Rewrite the Stars by Christina Consolino (classic fiction TXT) 📗

distressing and exhausting...for you to say those words...And I want to be honest with you because you deserve it. You need to know how difficult it is for me to say this.” He paused, and I dropped my head toward my lap, which caused a few strands of hair to slip in front of my face, effectively shielding my eyes from Andrew.

A burning stung my palms, and my stomach felt as if it had folded in on itself. What was he going to say? That he didn’t feel anything for me? As much as that admission might hurt, it would be the better option, the easiest thing for us both. If Andrew didn’t, I’d go on with my life, and he’d go on with his. Story over and no harm done.

“Sadie.” His calming voice encouraged me to lift my chin. With a free hand, he brushed the hair away from my face as I scanned his, trying to find something unidentifiable. Again, Andrew paused, as if he was scripting the words before the wrong ones spilled out.

“Yes?” Our faces were still so close. Had I leaned in a couple inches I’d taste the lips that hovered so near to mine. As it was, his cool breath fanned against my cheeks and tickled my insides. Andrew moved forward by mere centimeters and then stopped, as if he was troubled about what his next course of action would be or should be.

“I’m going to do the right thing here. And I don’t want you to view me as a saint, because I’m far from it. But this isn’t right. This...this...you and me. It could be right, but it’s not right...right now.” He held my face for a moment longer and then placed his hand back onto his lap. Andrew broke any visual connection we had, squared his shoulders, and looked off into the distance.

A sagging weight engulfed me, but I continued to stare at him, his touch lingering almost everywhere, even though he’d only had my chin in his grasp. Telling him the truth was easier to do than I thought, listening to Andrew let me down, telling me what I was doing was wrong, that in one word, I was again, being selfish. That’s what he meant when he said it wasn’t right, whether or not he used those words.

And then he spoke one more time: “But I’m not going to lie to you. I feel something for you too.”

Andrew continued to gaze ahead, saying nothing further. He blinked a couple times, and while I wanted to stay and see if tears welled in his eyes or if he’d reach for me or if any other endearing gesture would be forthcoming, it wasn’t the time. In the interest of self-preservation, I rose from the bench, pulled my coat around me, and walked away from him, from us, from a possible future. It might not have been the best response to his words, but it was the only one that seemed appropriate.

As my steps beat a quick pace on the gravel, my curiosity got the better of me, and I glanced back over my shoulder, just once. He again sat with his legs stretched out, hands behind his head. His graceful and leisurely posture—did it belie what he was feeling inside? Due to the distance I’d placed between us, his face wasn’t clear. Could he make out the stain of tears littering mine?

With a rumpled tissue that had seen better days, I swiped away my tears and forced myself to walk beyond the maze to find Brooke and the kids. Lexie and Delia ran up the path and charged me, each of them grabbing a leg.

“Mommy! We saw a stick insect and a green worm!” Delia’s words rushed out while Lexie smiled up at me. Charlie sauntered behind, with Brooke and Andrew’s kids, but the brightness he exuded told me he was having fun. Seeing my children happy was something that made my heart burst every single time.

“That’s great! What else did you see?”

Before anyone responded, my phone rang, and despite my intention not to answer it, when Brooke offered to take the children again, I let her. A quick goodbye and a quiet whispering of “Andrew is that way,” in the event she wanted to return the children to him, and they were off once again.

Brooke had been with us a long time. How observant was she? Who would she blame? Thankfully, those questions would remain unanswered because Brooke remained loyal to both her charges and to me.

Without looking at the screen, and thinking the call might be Theo, I accepted the call.

“Hello?”

“Sadie, it’s me.” Kate’s voice met my ear and an irritation washed over me. Kate always had impeccable timing. She seemed to make a phone call at a time when I didn’t want to talk to anyone, usually when she needed me. I loved Kate and our history together, but at times, the relationship drained me more than it should.

“Hey, Kate,” I said and mentally kicked myself for not checking who was calling. “Now’s not a great time. Can I call you back?” A mottled stink bug attempted to climb a thin stick balanced between a limb and a tree trunk. The poor insect tried in vain to cling to the stick, but it kept falling backward, onto the gravel, only to repeat the same, feeble action. Cocking my head, I leaned down to get a better look at the bug.

“Uh, I guess so. Seems like it’s hard for us to catch up these days,” Kate said. The reserved tone of her voice indicated she wasn’t happy with me, but she’d pulled the same tactic on me before. We both had lives to lead; she and I knew it. And sometimes, those lives got in the way of catching up with friends.

“I appreciate that. I’m in the middle of something right now.” I tried to lend sweetness to my voice that wouldn’t tip her off to anything. We’d been