Chapter 26: A Sunny Day in the Middle of Chaos - part 1
Chapter 26: A Sunny Day in the Middle of Chaos - part 1
Celeste's POV
The sun was burning my back, the air smelled like sunscreen and chlorine, and kids' laughter filled the space—and for the first time in days, I almost felt… normal.
Brenda was lounging next to me in a deck chair, sunglasses on, floppy hat in place, like she owned the place. Not that I could judge—I was sprawled out too, legs up, sipping on a ridiculously expensive juice from a glass that probably cost more than my phone. Adam and Abby were swimming like two little fish in the shallow end, splashing water at each other and laughing.
“Okay, I’ve gotta say it,” Brenda turned to me with that look like she’d been holding back for way too long. “This house feels like a movie. Like, the rich villain’s mansion where she lives with her mafia husband and has the mistress killed.”
“You’re… not entirely wrong,” I muttered, laughing and taking another sip. “Except in this version, the mistress is the nanny, and the mafia guy’s the kids’ dad.”
“And hot. Don’t forget that part,” she turned toward me, elbow resting on her chair. “You still pretending you don’t wanna jump his bones? Also, you’re not the mistress—he’s a widower, remember?”
“Brenda!”
“What? I’m just asking!”
“I’m trying not to think about it, okay?” I mumbled, hugging my knees to my chest. “He’s been gone for six days. Not a word. No message. Not even a smoke signal.”
“Hm. Hot, emotionally unavailable man with secrets? That’s so fanfic it actually pisses me off.”
“I’m being serious,” I sighed. “Every time I think about him, my body’s on fire. But then I remember he’s my boss, I live here, he’s the kids’ dad… Oh, and yeah—he literally walked out mid-act and left me sitting poolside with my hoo-ha blinking like a traffic light.”
Brenda burst out laughing so loud that even Adam and Abby looked over for a second before going back to their water war.
“Did you seriously just say ‘blinking hoo-ha’?”
“I did,” I admitted. “No regrets.”
She was still laughing but nodded in sympathy.
“So how are you dealing with it?”
“Pretending it never happened and praying he’s doing the same.” I crossed my arms. “I’m just trying to focus on the kids. They need me. I can’t be spiraling every time I remember that man’s tattooed abs.”
Brenda turned toward me, pulling her sunglasses down.
“Yeah, but who’s taking care of you?”
“What is that, a quote from a life coach?”
“I’m serious. You’ve thrown yourself into playing substitute mom, devoted nanny, temporary housewife… but what about you? The Celeste who cries to Taylor Swift in the shower, who paints heartbreaking art full of color and pain. The Celeste who got cheated on by her boyfriend and her sister, and still got up, dusted herself off, and came here to take care of two abandoned kids.”
I went quiet.
Because she was right.
Damn it.
“I’m just trying not to fall apart,” I said quietly after a while. “Abraham… he got under my skin in ways I wasn’t ready for. And now he’s gone. And I’m here pretending everything’s fine. But it’s not.”
Brenda reached over and squeezed my arm.
“He’ll come back. And when he does, you’ll have to decide whether you’re gonna keep pretending… or finally face what you feel. Because, girl... you might be trying to hide it, but it’s all over your face. You’re falling for him.”
I swallowed hard. The juice suddenly tasted bitter.
Before I could say anything, I heard a small squeal.
“CELESTE!” Abby was swimming toward me in a rush, hair dripping down her face. “Adam splashed water in my eye!”
“She started it!” Adam shouted from the other side of the pool, clearly offended.
I sighed and stood up.
“Peace lasted, what—fifteen minutes?”
“It was beautiful while it lasted,” Brenda said, sinking deeper into her chair, laughing.