Kissed Your Husband
Kissed Your Husband
SARAH
I am nervous as hell. My palms are damp, and my heart won’t stop hammering. I chose a black dress, just in case something gets thrown at me. I don’t want to take a chance by wearing white, even though it’s my favorite color.
Cullen squeezes my hand as we walk toward the front door. The moment he opened my door and helped me out of the car, my eyes started scanning everything: the drive, the porch, the windows. I used to live here. Now the house seems so alien, so new, like it’s been stripped of every memory I once had. My feet freeze where I stand.
“Hey,” Cullen murmurs softly, his thumb brushing over mine. “It’s gonna be okay. And if you don’t like the atmosphere, you know already, you can tell me right now. We’ll get back in that car and drive off.”
But I shake my head. “This is the first time I’ve left the house,” I tell him, and it’s the truth. Ever since I went there, I’ve never gotten out. "It’s the first time I’ve left the house to do this, and I’m gonna do this.”
“Okay. Good,” he says. His eyes hold mine for a moment, steady and sure. “I’m with you. You can do this. You have nothing to worry about. When I called Mom this morning to tell her we were coming to dinner, she was super excited. And I mean it, super excited. My dad doesn’t give a fuck. You know him. Cyrus can be an asshole, but forget about him.”
He pauses, reading my face. “I know you’re concerned about Bella. But when I talked to her....”
“You talked to her? You interacted with them?” My voice is sharper than I mean it to be.
“Yes,” he says gently. “Do you want me not to talk to her? I mean, I come to see Victor, so I talk to her.”
“It’s fine,” I say quickly, forcing the air out of my lungs. “Let’s just… She’s been your friend for a long time. She’s your brother’s wife, family....and I don’t want to think about those other things right now.”
“Okay.” He gives me a quick kiss, more like a peck, and then we move toward the front door.
Of course, this is his home. He doesn’t knock. He opens the door, and we walk inside. The moment we walk in, I can already hear voices, chatter, and happy laughs, floating from the dining room. It sounds like everybody’s here. I can make out Mrs. Cincinnati’s happy tone, Cyrus’s low rumble, and Bella’s familiar lilt. I haven’t heard Mr. Cincinnati himself speak yet, but I’m sure he’s in there. Then, a soft, bright laugh cuts through it all....a child’s laugh. It must be Victor.
Cullen’s hand tightens around mine as he pulls me toward the dining room. The closer we get, the louder everything becomes, until suddenly, the second we step inside, it’s like a switch flips. All the chatter, all the laughter, dies at once. The whole room turns to stare at us.
Before I can even process the weight of their eyes, Mrs. Cincinnati stands up, pushes back her chair, and rushes toward us.
“Sarah, my daughter,” she says warmly, arms opening. “I’m so glad you came back home.”
She pulls me into a hug, kisses my cheeks. I’m still unsure, still super nervous, but Cullen hasn’t let go of my hand once, and somehow that anchors me.
“Thank you for inviting me,” I manage to say.
“Thank you for inviting me?” Mrs. Cincinnati repeats, like a parent scolding a child. “You’re a member of this family. My second daughter. It’s your obligation to be here, not an invitation.”
She clucks her tongue, smiling despite the words. “Come on, sit down, sit down,” she says, already pulling us toward the table.
And then the second thing happens, the one I wasn’t ready for.....Bella stands. She comes toward me.
For a second, I think she’s going to slap me, to attack me. My whole body braces. Cullen’s grip tightens on my hand. But instead, Bella pulls me into a hug. It’s not a stiff hug. It’s not polite. It’s tight, almost desperate. She holds me so long I start to think it’s a little weird. And when she finally lets go, her eyes are wet.
She waves her hands, embarrassed.
“Sorry, sorry. I’m so sorry. I just.... I can’t believe you’re here. It’s you. I mean, the last time I saw you…” She trails off, hugging herself.
I know what she’s talking about. The night I nearly drowned. The last time she saw me.
“I’m sorry,” she says quickly. “I didn’t mean to bring it up. I’m just so happy you’re alive and here. I’m sorry about the tears. It’s the hormones.”
I swallow hard and look away. The room still feels like it’s watching me, but Cullen’s thumb keeps brushing mine, steady, grounding.
Bella gives her a small smile before she steps back. “Welcome back, come on, come in,” she says softly, guiding me toward the table.
As I follow her, the room feels heavy, and my heart is hammering. Before she can even help me to my seat, before she can pull me down, the words tumble out of my mouth.
“I’m sorry, Bella,” I blurt.
She freezes. “You’re sorry? You’re sorry about what?”
I can feel everyone watching now, even though no one says a word. I swallow hard.
“I know everyone pretends that what happened didn’t happen, but… I’m sorry. I kissed your husband. Or....tried to. I’m sorry.... I wasn’t in the right frame of mind. I wasn’t myself....”
And then, before I can even look up, Bella hugs me again.
“It’s okay,” she says quietly. “You don’t have to explain yourself. Everybody understands what happened. We both know you weren’t yourself, and you needed help..... If anything, we’re the ones who should be apologizing to you. We either neglected you or didn’t see it. We’re a family. We should have taken better care of you.”
Her words hit me harder than my own guilt. I hug her back, not sure what else to do, and then she adds something that completely stuns me.
“Still,” she says with a small laugh, “if it makes you feel better..... I kissed your husband, too.”
Somewhere in the background, I hear Cyrus's groan.
I blink at her. “What?”
She looks past me, at Cullen. “It was a long time ago, before either of us was married,” she says lightly, “I kissed Cullen. You kissed Cyrus. Does that make it even? Does that make you feel better?”
“I don’t know,” I admit.
But actually, it kind of does. And at the same time, it doesn’t.