Love, curves and heartbreak Chapter 45

Oh man, of all days, it had to be Lily's birthday! And of course...she just had to throw a little celebration.

With everything going on with her wedding, the Seattle project, and Ethan going missing, I've almost been biting my nails with anxiety.

"Oh Priscilla! You came!" say Maggie and John Fairfax, who welcomed me with much love and affection, it helps, my nerves dissipated a little.

As usual, the Fairfax's went all out for their daughter's birthday bash. The place is decked out with cute light pink decorations, balloons, flowers, you name it.

And let's not forget the dessert table, it's loaded with cupcakes, chocolate-covered fruit, and all sorts of goodies. But the real question on my mind is... where the heck is Ethan? I almost hope to run into him and have a chat, but I'm not holding my breath.

He must be here... in his sister's party.

"Thank God you came, Babe..." Tommy whispers to me and takes me in his arms. He seems nervous.

"What's going on?" I ask, surprised. He looks at me, raises his eyebrows with a desperate expression, and points to a group of women chatting happily.

"Lily's friends are like the girls in Mean Girls... only not as attractive," he says, making me laugh.

"Hey... you didn't have to walk in front of them in a dress that didn't fit you, twice your size."

"No, no, no..."

"Oh yes... in front of all of them"

"Oh dear! Oh my god! It must have been hell"

"Believe me... it was"

"Well... my recommendation is... don't go there. Besides, there is someone who is just as unbearable as them... guess who?" he asks.

"Mmmm let me see... my sister" I say annoyed.

"Bingo!.Oh, I'm so sorry babe, I really can't believe you are family. Where did she come from? Or rather, where are you from?" he asks in horror. It sounds like a joke, but it's a legitimate question.

"Sometimes I ask myself the same thing. Neither of us is adopted, we really are sisters" I confirm, and he has a displeased look on his pretty face.

"If I hadn't known you since you were little, I would think that something bad happened, but no... she was always so mean, so cruel... so horrible person in general. And you are a saint" he says, and yes, I always remember her attitude and expressions with me, not with a warm feeling of sisterhood.

"Thanks babe...."

"I don't know how you put up with it".

"My family is small. My mother always says that all we have is each other. The idea of having only Caroline in this life scares me" I confess.

"Not at all!... you can always count on me, babe" he tells me and I give him a kiss on the cheek.

"Tel me... What Caroline says? She is always changing topic these days..." I ask with a sigh.

"Well, she keeps going on about her make-believe boyfriend. She claims he's some sort of TV star or musician, I couldn't quite catch it,"

"Damn... her tale about her long-distance beau is just bizarre,"

"She says he's rich, and she believes he'll whisk her away to some grand castle, something as fantastical as it is unlikely... Oh, and he's soooo good-looking, a cross between Robert Pattinson and Harry Styles," we both exchange eye rolls.

"Yeah, she is crazy..." he adds.

"I hear this same story every time we meet up. When I warned her to be cautious and not send any money because I'm certain it's a scam, she nearly flung her food at me, burst into tears, lashed out at me... all in one go. Ohhh, and she had the nerve to call me a loser who knows nothing about men, claim that my ex-boyfriends were losers like me, and insist that I have no clue what love and success really mean."

"That bitch..." he says, offended.

"Tell me about it..."

"Definitely, nothing good comes out of that. But well... is her problem"

"Heyyy, at least she didn't talk shit about me, that's her usual sport... and I have to say, she's pretty good at it"

"No, she just talked about herself, the usual" he suddenly shows a little smile as we approach to grab some cupcakes.

"If the Mean Girls knew you were doing things to their favorite crush... things they could only dream about..."

"Hey!" I say, patting his arm, and he pretends I hurt him.

"It's true! Or are you going to deny me that you and Ethan don't do dirty things?" He asks maliciously.

"What? Shhhh, everyone can hear you!" I whisper and he laughs.

"Besides... that doesn't happen anymore, I haven't even seen him for days" I say, and he points me to a corner where Lily is having a heated conversation with someone.... And that someone is Ethan.

Ohh no.

"Well, I guess that won't be for long," Tommy says, enjoying his cupcake.

"Speaking of the devil..."

Suddenly, in a few seconds, Lily comes over to us.

"Happy birthday Lily!"

"Happy birthday honey!" Tommy adds.

"Prissy... can I talk to you for a second?" Lily says suddenly and Tommy gives me a wink.

"Well... I think I'll go say hello to my uncles... I'll leave you girls alone," he says and walks away. Then Lily sighs.

"Something happened?" She looks worried, maybe stressed.

"Yes... actually... it's Ethan" I feel my heart racing.

"He... I don't know how to say this but...he hasn't been feeling well for days and... I know you two have been distant" the first thing I think is that she must know, no doubt.

She doesn't know what to say, but she knows, I'm sure. I don't know if she knows the details, but Ethan must have told her.

"Lily, I..." I start to say, but she cuts me off, putting her hands on my arms and giving me a pleading look.

"All I know is that you are good to him, Prissy. When he's with you, he's better...he's the best version of my brother I've ever seen in my life. When we were little, when he took care of you, he was different. And now... since he came back, he has his gray days and other more enlightened days... only when you are with him"

"Lily but..."

"I know, maybe it's because I'm his sister and I adore him, and he's... the best brother in the world. But believe me, I know him, I know he needs you" her look is sad.

"Lily... he pushed me away, he doesn't even want to see me".

"I'm sure it's not like that. Could you... talk to him? Just for a few minutes. Please, please, please... I will appreciate so much!" she says, and I want to tell her that he hasn't even answered the messages I sent him, that he basically kicked me out of his house out of jealousy for his cousin, and that he hasn't even looked for me.

But Lily has puppy dog eyes, and it's her damn birthday, so I can't deny it. Honestly, I should start learning how to say no. I sigh heavily and nod.

"Okay, I'll try," I say, and she gets excited.

"That's all I ask of you, thank you, thank you, Prissy, you are the best!" she says hugging me and I start looking for his brother. Finding him doesn't take much time; he's seated on one of the garden benches, elbows resting on his knees, head bowed. Holding a glass of wine, he glances at me with a questioning look and a scowl on his face when I approach from the side.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were having a good time at the party, enjoying yourself with... others" I take a few more steps towards him. Something tells me that he means Tommy.

"I'm here at the birthday girl's request" I tell him and he snorts. "She cares about you" I sit down next to him. I smell a strong odor of alcohol.

"Are you drunk?" This is not very common with him.

"I don't think it's your problem, Prissy. I stopped being your problem a long time ago," he says, drinking his glass again.

We are silent for a moment. I think this is going to be harder than I thought, he doesn't usually treat me like this. I start to get up from the bench, but he sighs.

"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to be so rude" he says suddenly, closing his eyes. "I've had a few... complicated days" - he says.

"You can count on me, Ethan... I'm here for you, you know" - I say, moving closer to him, putting my hand on his arm. He doesn't pull it away, but watches me, sitting up straight.

"Why? Aren't I just your fuck boy?" he asks coldly, but I see sadness in his eyes.

"Of course not!" I tell him smiling.

"You were my best friend when we were growing up, I always wanted to be like you, play the games you played, wear the Halloween costumes you had, be good like you at everything, I dreamed of being like you" I confess, his expression softens and he looks calmer.

"Is that true?" He tells me, his voice shaking a little, he must have drunk too much.

"Absolutely! You were my hero. Then you came back and supported me with Clark, defended me with clients, gave me ideas... you gave me confidence. And I'll be forever grateful" he sighs and smiles. I see that he even blushes a little.

"And yes... we had sex... but we are more than that. You will always be more than that"