“No.” Picking up a slice of toast, I took an angry bite, even though food was the last thing I wanted. But I needed something to do so I didn’t do something stupid—like start crying again.
“Nova—” she began, but I quickly cut her off, not sure I could withstand her sympathy.
“I would love to have lunch with you, Ciana.” Picking up a glass of juice, I stood. “I’ll meet you at the clinic around noon.”
“I’m sorry,” she called after me.
“You have nothing to be sorry for,” I told her and kept walking. “As busy as he’s been lately, I’m sure he needs to be closer to work. He just forgot to tell me. It’s fine.”
“Since when has Ryan ever been too busy for you?” she grumbled from the table.
“Since he became a man.”
16
Nova
Ryan Age 22 : Nova Age 17
“Let’s place the cake over here,” Aunt Raven instructed as she rushed around the room, helping set up for my birthday party. My uncles, a few of my cousins, and even Ciana were hard at work putting everything in place, but for the moment, just Raven, Mom, and I were in the bar. “The presents will go back on that table. And make sure there are table toppers on every table and booth.”
“We wanna help, Auntie,” Ian and Isaac said as they ran in from where they’d been helping their grandfather with some balloons outside, wanting to help with the homemade table toppers all the ol’ ladies had spent the week creating just for this party. They had pink and purple flowers, with little butterflies and hummingbirds sticking out. I thought they were adorable.
Aunt Raven crouched down so that she was on their level. “Okay, you two. You can help, but only if you promise not to crush anything. Can you be gentle and place the toppers on each table carefully?”
They gave grave nods, their dark eyes flashing between different shades of brown, just like their father’s tended to do with each change of his emotions. Ian and Isaac weren’t identical, but I had more trouble telling them apart than I did Monroe’s set of twin daughters who were, in fact, identical. Then again, Gianna and Lilliana were so different in personality, it wasn’t all that hard to distinguish between them.
“We promise not to hurt the flowers or the birds or the pretty butterflies,” Isaac, the more responsible of the twins, assured her. “We’ll be good, Auntie.”
She gave them each a quick squeeze and then set the box of table toppers on the floor. “There you go, boys. I’m so proud of you for being so helpful today.”
I watched them carefully carry a topper to each table, walking like they had priceless artwork in their chubby hands. Shaking my head at how adorable Mila’s boys were, I went to help my mom set up the buffet along the bar top. The smells of all of my favorite foods were making my stomach grumble, but I wasn’t sure I could eat any of it without being sick. For the first time in forever, my nerves were getting the better of me, and I disliked even that small sign of weakness when I’d been taught better than to allow anything to get past my defenses.
Seeing me, Mom smiled and shooed me toward the door. “I have this taken care of, sweetheart. Go relax. It’s your birthday. I don’t want you spending it working.”
I grimaced. “I’d rather work, though. It will take my mind off…things.”
Things like, Ryan hadn’t arrived yet. Most of my other New York family members had arrived the day before, including Ciana and Garret. Zayne was in Italy on business, but he’d called me earlier that morning to wish me happy birthday, and Zariah was in the middle of an important case for her internship at the law firm where she worked while finishing her last year of law school. She’d sent me a text earlier, along with a promise that the next time I came for a visit, we would spend an entire day together.
But Ryan hadn’t so much as called or even texted to tell me happy birthday. I knew there was a chance he wouldn’t arrive until right before the party was supposed to start, but I’d hoped he would have a little extra time to spend with me.
He’d been acting weird lately, though. All summer, he’d been distant. I understood that work was getting crazy for him since he was taking on more and more responsibilities from his dad, but we’d barely spent any time together at all.
And the worst part…
It felt like I was losing my best friend, and I didn’t understand why. He wouldn’t talk to me about it. The few times I’d asked what was going on or if he was angry with me, he either changed the subject or quickly ended our call. When I’d come home from New York at the beginning of the school term, I hadn’t even cried like I normally did when I had to leave him.
We still spoke on the phone every day, but our video calls were few and far between. It was as if he didn’t want to look at me, when all I ached to do was see his face.
I wouldn’t have been surprised if he didn’t even show up for my party at this point. The distance he was putting between us was crushing me, but I knew I had to be strong and accept that maybe our friendship was finally coming to an end.
Maybe he’d outgrown me.
Mom wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me in for a quick hug. “Go spend some time with Ciana,” she urged. “I’m sure you two have a lot to catch up on.”
Forcing a smile, I nodded and turned to look for my cousin. Catching a glimpse of her dark-red hair outside, I started in that direction. In the parking lot, I noticed that most of the people who had come early to help were no longer hanging around, and I figured they had gone home to change for the party.
Jack gave me a chin lift on his way to his motorcycle so he could leave to do just that. He’d been busy with the shelter all week, but he had taken time to help decorate for the party. I owed him a lot for how much he and Aunt Gracie had helped Cali when she’d needed somewhere to go.
The beating Manuel had given her had been worse than I’d thought from just the look of her face. He’d actually fractured her jaw, and she’d needed more medical attention than either of us had anticipated. But my cousin and aunt had gotten her healthy and then given her a new identity.
For whatever reason, however, when she was ready to leave, she’d picked New York for her new home. Why, I wasn’t completely sure, but at a guess, I figured it had something to do with wanting revenge on her stepbrother.
Not that I could blame her.
I spotted Ciana at Max and Delaney’s SUV. She and Delaney were laughing and signing to each other, which brought a real smile to my face. Those two had gotten close over the past few years, and I’d taught my cousin ASL so they could communicate easier.
“Nova!”
I jumped at the way my name was barked and turned to glare at my brother, who was standing by Mom’s vehicle. The back gate was up, and he had a huge box in his hands. “What?” I snapped back. Ever since he’d arrived with the others the day before, all he’d done was bite my head off, and I was more than ready for him to get his ass back to New York.
“Stop standing around and come help me with these,” he commanded.
Rolling my eyes, I walked over to find there were only two other boxes in the back of the SUV, and they were both small and light enough that he could have easily carried them himself if he’d taken the time to come back for another load. With as much muscle as he’d gained since he’d been working for the Vitucci family, he could have carried all three of the boxes and me on top. But some things never changed, and my brother’s laziness was one of them.