She squeezes my hand and smiles. “Thank you.”
We stay connected, and I begin my own story. “So, I was born first. I was an only child for seven years, and then came Royce, then soon after Cillian joined us, and several years went by before Merrick finished off our family. I was twenty-three when our parents died, so I was already in graduate school, living the life, so-to-speak,” I say with a chuckle.
“Were you a party guy?” she asks with a twinkle in her eye.
“I partied,” I say with a nod. “I was definitely enjoying being on my own.” She nods, waiting for me to finish. “When the accident happened and the will was read, my parents said they would prefer for us boys to stick together, but if I didn’t feel up to it, they could go with an aunt who lived out of town. There was never really a question. I was going to take care of them and keep us all together, so that’s what I did.
“Like your sister, I busted my ass working and going to college. Our parents did leave us some money, so I won’t act like that didn’t help, but it was still so hard going from a college kid who didn’t have to be responsible for much to taking care of three kids, paying bills, cooking meals, and trying to keep my head above water.” I sigh and Nova grabs my hand and brings it up to her lips, placing a kiss on my knuckles before nodding, telling me to continue. “I struggled in the beginning. I didn’t cook for them like I should’ve. I wasn’t as present as I needed to be. We were all like zombies, you know? One of my brother’s friend’s mom came to me one day and whipped me into shape,” I say with a laugh. “It was months later, I think. I don’t even remember. It was the first time I cried, because I felt like I couldn’t let my brothers see me break down. She comforted me, then she told me what I had to do. We still had a long way to go, and I needed to get it together.”
“So, that’s when you learned how to cook?”
I nod. “Yeah, Barbara would bring over meals, and I would attempt to re-create them. It was really bad for a while, and then she would send little instruction notes with them. After a while, I dug out my mom’s cookbook and learned that way.”
“My sister learned how to cook, too. I, on the other hand, still suck. So if you wanna hand out some teaching classes, that’ll be fine.”
We both laugh, still holding hands, the popcorn forgotten about for now.
“Every Sunday, I have my brothers over for dinner. I can’t always make sure they’re eating right anymore, but at least I can feed them well one day a week.”
She smiles. “That’s really nice. I lived with my sister until I came here, so it’s really hard being away from her. Just feels weird, you know?”
“Yeah, I bet. Two of my brothers are still here, but the youngest stayed with me until a year ago. The house feels different. Quiet.”
Sugarfoot approaches the couch, his nose sniffing around, searching for the popcorn. Nova smiles and pets him between the ears. “At least you have this guy.”
“Yeah, he’s been great.”
After a pregnant pause, Nova lifts her head and pins me with those beautiful brown eyes. “Now, tell me about your last relationship.”
30
Elijah’s face freezes.
“That bad?” I ask.
“Well, considering I’m not still in that relationship, it’s definitely not good.”
I make a face at him. “Good to know you’re not in a relationship, but sometimes relationships can end on good terms.”
He takes a deep breath like he’s about to tell me all about it. Instead, he says, “Why are we talking about this?”
I shrug. “Why not?”
“I mean, I just don’t typically talk about… things with people.”
“You don’t talk about things?” I repeat.
“No, not really.”
I tilt my head. “Why?”
He draws away from me, scooting back a little bit. “I just never felt the need to tell people personal details about my life.”
“What about your brothers?”
“What about them?” he asks, almost defensively.
“Do you tell them anything?”
He waits for a few seconds. “They know some stuff.”
“Do they know about your last relationship?”
“They knew her and they know we’re not together anymore, but they don’t know why.”
“Why?”
“They don’t need to know.”
“Elijah.” I say his name softly, hoping to bring him back to me. He’s no longer looking in my direction, and he appears to be a little tense. It’s obvious he’s not used to sharing things about himself, but I don’t think keeping everything inside is helpful.
“Hey, you can talk to me, too,” I say.
He shakes his head. “Nova.” His breath escapes through his lips in a huff. “What we’re doing…I don’t know if it’s the best idea.”
My irritation grows quickly. “What do you mean?”
“This. Getting to know each other? What’s the point?”
“What’s the point?” I exclaim, my voice climbing an octave. “The point is getting to know each other. What else?”
“But why?” he questions, his blue eyes looking a little forlorn as he glances over.
It’s then that I get what he’s saying. Why try to deepen this relationship when it can’t go anywhere.
“I don’t know,” I say with a shake of my head. “I guess I just want to know you.”
“After everything I’ve been through. You too, for that matter, why would the universe bring us together if we can’t actually be together? Seems pretty cruel to me.” I know he’s talking to me, but it seems like he’s also just wanting to vent. So, I let him. “I haven’t been in a relationship in a long time, Nova. I’ve been okay with it, because my ex told me I wouldn’t be able to find anyone to love me as long as I kept prioritizing my brothers above everything
