Shattered Glass

Chapter 5

Christopher regretted yelling the moment he saw Elena shut down. He hadn't meant to do it, but seeing her so happy with Will had rubbed him the wrong way, and he hadn't had enough time to fully suppress his frustration.

Was he destined to always be in one of his brother's shadow? When they were younger, it was clear she liked Tristan even though he was three years older than the rest of them. And now she was interested in Will.

Had he made a mistake being such a good friend to her? Did she think it impossible for them to become romantically involved because of how well they knew each other?

He looked to his side to see said brother easily matching his stride, and inhaled deeply. Why couldn't he be alone?

"Before you bite my head off, you should know I wasn't making a pass at her."

"And you expect me to believe that?"

Will shrugged. "It's the truth. Whatever you choose to do with it won't change that fact."

"How is she doing?"

"She seems shaken. You should apologize."

"I will. She must know I didn't mean to scare her."

"Doesn't hurt to tell her. What about this one?" Will asked, pointing to one ahead of them. "Mom gets her jewelry from there all the time."

Chris nodded and dropped back to talk to Elena, only to realize she wasn't with them anymore. "Where did she go?"

Will came back outside and let the shop door close. "I don't know. Bathroom, maybe?"

"I'm here." Elena came out of the store beside the one they had picked. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to freak you out."

Will recovered first. "Did you find something you liked?"

She shook her head too quickly.

"Let's go back inside before going next door," Chris said, finding his voice again.

She turned away without looking at him, and his heart dropped at the silent rejection.

He needed to fix that. "Elena," he called before he could think of what to say.

She paused, her hand on the door. Will shuffled past her and he saw his brother point at him before disappearing into the store.

Slowly, she turned and came toward him. "Yes?" she prompted quietly, but not so much that he couldn't hear the agitation in her tone.

"I'm sorry. For earlier," he clarified when she didn't immediately respond.

"For what?" she asked, staring at her hands. "You were right, it was rude of me not to accept your kindness."

"I still shouldn't have yelled."

"Why did you?" she asked after a beat.

"It was an accident."

"People don't accidentally raise their voice like that."

He winced at her censure. "You're right."

She shifted on her feet. "Is that all you wanted to say?"

"Yes." Was she expecting something else—something more?

"I accept your apology, Christopher."

He followed her into the store. Will stopped chatting with the woman behind the desk and came over, an eyebrow raised in question.

Chris mouthed, "I don't know" over Elena's head.

His brother shrugged and shifted his gaze to her. "Jewelry and shoes are in the back."