Page 212 of Cloudy With a Chance of Bad Decisions

I wasn’t surprised if that was the case. Alex cared a lot, was attentive. I could assume he’d been babying his dad the same way he babied me when I was hurt.

Alex turned his attention back to me, offering me a bottled water after popping the lid open. “I got you some fruit too,” he said. “They had these fruit cup things? I dunno. I hoped you’d like it.” The “fruit cup” he was talking about looked genuinely delicious. Cherries, peach slices, a few chunks of pineapple. The perfect snack to stress eat while Alex play-not-play-fought with his dad.

“I also got you a donut.” He handed me a paper bag. “You don’t have to eat it if you don’t want to. Just…you know.Variety. I figured I’d give you options.”

“Thank you,” I said.

“Oh, aaaaand I got you more pickles.” My favorite brand. Yum! I’d left the other jar in his fridge. A fact that had filled me with immense sadness. “Not apology ones. These are ‘good morning’ pickles.”

“Thank you.” My cheeks still felt flushed.

“Where are my pickles?” Mr. James teased from the back. Alex’s cheeks darkened, his tan skin adorably pink.

“I’d bet it’s in your pants, Dad,” he responded without missing a beat.

“Alex!” His dad scoffed, offended. I nearly choked on air. Alex ignored him, smooched my cheek, then disappeared to fill up the tank.

The rehearsal dinner went off without a hitch. Alex invited me as his plus-one—officially, and to June’s utmost glee. He’d had this eager grin on his face the whole time. Smile growing even brighter as he stood beside Roderick at the altar as his best man. Juniper, as always, looked incredible in her usual puffy skirt and cowboy boots.

She kept adjusting her dress—not her wedding dress, at least, not yet—as she walked down the dirt path that they’d made the “aisle”. “When you get fake boobs, no one ever warns you about the boob sweat,” she whispered to me as she passed where I waited in the audience.

I snorted, and she beamed.

Even though it wasn’t the real ceremony, Roderick cried. Tears dripped down his face, smearing across his chin. Snotty, and hardly attractive at all—and yet, Juniper looked at him like he was the epitome of beauty itself.

Roderick wasn’t the only one with wet eyes. Mr. James sniffled as he clung to her arm, leading her toward the wooden platform that would act as the altar. He kissed her head before parting and taking his seat.

Alex’s eyes took in his sister, full of love, his smile blinding.

There was no denying how proud of this he was—as the person who had planned it. Alex was devoted. It was obvious in the way he ducked his head, his heart in his eyes and on his sleeve, for once.

The night came to a close with stars in the sky and the wedding party populating their tents early in preparation for the early morning—and ceremony—the next day.

I should’ve been with them.

Should’ve joined Alex in our tent. Should’ve soaked up his heat and taken advantage of my last night here in Hocking Hills with him. But…I couldn’t.

Not yet.

Not without speaking to someone about the feelings that had plagued me since the dirty socks—and my epiphany.

I’d learned that being vulnerable was the price for love.

And even though I’d spent my entire adult life projecting perfection, when I felt truly lost—the first person I went hunting for was my mother.

I found her where I always did, in the kitchen, bustling about in a dress as colorful as her personality. Mom smiled my way, though her smile dimmed when she saw the expression on my face.

“What’s wrong?” Her voice was uncharacteristically soft.

I shut the door behind me, debating if I was going to open my mouth or not. Ignoring it would be easy—in its own way. I could pretend that this was what we’d set out for it to be.

Casual.

Temporary.

A lesson for both of us.

But I didn’t want to.

---