Page 114 of New Growth
“Who—”
“Ryan and Johnathan. My sister and my ex. And guess who they thought would be theperfectmaid of honor?”
He blinked, still trying to catch up. “Huh?”
Right, I never told him.
I’d explain it all once I was done.
“And my mother—God, El, my mother just sat there co-signing all of it like I was the one being unreasonable! And Ryan had the nerve to sit there talking about how much she misses me, how she wants us to be close again like she didn’t spend years fucking the man I was in love with!”
El’s expression darkened. “Elliot.”
“Oh, it gets worse—” I started, but then I really looked at him.
His posture was off. His eyelids were heavy, his mahogany skin looked dull, and he had a sluggishness that sent alarms ringing in my head.
I frowned. “Did you eat today? You look sick.”
“Yeah,” he muttered, rubbing his face.
I narrowed my eyes. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, Elliot.”
“Are your sugar levels normal?” I pushed.
“Yes.”
I inhaled sharply, trying to push down my irritation, but something didn’t sit right. I glanced at his stomach, where his insulin patch was barely visible under the bunching of his hoodie.
“Okay. Let me see your blood sugar.”
His head jerked up. “What?”
“Open the app. Let me see it.”
He hesitated. Just for a second. And that told me everything I needed to know.
“Elliot—”
I stepped forward. “Elliot.”
He sighed, long and deep, then finally muttered, “Okay… I didn’t check it. It slipped my mind.”
A cold wave of anger rolled through me. “So, how do you know it’s normal, El?”
“I’m fine, I feel fine. I just need to lie down.”
My face fell flat, and the same numbness from before settled over me. “You didn’t check it today, did you?”
He looked at me, mouth tight, so tight that instead of confirming my suspicions verbally, he shook his head.
Huh.
“You lied to me.”
His face screwed up in confusion. “Peanut—”
