Page 32 of The Gravity of Us (Elements 4)

“I couldn’t imagine,” my sister said. “I can’t believe Lyric just left him. You’d think she’d be more thoughtful after she saw what went on with Parker and me.”

“She abandoned her newborn baby in the hospital, Mari. Any thoughtfulness we thought Lyric possessed went straight out the window and is now void.” It was crazy how you could know a person your whole life and then realize you knew nothing about them at all.

Time was a curse, the way it slowly morphed relationships into foreign affairs.

Mari shook her head. “What a mess. But, on a brighter note, I have a surprise for you.”

“Is it a green smoothie?”

She cocked an eyebrow. “I said a surprise, not a disgusting ground-up plant. We are officially hiring an additional florist! I’m interviewing a few people over these next few weeks.”

Since opening our floral shop, we’d always talked about hiring on more staff, but we hadn’t had enough profit to actually do it. So, the fact that we were now at that stage where we could afford to bring on more staff was exciting. There was nothing more exhilarating than watching your dream grow.

As I went to repl

y, the bell over the front door rang, making us both look up. “Sorry, we’re not actually open tod—” I couldn’t even finish my sentence when I saw who was standing there with a bouquet of roses.

“Parker,” Mari said as she breathed out, her strength dissipating as his name rolled off her tongue. Her body physically reacted to him as her shoulders drooped and her knees buckled. “Wh-What are you do-doing here?” Her voice trembled, and I wished it hadn’t. It gave away the effect he had on her—the effect he obviously wanted to have.

“I, um…” He chuckled nervously and looked down at the flowers. “I guess it’s a little stupid to bring flowers to a flower shop, huh?”

“What are you doing here, Parker?” I said, my voice much more stern than my sister’s. I crossed my arms and didn’t look away from him for a second.

“It’s good to see you too, Lucy,” he remarked. “I was hoping to speak to my wife for a minute.”

“You don’t have a wife anymore,” I told him. Every step he took toward Mari, I interfered. “You lost her when you packed your bags and left all those years ago.”

“Okay, okay, fair enough. I deserve that,” he replied. Mari murmured something under her breath, making Parker arch an eyebrow. “What did you say?”

“I said you don’t deserve shit!” Mari barked out, her voice still shaky, but louder now. Mari wasn’t one to ever curse, so when the last word flew off her tongue, I knew he had her really shaken up.

“Mari,” Parker started. She turned her back to him, but he kept talking. “It would’ve been seven years a few weeks ago.”

She didn’t turn to face him, but I saw her body react.

Stay strong, sister.

“I know I screwed up. I know it seems like a real shitty thing to do to show up here after all this time with some crap flowers, but I miss you.”

Her body reacted more.

“I miss us. I’m an idiot, okay? I made a lot of shitty mistakes. I’m not asking you to take me back today, Mari. I’m not asking you to fall in love with me. I’m just a boy, standing in front of a girl, asking her to get coffee with me.”

“Oh my gosh,” I groaned.

“What?” Parker asked, offended by my annoyance.

“You stole that line from Notting Hill!”

“Not exactly! Julia Roberts asked Hugh Grant to love her. I just asked for a cup of coffee,” Parker explained.

I couldn’t roll my eyes hard enough. “Whatever. Leave.”

“No offense, Lucy, but I didn’t come here for you. I came for Mari, and she hasn’t told me to—”

“Leave,” Mari said, her voice rediscovering its strength as she turned back to face him. She stood tall, like a strong oak tree.

“Mari…” He stepped closer to her, and she held up a hand to halt him.