Page 73 of Threads That Bind Us
All three of the Costa women are staring at Charlie open-mouthed as he blinks at me, seemingly unable to come up with a response.
“You didn’t tell her?” Emily asks, her voice cold and cutting. Bea’s looking at Charlie like a disappointed parent, but Emily and Clara are just as angry as I am.
“He did not tell me. Not that he was writing reports about howwell I was doing, or that he was including details about Ana in those reports. He also failed to explain that you all could decide I wasn’t up to the task.” The guilt is clear in his eyes, but it doesn’t assuage me at all. In fact, it only makes it worse. “What would happen if they said no, Charlie? Ana and I would be out on our own again? You’d be fine just dropping us back at our old apartment?”
As I say the words, something cracks in my chest, and I realize I’m not angry. I’m heartbroken. For a person who spent her whole life saying she didn’t need anyone but herself and her sister, I sure as fuck gave him enough of my heart that he could break it.
“I’d never abandon you two,” he says, his voice pleading. “You have to know I would financially support you two for the rest of your lives.”
Clara, Bea, and Emily simultaneously curse under their breath as my chest tightens, pulling those little fragments of my heart further apart.
“That’s not what she’s talking about, asino,” Clara reaches over and smacks him on the back of the head before she turns to me. “He doesn’t mean it like that.”
“I wouldn’t let them say no, Gwen. It wouldn’t happen.” Charlie seems to have realized his words, nearly panicked in his effort to clarify.
“He doesn’t have that power, though, does he?” I ask Clara, and she glances at Charlie empathetically before shaking her head at me. “You should have told me. You should have let meknow there was a possibility this would all end, before…before everything changed between us. If they rejected me, you eventually would have had to marry someone else. And I don’t know if I could have watched that.”
“If it helps, I was just being a colossal bitch because I was angry,” Clara says, coming to bat for her brother. “My mother was right; you’ll make an excellent Costa. There’s no reason for anyone to vote against you, even me.”
Charlie reaches for me, but I keep my hands firmly in my lap.
“Thank you, Clara,” I say, clearing my throat and trying to repress the tears welling in my eyes. “But he should have told me. And I know I’m committed to this, and I have no intention of backing out, but I think I have a right to be pissed.”
“Oh yeah, definitely be pissed,” Emily says, finally lifting her head from the table. She grabs my arm and pulls me to stand with her. Charlie follows immediately, his shoulders tense and expression anguished. “Gwen’s going to come stay with me tonight, and I’ll get her back to D.C. tomorrow. You figure out how you’re going to fix this little shit show you’ve created.”
“Oh, can I come? I’m also mad at Charlie, mostly in solidarity, but also because I had no idea Gwen existed until tonight, so I feel lied to as well.” Bea stands up, smiling at me for the first time this evening.
She misses the glance that Charlie and Clara share, and I suddenly remember that there are more things at play than just my relationship.
“I’ll come, too,” Clara announces, standing and snagging Charlie’s dessert as he stares at us. Emily leads me around the table, and we all link arms like girls on the playground. “We can all be mad at Charlie together.”
And I am pissed. But my anger is mollifieda little by the women around me, which I think is their goal. Bea whispers in my ear that she loves the color of my dress as we start down the hallway.
“Gwen,” Charlie calls out, and we all stop and turn over our shoulders like it was something we practiced. It would be funny if I wasn’t still ready to stab him with a fork again.
“I truly am sorry, mia filettatura.”
And I know he is. I’m certain that, deep down, Charlie doesn’t want to hurt me. But everything I start to say turns to ash on my tongue. I can’t respond because I know I’ll crumble, and the fact that I can forgive him so easily is terrifying. But I know better than most that the easiest hearts to break are the ones handed to us willingly.
Chapter 25
Gwen
“So the trip did not go well?” Kenzie asks, swinging our joined hands as we walk up New Jersey Avenue.
Ana’s at summer softball league training, trying to recondition her body after a season off. So I’m dragging Kenzie to Catalina’s for a drink, listening to her lament about spending her day off at another bar. I sigh, wishing I could tell her everything.
“It’s complicated. But yeah, we had a fight, I guess.”
“Yes, it seems like you’ve had quite the tussle,” she taunts, poking my side where my shirt rides up with her fingernail. “Could this possibly be a hickey? On your ribs? I wonder who possibly could have caused this scandalous little thing?”
I drop her hand immediately, embarrassment heating my skin. When I twist and lift my shirt, I see what she’s referring to—an undeniable hickey, a few inches under my bra band.
“Oh, shut up,” I shush her, swatting at her side and dragging down my top. I thought I’d be safe wearing something oversized, but obviously I was wrong.
“I will absolutely not shut up,” she squeals, trying to lift my shirt back up.
“McKenzie Willard, we are in public,” I say, dancing away from her and nearly tripping over a bunch of parked e-scooters. I glare at her, but she’s fully cackling now, holding her belly because she’s laughing so hard.