Falling For Preston.XCOMPLETEDX(editing)

Chapter 22.

Title: Momma's Advice.

/* Before beginning the story,a quick A/N: To all those people especial living in the Northern part of Maharashtra,India, I hope you guys are well and alive. Be safe.

The storms and the rains and the floods are getting worse. I,myself was stuck in my college today for hours but had to eventually leave when water started filling up. I somehow managed to get home with the help of radio and other helpful strangers.

Please,do not venture near any water body even if it is a holy water body and if you live near one, do immediately shift somewhere else. Thank you. */

As much as I hated admitting it, I really, honestly did miss Ethan. I was angry and hurt, of course, but deep, deep down, I wished our fight had never happened. I'd go into class and see him surrounded by tons of admirers, because now that he and I were no longer whatever we'd been, he was fair game. And he seemed to enjoy it, too. I remembered something that Tyler had told me long ago, before Ethan and I were something worth considering: "Ethan's not really a one-girl kinda guy. He likes to move fast, and staying tied down isn't really his thing, you know?" I was surprised he and I had lasted as long as we did; nearly two months.

Shweta was unhelpful, surprisingly: she blamed me for the entire thing. "You need to figure it out for yourself," was all she said. "I can't be the one to tell you." I had a pretty vague idea of what she meant, but I just wasn't ready to think about things like that yet.

And now, for the first time ever, I no longer had Emily to turn to. She and Darren were tentatively trying to get things back on track with their relationship. Before anything could happen, though, Emily invited both Darren and I over, so we could have a "chat" aka: I told Darren if he ever hurt my sister like that again, I'd break his legs.

He'd laughed, only a little bit nervously. "I suppose I deserve that. I promise I won't. I want to be here for her and Marcus this time." He seemed genuine with his answer, so I'd accepted it.

And it did seem like this time, things would be different. Emily had changed so much over the past year and a half. She'd gone from my immature, carefree sister to a tower of strength I didn't even know existed in her. Now that she had my approval (which she said was the most important thing to her. I didn't say it, but I was secretly pleased), she and Darren began seeing each other more often, and I was glad for them, but I was also lonely, because now I had to share her with someone else. I still had Marcus, though, and that made me happy. He was almost two, which was extremely hard to believe.

I was sitting in Emily's kitchen, enjoying the company of just the three of us, which was rare now that Darren was in the picture. Emily was on the phone, and I was feeding Marcus some of his smushed up bananas, his favorite food. He was banging his palms on the high chair tray, willingly opening his mouth every time I held out the spoon.

He smiled wide as he swallowed, and I smiled back. And then, Marcus said, "Sapphire."

I blinked at him, startled. He grinned even more and repeated, "Sapphire, Sapphire, Sapphire, Sapphire," over and over, like a chant.

"Oh my God," I said, dumbfounded. "You just said my name." Marcus could say things like 'Mama' and 'Dada' and 'bye-bye', but he could never, ever say my name, preferring to call me 'Heggo.'

"Emily!" I practically screamed. "Emily, come here!"

My sister came sprinting in, looking alarmed. "What? What's wrong?"