Page 49 of Fourth Wall

For a second, she didn’t pull away. It was like we were in the kitchen again with batter dripping down our faces. It was mere moments of just us.

Then in a flash, she pulled away and grabbed Kelsie and Kinsley’s shoes before walking over toward them.

“You’re going to the shower?” I asked, still on the tail of her heels, following her around. She shot me a look before shooing me away.

“Yes, Christian.” She huffed out. “My mom was supposed to come over to watch them while I set up, but I’m bringing them with me now.”

“I can—” I attempted to interrupt.

“Do. Not. Finish that sentence.”

“Why?”

“Because, Christian, I’m taking them with me.” I nodded, feeling dejected.

I knew this would happen when I came back. The therapist I saw for the past week told me to expect her to be upset, but I didn’t expect her to practically cut me out. I didn’t expect to feel the same rush of emotions I did every time I was around her. I was doing my fucking best at controlling my own feelings about being rejected while also trying what I learned at therapy.

Going to the house in the foothills and through those intense therapy sessions for days made me realize I need to step up my communication game with the people I care about. I need to let them in, share parts of myself, and be vulnerable so they can understand where I'm coming from and the shit I've been through.

Stephen was fucking right about facing what went down that day. Opening up about it, actually saying the words out loud, weirdly made me feel somewhat lighter. It was hard to put intowords, but I knew I was ready to confront her and make things right. I just didn't expect it to be this tough.

As she grabbed the girls’ stuff and a couple of boxes, I attempted to help her with them, but she quickly rejected me, lifting them herself. I stood in the doorway and waved as they drove up the block.

27

Maeve

I spent the past couple of hours engrossing myself in creating the baby shower of Gianna’s dreams. She hated crowds, so it was just us and a few of Elio’s friends. We decorated it in shades of pink and had a little station where everyone could make their own bouquet since Gianna was also super into gardening.

The girls ran around us while we feasted on a taco catering truck (her pregnancy craving), ate cake, and played your typical shower games. At the end of the shower, Elio, Julian, Alex, and James joined us.

“You definitely have the best view.” I leaned back in the chair and looked out at the ocean.

“Oh right, that reminds me.” Chelsea trailed off as we all stared at her and Alex, who were cuddled up on a lounger.

“We have a surprise,” Alex added.

“Well, go on and spit it out,” I added.

“You know that house across the street from all of y’all that was for sale?”

“Yeah…?” Tatum responded.

“We’re your new neighbors,” Chelsea exclaimed, and we all cheered.

“Obviously, I’ll still be working in Sacramento, but we plan on spending most weekends here,” Alex responded.

Through a wild chorus of cheers, the girls ran over to ask if they could swim in Uncle Elio and Auntie Gianna’s pool.

“Of course. Let me run to the house and get your swimsuits.”

Tatum shot me a look.

“What?” I responded, looking at her. It was very clear she was up to no good.

“The girls already asked if they could swim, so I told them I would text Christian to bring them by…” I stared at her. “I then felt bad for him since he said he was just at the house and invited him to hang out.”

“Christian,” the girls squealed just as I was about to lash out at Tatum for overstepping, which was pretty typical, though. She did the same thing with Alex and Chelsea, too.

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