Page 39 of Heart Strings
“Quit staring,” she whispers in playful admonishment.
“Some bedside manner, Dr. Valdez.” Worried about causing more damage, I try to keep still. My voice softens. “I bet you have repeat offenders coming through the A&E just for the chance of getting stitched up by you.”
She shakes her head like that’s a ridiculous notion, but I’m only half kidding.
“In the future, when you’re taking care of the little ones, you’ll be their favorite.”
“You really think so?”
“Mark my words.”
I feel a pinch, and a splat in the sink catches my attention. The leech squirms in the elegant porcelain bowl. Lo and I shout in unison, a duet of disgust. We’ve grabbed each other for support, my palms firm on her shoulders, hers wrapped around my biceps. Our eyes meet.
“Kill it! Kill it with fire!” she shouts.
I snatch the tweezers and grab the slimy bastard. Lo flips thetoilet seat up. I fling it into the bowl and send it to hell with a flush.
Lo dry heaves again. “Ugh. I need to clean you up. Hold still.”
She’s ready with saline rinse and a tube of powder to clean the bite. She dusts it on and I flinch. “Sorry,” she murmurs.
“Lo, don’t apologize. I’m just glad it bit me and not you.”
She presses the plaster against my neck, gently rubbing her thumb along the edges so the corners don’t peel.
As the eldest child in my family, I’ve always been the one to care for Fionn and Marie, to help my parents in tight spots, especially when they moved to Galway. We never had much ourselves, but I learned to care for others. Until Lo, I hadn’t ever felt the warmth that blooms, the absolute magic of having someone, someone as gorgeous and capable as Lo no less, tuning in to your needs. Not out of obligation or duty or familial love, but because she wanted to take care of me. Now that I’ve made a name for myself, people want a piece of me for their own reasons.
It feels good to simply be cared for by Lo.
“You had something to tell me earlier,” she says. “Don’t think I forgot about that.”
My gaze drifts to my hands, but I force myself to look her in the eye. She deserves as much. “I’ve been wanting to say I’m sorry for the way we ended things. For the way I talked to you that night.”
Silence forms around us, heavy as a morning fog. I lean an elbow against the cold stone countertop.
“You were so happy about the record deal and I brought the hammer down on your joy before you could even celebrate. Thatwasn’t fair to you.” She rests a hand on my arm. “You deserved far better than the way I reacted. I’m sorry, too.”
“I only wanted to celebrate together.”
“I know. So why didn’t you fight for me?”
“How could I when you slammed that door closed? You didn’t even want to attempt long distance.”
“Of course I didn’t want you gone, I wanted you here and close to me.”
Does she still want that, somewhere deep down?
“But…I blew up and drove you away instead.” Lo busies herself with gathering the first aid supplies. “I guess I needed to know that you’d put in the energy to make it work when things got tough. I know I should have communicated that back then—that’s on me—but if you would’ve insisted, I would’ve given it a try.”
Instead of doing that, I’d called her a hypocrite and told her that if she were in my position she’d make the same choice as me, a hundred times. She had already left her family behind to pursue her dreams. I’d been furious that she lashed out at me for doing the same. And not only for myself, but for my family when they needed it most.
“It broke my heart when you gave up on us so easily.” Cielo closes the first aid kit and her hands finally still. “I expected you to tell me all the ways we’d be able to make it work, but instead you just accepted it immediately and walked away.”
“Because I took you at your word that your mind was made up.”
“It was immature and toxic and selfish of me,” Lo admits. “I should’ve just told you exactly how I felt. I’m sorry. When yousaid you needed to leave for your career, it reminded me of my dad and I reacted all wrong.”
How had I not realized that the undercurrent of her reaction was one of fear and hurt? I hoist myself up to sit on the vanity.
