Page 179 of Divine Obsession

Maria stood there, her eyes tired. As soon as she glanced up at me, silent tears began falling down her face.

My face fell. Marianevercried.

I immediately wrapped my arms around her, already feeling my chest shooting with pain from seeing her upset. “What happened?” My voice muffled against her hair.

“We broke up,” She choked out, pulling back to wipe her face with the sleeve of her oversized hoodie –Zach’s.

“What?” I asked, my chest tightening.

She nodded, tears spilling over again.

“I’m so sorry. Come in,” I urged, pulling her inside my apartment. The moment we stepped into the living room, a faint sound echoed from the back door of the penthouse.

Maria’s head shot up. “What was that?”

“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it,” I said quickly, steering her toward the couch. “Sit down. Relax. I’ll make you some tea with honey.”

Maria sniffled but didn’t object. As I headed toward the kitchen, her gaze fell on the coffee table, where there were two plates.Mine and Trevor’s. “Are you not alone?”

I froze. “I was just…Reallyhungry,” I lied, forcing a nervous laugh.

Maria blinked at me but didn’t press further. “Oh, okay.” Her eyes drifted down to me again, this time narrowing. “What are you wearing?”

I glanced down and felt my face heat.Trevor’s hoodie. Big, soft, and unmistakably his.

“It’s… A men’s hoodie,” I stammered. “I wear it sometimes. Makes me feel less single.”

Maria’s face crumpled, and she burst into tears again.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

“I’m sorry, Em. I didn’t mean–”

“It’s not your fault,” She sobbed, covering her face with her hands.

I sank down beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “What happened with Zach, Em? Talk to me.”

She cried harder, and I tightened my hold on her, my own guilt swirling in my chest as I tried to comfort her. My heart pounded, praying she wouldn’t notice anything else out of place.

Maria didn’t tell me what happened between her and Zach.

She didn’t need to say it out loud because it became obvious it had beenbad.Though, Trevor had called me late at night after Maria was already sleeping, to tell me she and Zach weregetting back together – that this was just a small bump in their relationship.

I watched my little sister go through the other four stages of a breakup for the first time.

First came denial.

Although she stopped crying after just an hour, she was still sulking in silence that whole first night.

The next morning, came the anger.

And that one lasted a while.

The morning after Maria showed up on my doorstep, we were in my kitchen. She sat down at the island, me frying bacon – our roles reversed for once.

A ring broke through the soft background music of SZA’sGood Days.

“I’ll get it,” Maria announced, sliding off her stool and walking over to the couch where my phone was calling.

---