong?” she asks again. Allie found her backbone for sure.

“Well shit, remind me to never pissed Allie off,” Roe chimes from her spot on the chair and Natalie just laughs at that.

I shake my head and Allie continues. “I know I’m not wrong because I have asked him to repeat to me what happened over and over again. I have begged him to call you and tell you—to show up, to beg, to do something—but all he says is that your choices were not respected once and he refuses to be that person. He said that he’d rather be your friend than nothing at all and Cara, you don’t think that’s love?”

“Fuck, I don’t know,” I add, bringing my hands to my face. “I clearly don’t know the first thing about love. I don’t know the first thing about lust versus love. Caring versus friendship. He told me I made him happy but he’s always happy you know? How am I supposed to believe all of those feelings were love? How do I know?”

“You do know, babe,” Roe adds. “You know love is not supposed to hurt. You know love is friendship. Love is companionship. Love is finding yourself while you’re learning to love someone else, while you’re learning to share your ups and downs with someone else. You know that love is not selfish and that love is patient right?”

Her words settle over me, warm but heavy, and I feel a pang deep in my chest. Itshouldbe that way, shouldn’t it? Love should feel like something solid, like a foundation you can build on. But right now, it feels like everything is crumbling beneath me.

“You can’t fall in love with someone in three weeks.” I wipe my tears with the palm of my hands as the three of them look at me with softness behind their eyes.

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