Chapter 51

Rowena

Eric held the umbrella over my head, his jaw set hard beneath his skin.

For several long moments, I just stared at him, watching as his eyes fixed themselves on the pavement between our feet. And for those moments, part of me wanted to tell him to leave me alone—to go to hell with his umbrella, to get out of my sight after the things he had said.

But seeing him like this now, silently holding the umbrella out between us, made me realize something.

I was comforted by his presence. Right now, as wet tears caked my cheeks from being stood up by Adrian, I realized how much I missed Eric.

It didn’t make me any less angry at him, though.

“What are you doing out here?” I asked, folding my arms across my chest.

Eric responded without looking up at me. “I could ask you the same thing.”

My tears worsened at his words. The minutes spent sitting alone at the restaurant, waiting for a date that would never come, came flooding back. I felt my chest clench, and a silent sob quaked my shoulders no matter how hard I tried to hold it in.

“Adrian stood me up,” I choked out, trying—and failing—to hide the sound of my agony. “I waited for almost an hour, and he never showed up for our date.”

It was only then, as the tears streamed down my cheeks with a renewed force, that Eric finally looked up. His blue eyes searched my face, and through the tears blurring my vision, I thought I could make out what looked like a profound sadness take over his stony expression.

With a soft sigh, he stepped forward and wrapped one arm around me, the other still holding the umbrella over us. He pulled me close, causing me to stumble into his chest. But I didn’t pull away, even though my clothes were soaked all the way through and I could feel the warmth of his skin through my shirt.

“I should scold you, you know,” he murmured, his voice low and gravelly in my ear.

I paused, glancing up to cast him a sidelong look. “Scold me?” I asked.

He nodded. “For being… weak,” he said. “For chasing after a guy like Adrian, like you’re some sort of lost puppy. I warned you about him, about how he’s a player, and you didn’t listen.”

As his words sank in, a wry snort made its way through my throat. “That’s rich coming from you,” I hissed, thinking back on his countless escapades with other women.

“And besides…” Another sob quaked my shoulders, making my breath come out in a short gasp. “You’re the one who pushed me away and told me to go to him. So I did just that.”

Eric was silent for some time after that. When I finally looked up to meet his gaze, he was staring stonily at the wall behind us once again, his jaw set hard.

“For what it’s worth,” I added, “he asked me on this date because of you. Because your coldness toward me has… ruined me these past weeks.”

At that, Eric’s eyes seemed to flicker with recognition. He blinked, looking down at me. “Coldness?” he asked.

“Yes. You’ve been cold. All because I didn’t take kindly to your cruel prank at the party—to all of your cruel pranks.”

I felt Eric stiffen against me at my words. His arm tightened ever so slightly around me, a sensation that left me both comforted and breathless. He didn’t let go over me—or the umbrella. I should have been annoyed, or even angry. But I wasn’t.

Because standing here, like this, with our warm skin pressed together through our wet clothes, huddled beneath the safety of the umbrella, I couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of familiarity; and for a moment, I was transported back to that night at the movie theater.

Back to those moments when my hand had brushed him, and a warm shockwave had made its way through my entire body.

I felt my cheeks redden just at the thought.

Eric was my brother. This feeling between us, this connection, should have felt wrong. So why, then, wasn’t I pulling away?

Suddenly, Eric spoke.

“I’m sorry.”

As his words processed, I felt my chest constrict and my eyes widen. “You’re… sorry?” I asked, tilting my head back to look up at him. That was the first time I had ever heard Eric say those words. “I thought you were always of the belief that apologies are worthless.”

“Not anymore,” he said, slowly releasing his grip on me and taking a step back. “I never meant to hurt you.”

I swallowed. “So why did you do it?” I found myself whispering. “Why did you tell me to go to Adrian?”

Eric didn’t answer. He opened his mouth, but then closed it again as if he couldn’t find the words. I knew him well enough to know, then, that I wouldn’t get anything out of him now.

“I’m sorry, too,” I blurted out through grit teeth. “About the talisman.”

Recognition flickered in Eric’s eyes, and for a moment I thought back to the night that he had torn it off. It now lay somewhere in the woods, likely buried forever beneath the underbrush after I had thrown it.

But deep down, I knew that this was never about the talisman. It was about the gesture; about showing Eric that I cared about him, that he was important to me.

“Here.” I reached into my bag, where the journal was still wrapped up and waiting for Adrian—a gift that would never reach his hands. But it had never been meant for him, anyway. Instead, I held it out to Eric.

I stopped, though, when I realized—with a slowly shattering heart—that the pages had been utterly soaked due to the rain. The paper, once crisp and clean, was now wrinkled and soggy. Instantly, I felt tears return to my eyes.

“It… It got wet,” I stammered out, my lower lips beginning to quiver as I pulled the journal back. “I’m sorry. I wanted to give it to you days ago, but…”

Before I could pull away, however, Eric’s hand shot out. He took the journal, turning it this way and that in the light. “I love it,” he said.

I frowned. “You’re just flattering me.”

“No. I really love it. And I’ll use it.” He carefully thumbed open one of the pages, inspecting the damage. “I can fix this. I’ll hang it by the fireplace when we get home and it’ll dry out just fine.”

“But the pages will be all wrinkled,” I said, wiping the tears from my eyes with the back of my hand—although, my hand was so wet from the rain that it didn’t help any.

Eric simply shrugged, his blue eyes meeting mine. “It just gives it some character, that’s all.”

I opened my mouth to respond, but no words would come. But words weren’t necessary, anyway.

Eric’s blue eyes searched my face. His blond hair, soaked from the rain, stuck to his cheeks and his neck; the umbrella had become useless now in the downpour. But as he pulled the umbrella closer, shielding us from prying eyes, it didn’t matter anymore.

There, beneath the cover of the umbrella, Eric slipped his hand beneath my chin and pulled me close.

He kissed me.

His lips were cold and wet, but I didn’t push him away.