Against All Odds

Chapter 6

STELLA

God, was there anything better than a hot tub?

I sank down into the bubbling water with a content sigh, the warmth of the steam doing nothing to kill the pleasant buzz suffusing my limbs and mind. Outside, we were blanketed by the stars in the clear night sky above, a cooling salty breeze coming off the ocean close by. The sound of the waves was muted by the rumbling of the hot tub and the fizz of the bubbles, but it was still a prevalent interruption- a reminder of where I was.

Sadie and I had taken our conversation outside onto the deck downstairs sometime that afternoon, and more tequila had been consumed, along with a couple bottles of wine. Needless to say, we were feeling loquacious and uninhibited, more than once succumbing to a fit of giggles over something I couldn't remember saying.

We were between conversation presently, a comfortable silence hanging over us while we simply sat back and enjoyed the water, the shadows, and the stars. Nearby, Sipho and Killian murmured over the patio table, a few half-eaten pizzas at the centre of it, though their words were too faint to make anything of it.

I felt his gaze burning into my shoulders on more than one occasion and it was an effort not to turn around and confirm it for myself. Perhaps I was wrong though, and it was just being near him again that made me respond as I was- paranoid, skittish, wondering if every little thing I did was being noticed.

I shook my head as I grappled with those thoughts, attempting to dislodge the impact Killian was having on me. Of course, he didn't notice me in the way I was thinking of.

I irritated him- he could tolerate me presently for the sake of our loved ones, but once the week was over, we would go our separate ways and that would be that.

"It's been hard without you," Sadie said, her voice soft and distant. I tipped my head towards her; her shoulders dipping beneath the steaming water.

"I know," I was quick to say. I may not have been here in person for my friend, but I was always a phone call away. And when Sadie called, I never ignored it. She was one of the few people I always made time for, no matter how chaotic my schedule could become.

"Don't get me wrong," she went on, "I am always so happy for you, and so so proud of you. But it's not the same..."

Guilt pricked at my conscience. I didn't have a lot of reasons to come back home lately. If it wasn't for Sadie and my father, I don't think I would have considered returning for some time. "I will make an effort to visit more frequently in the future," I told her, and meant it. I may have a lot of friends, but Sadie has always been the friend. We were more like sisters, and I knew that she would go out of her way to do anything for me, if I ever needed it.

"My grandparents aren't coming to the wedding," she went on morosely, "and neither are my aunts."

"They didn't deserve an invite in the first place," I said firmly. It had been a point of contention in Sadie's family, simply because she had chosen to spend her life with a person whose skin colour didn't match her own. Her parents had condemned the relationship when it had first started in university all those years ago, but when Sadie and Sipho had stayed course for almost a decade, they were compelled to change their minds- and Sipho's outgoing, positive personality certainly helped things along. The guy was so damn personable and likeable...

But a large majority of Sadie's conservative family had held onto those outdated beliefs with a tenacity that would have put a pit bull to shame.

However, it was easier for me to brush off people who didn't prescribe to the way I saw the world, who I found personally offensive, because that was simply who I was... Sadie was soft-hearted, generous, and abundantly loving- she wanted everybody to get along and have a good time.