Page 72 of Choosing Forever
I cross my legs beneath the table and lean back against the chair, worrying my lip. Is it really that big of a deal that he told his sister about us meeting up? Surely, he just knew she’d like to be kept in the loop. That’s sibling responsibility. Yeah, that’s it.
“If he was the one who told you in the first place, why haven’t you just asked him for answers the morning after?”
She blinks slowly at me, deadpan, before her lashes pick up speed. “Sorry, was that a serious question?”
“Okay, sassy. Forget I asked.”
“If my options are you or Darren, I’m going to choose you for real answers. He’ll give me a dumb guy rundown, and I needmore. The juicy details.”
“I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, then, but there are no juicy details. All we did was eat cold burgers in his car.”
She clucks her tongue and flicks my wrist. “Nuh-uh. Don’t try it with me, Della.”
“Try what? I’m being serious. We talked and ate. That’s it. I can tell you about the fundraiser we’re putting on next weekend if you want.”
“I’m going to pinch you really, really hard,” she warns.
I let loose a laugh and scoot closer to the table. “Fine. But when you realize there truly aren’t any juicy details, you can take it up with your brother.”
“Deal. Now, start talking.”
The dramatics . . . “Did he ask you anything about me recently?”
“Like what?”
“Just anything specific. Like, my food orders or whether I still like banana milkshakes?”
Poppy’s hands fly to her neck before travelling to cover her mouth. The hearts in her eyes could rival those in a cartoon.
“He really does remember everything about you,” she whispers in awe.
“Don’t start crying, Poppy. My fast-food order is hardly everything.”
“But it’s a good sign toward it. I bet if you made a list of questions for him, he’d have all the answers.”
She could be right, but I’m not in the position to be thinking about that. All we did was talk for an hour, and while it was an important talk, there’s still a lot of work to be done between us if we want any sort of friendship.
“You’re probably right,” I agree lamely.
“Well? What else? Come on, Della, don’t hold out on me. Let it out into the world.”
“I asked about Sasha. She’s mostly who we talked about.”
Poppy’s expression droops slightly, her enthusiasm drifting away. “It’s good you asked about her.”
“It didn’t feel good, Poppy. It felt draining. Like I was trudging back through every bad memory of that time that I have.”
“And what about now? How do you feel?”
“I’m confused. I thought I should be relieved or even just somewhat at peace, you know? After all these years, I finally asked the questions I’ve been dying to know the answers to, but they didn’t feel good to hear. All they did was remind me of how we got here in the first place.”
“I’m sorry, honey,” Poppy murmurs, soothing the pink mark on my wrist from her flick with a soft touch. “Maybe it was too soon.”
“No, that’s not it. It’s been the better part of a decade. That’s long enough to miserably kick this around. I can’t keep going on like this. Looking over my shoulder for him . . . Wishing that I’d decided to leave instead of staying.”
“Don’t say that, Delaney. Don’t even joke about it. You leaving would have devastated me.”
I press my lips together in a weak smile and shrug. “Wedidn’t speak for years. Not until Daisy started at the school and we were kind of pushed back together. Would you have even noticed if I hadn’t stayed?”
