Page 3 of The Girl I Once Loved

“I know, and I still believe that. Before I met Derrick, I never saw myself walking down the aisle for any man. But for him…” she sighs dreamingly. “I love him, Sky. I want to be his wife more than anything in this world.”

“Of course you do. I’m sorry. You just caught me off guard, that’s all. I’m happy for you, Daisy. Really, I am,” I tell her and mean it.

“You better be, since I need you here to plan this wedding with me.” She giggles. “Thatcher’s Bay will be talking about this wedding for years to come.”

“Daisy—” I start to protest but my sister is having none of it.

“Nope. Don’t Daisy me, Sky. This is my wedding we’re talking about. I want you here and that’s the end of it,” she states, leaving me little room to argue with her.

“Can I at least think about it?”

When the line goes quiet, I know I’ve hurt her with my hesitance.

She was so excited to tell me her big news and here I am pissing all over it.

God, I suck.

“Sky, I want you to listen closely,” she starts, her tone dead serious. “I love you. I love you with all my heart. So much so that I didn’t complain or give you a hard time for not coming home these past seven years. I didn’t give you any grief when you skipped out on all the Thanksgivings and Christmases over the years, preferring to spend it with Dad on the mainland. I didn’t say a word when you didn’t come home for the summer holidays either. I was the first to back you up with Mom when you said that you needed to work through those months. I’ve always respected your choices and supported you through and through.” She lets out a dispirited exhale. “But this is my wedding, Sky.My wedding. No excuse you could ever give for not coming will ever make it right with me. I need my sister. Imissmy sister. So take your time and think about it if you want, but if your answer is anything but yes, then I’ll never forgive you.”

Fuck

Fuck.

Fuck!

“Daisy—”

“The wedding will be in two months,” she interjects in an even tone. “I’ve made Derrick wait long enough for me over the years. I refuse to make him wait any longer. I want you here to help me plan this wedding, Sky. I want my sister to share in my happiness as I would be honored and grateful to share in hers if the tables were reversed. If you can’t do that…if you can’t stand by my side on what should be the happiest day of my life…then I guess you’re not the sister I thought you were.”

And with that threat, she hangs up.

Pissed with myself more than I am at Daisy for giving me such an ultimatum, I throw my phone across the room, slamming it loudly against the wall and shattering it completely.

She’s right.

If I had called her up in the middle of the night, telling her I was engaged, Daisy would be on the first flight to Boston. She wouldn’t think twice about being by my side, elated that I finally found the happiness she always wished for me.

And what did I do in return?

Shit all over her news.

“Goddamn it!” I curse in frustration, punching the headrest of the couch.

“Bad news?” Gael asks behind me, wiping the sleep away from his eyes.

“Shit. I’m sorry. Did I wake you?”

“Little bit.” He smiles warmly, wrapping his arms around my waist and bending down just low enough to hide his face in the crook of my neck. “Everything okay?” he whispers lovingly.

I shake my head.

“I figured as much. Want me to make you some tea or something?”

“I think I’ll need something stronger than that,” I admit, my shoulders sagging in defeat.

“Vodka it is then.” He smiles into my neck and then places a tender kiss on my cheek.

Gael releases me from his comforting hug and walks over to the kitchen to grab me a stiff drink. I slide down onto the couch and grab a pillow to hug. When Gael returns to the living room with a tall glass of vodka on the rocks, I eagerly grab it from his hands and take a large swig. I watch him sit on the coffee table across from me, waiting patiently for me to tell him what’s wrong.

---