Chapter 4: Chapter 4

ODETTE

Yesterday was a disaster, not at all what I had planned. I quit the wedding, which I believed was for the best.

Now, I was on my way to clear the air with Sterling. It might not be the best thing to do, but it needed to be done.

I knocked on the front door a few times before Julie answered.

“What do you want?” she asked, her hand on her hip.

“I want to talk to Sterling,” I demanded.

“One minute,” she said.

Instead of inviting me in, she shut the door in my face. So, I stood there like an idiot. After a minute or two, Sterling opened the door.

“Hey, do you have a minute?” I asked.

“Yeah, come in,” Sterling said, leaving the door open as he walked away from me. I quickly followed him into the living room where Julie was.

“First of all, I wanted to say I was sorry for being late yesterday, but I think it’s best if I’m not part of the bridal party anymore,” I admitted to him.

“I think you’re right. You’re my sister, and I want you to be part of the wedding, but it’s obviously too much for you right now,” he agreed.

“I think she shouldn’t come at all. She’s going to make things difficult for me,” Julie said, folding her arms.

Sterling let out a sigh. “She’ll be at the wedding, Julie. I’m not going to banish my sister from my wedding.”

“She’s already proved she doesn’t care about the wedding,” Julie yelled, stomping her foot.

He seemed tired, and I could tell he didn’t want to fight. It wasn’t fair she was making him choose between his sister and his soon-to-be wife.

“She’s right. I have been inconsiderate, and if it makes her feel better, I won’t be there,” I said, agreeing with Julie.

A lump formed in my throat. I didn’t want to miss his wedding, but the decision was going to make his life easier. I knew he would never choose one side when it came to having me there, so the best thing I could do was offer not to come.

“You don’t mean that, Etta,” Sterling said. His voice sounded sad, and it broke my heart to hear him sound like that.

“I do. You look exhausted, and I want to make it easier on you. If this is what it takes, then it’s what I will do,” I said, trying to be the bigger person.

“It won’t be the same without you,” he admitted.

“The results will be the same; you’ll get to marry the person you love.” I tried to reassure him that everything was still going to be all right.

Sterling sighed and put his hands in his pockets.

“I’m sure we can find a middle ground between the two of you,” Sterling said, trying to compromise.

“I would feel better if she weren’t there,” Julie said with a small smirk on her face.

“Then it’s settled. It’s her big day, and she doesn’t want me there, so I won’t be there.”

“It’s my day too, and I want my sister there,” Sterling sighed.

“We’ll discuss this later,” Julie said, stomping off.

“Since Theo will finally be in town, we want to have a get-together at Beau’s bar,” I stated.

“I’ll be there,” Sterling said without hesitation.

“Great, it’s at six.”

I left Sterling’s house. I knew our relationship would never be the same. This was a turning point. We had officially become siblings and not pseudo father and daughter. But Sterling needed this. He needed to have a happy wife and a family of his own instead of constantly dealing with his siblings, and I knew he wouldn’t make that decision, so I had to make it for him.

***

I sat in Beau’s bar waiting for the others to get here, mainly Theo. I hadn’t seen Theo in a few years. He liked to travel and experience the world, as he put it. He was probably the one who would never settle down.

“Hey. You’re here early,” Winston stated.

“Well, so are you,” I said as Winston took a seat next to me.

“I wanted to chat with you,” Winston said in his older brother tone.

“What about?” I said, trying to play stupid.

“You. Sterling told me what happened today.”

“I’m fine. It needed to happen—it was the only way to keep him from having to choose,” I said, trying to reassure him.

“Well, I think it’s shitty. He should get rid of her,” Winston admitted.

I shrugged my shoulders. “Let’s change the subject. What’s new with you?”

“A lot, not a lot—depends on how you look at it.”

“Care to elaborate?” I asked.

“I’m seeing someone,” he admitted, surprising me.

I gave Winston a huge smile because I was excited for him.

“What’s her name?” I asked.

“His name is Kolten,” he responded.

When I didn’t say anything, Winston started panicking.

“I’m sorry for blurting it out. I figured you would be the easiest to tell and wouldn’t judge,” he said.

“Winston?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you, and I’m so happy for you,” I squealed.

“Really?” he asked in a shocked tone.

“Yes. You deserve to be happy.” I gave Winston a tight hug. “Secret for a secret?” I asked him.

“Sure, hit me with it.”

“I’m not going back to Maine. I got my boss to transfer me here.”

“That’s great, Etta!”

“I haven’t told anyone, except for Reece,” I admitted.

“So now you confide in a boy who isn’t one of your brothers?” he teased.

“He might as well be a brother,” I said, even though I didn’t see him like one.

Winston raised his eyebrow at me but couldn’t say anything because Theo made his entrance, and the Hart sibling get-together was officially starting.

“Odette!”

“Theodore!” I shouted.

Theo pulled me into a hug. “I missed you and your attitude.”

“I missed you too! How long are you visiting?” I eagerly asked.

“A few weeks. I have a break between assignments.”

Theo was a freelance adventure writer. Companies hired him to experience what they offered and write an opinion piece for magazines and websites.

“Where did you come from, and where are you going?” I loved hearing about his travel stories. He had been to so many places, and I was kind of jealous, but I lived vicariously through his stories.

“Just came from Costa Rica, and I’m heading to Washington to do some wilderness stuff,” he said.

“You have the coolest job out of us all.”

“Where is the man of the hour?” Theo asked.

It seemed as though Sterling had anticipated Theo’s inquiry about him. As soon as Theo asked about his whereabouts, Sterling entered through the doors, accompanied by Wren and Reece.

Without hesitation, Reece walked over to me and claimed the seat Winston had been occupying.

“Are you following me?” I asked in jest.

“You wish. I was told there would be food and beer, so I came,” he retorted.

“Is that all it takes to get you to do something?” I teased.

“There are other things that can motivate me,” he replied, a playful tone in his voice.

“Can I steal Etta from you?” Sterling inquired.

I recognized Sterling’s voice without needing to look at him. “Sure,” Reece responded.

“Can we talk in Beau’s office?” Sterling asked me.

I nodded and followed him. He closed the door behind us and pulled me into a hug.

“I’m sorry, I love you, and I don’t want to get married if you’re not there,” he blurted out.

“What about Julie?” I asked.

“I told her she would need to grow up and get over whatever issue she has with you. You’re my sister, and it wouldn’t be the same without you. Julie has been driving me crazy with this wedding shit, and you have been the outlet for my frustration. You don’t deserve it,” he confessed.

“Thank you, Sterling; it means a lot.”

“And while we are being honest, please stay away from Reece. I know you two have been spending a lot of time together. I love him, but I know how he and Wren can be with girls. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Is any guy right for me? Besides, there’s nothing going on between us. And if there was, shouldn’t it be my choice?” I said.

“No. No one would be able to live up to what you need because you deserve everything and then some,” he said, pulling me into another hug.

I gave Sterling one last hug before rejoining the others.

Beau had brought out the alcohol and food, and everyone had already started eating. I grabbed a plate and joined in on the conversation, which was rather traumatizing. They were discussing past relationships and instances of getting caught in the act.

“I got one,” Sterling said. “Beau, I think, had just turned eighteen, and he had his girlfriend at the time over. He thought everyone was gone. We were, but I had come home because I forgot something—found him and this girlfriend partially naked. Instead of announcing myself and interrupting them, I snuck into the apartment over the garage, grabbed some condoms, and threw them at him. The girl was mortified.”

“She dumped me after that. She said she could never be around my family again,” Beau chimed in.

“What was her name?” I asked.

“It was Misty, and I was so fucking pissed because she had finally told me she was ready,” Beau added.

“And you were going to have her first time be on the couch?” I asked him with a judgmental tone in my voice.

“She chose the spot. Since you are so judgmental, Odette, where did you lose your virginity?”

“I was fifteen, and it was with James Coleman. I had gone to a party, and it just happened, but at least it was in a bedroom and not on a couch,” I quipped back.

“James Coleman, he would have been seventeen at the time,” Reece spoke up.

“So?” I said, shrugging my shoulders.

Reece didn’t say anything after that, but he kept glancing at me throughout the next hour while my brothers were sharing their past experiences.

It wasn’t until I got up to start cleaning up after everyone that Reece decided to talk to me again.

“Did you really lose your virginity to James?” he asked.

“Yes, and why do you care?” I casually asked, hoping he would tell me.

“Because he probably took advantage of you; you were only fifteen.”

“Is this some kind of double standard bullshit? How old were you?” I said, pointing a finger at him.

“Fifteen,” he responded without defending himself.

“See, you shouldn’t care if you were the same age,” I added.

“The girl I slept with wasn’t two years younger than me, and I wasn’t almost of legal age,” he argued.

“Let’s drop this conversation,” I demanded.

Reece sighed and picked up some plates and followed me back to the kitchen.

“I don’t like seeing or hearing people take advantage of you,” he admitted.

“Why do you care? We’re friends; we don’t even keep in touch; we only see each other every so often when I decide to visit,” I reminded him.

“Because I can’t stop thinking about you. You’re constantly on my mind, Odette. When I saw you the other day, something changed in me. When we were at the batting cage, I wanted to kiss you,” Reece admitted.

His admission took me by surprise.

“I can’t be with anyone, Reece; I’m messed up.” The words slipped out before I had time to think about them.