vulnerable

67.

Stella laid in her bed at Devyn's house. The room gave her some peace, with everything being familiar. She had her fan on the nightstand, blowing cold air in her face as she rolled into a cocoon. The comforters were freshly washed and smelled like Devyn's favorite watermelon soap.

The sun peeked through the blinds, casting a few rays of light onto the hardwood. Her television was playing a Disney Channel show: Raven's Home. It wasn't as good as the original, but it was a close runner up. Her mind wandered to the first time she ever saw an episode of That's So Raven.

"Is it actually a good show? Or is it one of your girly things?" Gio asked hesitantly as he rounded the couch and sat beside Stella.

She glanced at him. They shared a quick smile before turning back to Hannah and Christian. Hannah placed a firm fist on her hip. "It's actually amazing!"

Gio rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Suuuure."

"Tell 'em tiger!" Hannah whacked Christian in the stomach. "Tell 'em it's a good show."

Christian nodded in agreement, throwing some popcorn in his mouth. "It's funny."

"Okay." Gio sighed. "I'll give it a try."

"I will too." Stella smiled brightly.

"Of course you will." Hannah rolled her eyes. She turned on the tv after checking the time and shifted through the guide for Disney Channel. She clicked on That's So Raven and the show spread out across the scene. Gio and Stella chuckled as the two girls were covered in paint. Hannah side-eyed them with a grin, happy that they were enjoying her suggestion.

"Do you like it?" Gio whispered to her.

Stella nodded, still giggling. "Yeah, Christian was right. It's really funny."

"You're funny sometimes." Gio ruffled her hair.

She scrunched under his hand and laughed. "So are you."

There was a knock on the door. Stella tried to glance over her shoulder but the covers blocked her view. She faced the fan again and raised her voice so whoever was on the other side could hear. "Come in!"

She heard the door click open. A few footsteps later, Devyn was standing in front of her with a charcuterie board. Stella glanced at her with a growing smile. "You made a cheese board for me?"

Devyn grinned and made some space for the wooden board on the nightstand. "I hope you're hungry."

"I am." Stella nodded.

"You didn't eat last night."

"I know." Stella sighed. "I just couldn't bring myself too."

"Well we're changing that today." Devyn jutted her chin out, signaling that Stella needed to scoot over. She followed her sister's orders and opened the blanket for her.

Devyn slipped in, still wearing her pajamas: a pair of cotton black shorts and a striped navy blue and gold silk shirt. She rested her back against the headrest, but wrapped her arm around Stella, bringing her into her chest. Stella felt like a kid again, but she didn't mind. Devyn used her free hand to caress her hair. "How are you doing? Sister-to-sister."

Stella sighed, trying to stop her tears from overflowing. "Sister-to-sister... not so great."

"I still can't believe that happened. I don't understand why Gio would cheat?"

"I don't either, DeeDee." Stella could hear her sister's heartbeat in her ear. "What if I'm the problem?"

"What?" Devyn gasped, looking down at her with a frown. "Why would you say that?"

"Well, I was thinking about how I've never really had much success with romance. Maybe it's not them, but me."

Devyn rolled her matching dark brown eyes. "Stella. You've dated three people in your lifetime. Robbie Kay, Collin fuck-face-"

Stella couldn't help but laugh at her usage of curse words. Devyn continued through. "And Giovanni Reyna. You're young. Gio's young. You are not to blame, Stell. Love is tricky."

"But look at you and Austin. You guys are happily married and have an adorable kid."

Devyn blushed. "That's true, but that doesn't mean I also struggled with relationships before Austin. You should know best."

"You mean Ben?"

"I do mean Ben." Devyn sighed. "I thought I was going to marry him."

"Really?" Stella glanced up at her sister, noting her curly blonde hair was in a messy bun.

Devyn patted her back. "Yeah. We even talked to mom and dad about it. Everything was planned and set... and then... one day we talked and we knew it wasn't meant to be."

"What do you mean?"

"It was like I hadn't been listening to myself... or maybe I couldn't hear... but I didn't want to spend the rest of my life with him. He's a great guy, but I didn't feel special around him. I didn't feel that spark. And I don't think he did either." Devyn shrugged, looking off into the distance as she was in deep though.

Stella knew that must have been hard for the both of them. Ben had been dating Devyn for two years before they broke up. She never knew why they left each other, but shortly after, Devyn found Austin and it was like destiny. They were like perfect puzzle pieces together. "I had no idea. I'm so sorry Dee."

"It's okay." Devyn squeezed her shoulder. "You know what happened afterwards. I met the true love of my life. Sometimes two people can love each other with all their heart, but it just doesn't work out."

Stella gulped, wondering if that's what would become of her and Gio. She felt tears pricking her eyes. "I love Gio."

"I know you do." Devyn whispered.

"I can't imagine my life without him." Stella paused. "But, I don't know-"

Devyn watched her as she started to cry, holding her tiger. Stella sniffed. "I don't know if I can forgive him."

"You don't have to decide right now." Devyn swayed them from side to side. "You can let the dust settle first."

"It hurts, DeeDee. It hurts so bad." Stella clutched her chest, sobbing now. "I don't want to let him go... but he hurt me. He hurt me."

"It's okay." Devyn rubbed her back. "it's okay."

There was a soft knock on the door. Stella started at the sound and swiped her eyes, wiping the tears away. She could feel how puffy her face was. She sniffed a few times as Devyn looked over her head. She glanced at Stella once more, raising a brow. Stella nodded. Devyn called out, "Come in!"

Christian, Austin-who was holding Avery, and Nick shuffled inside the room and shut the door. Stella connected her gaze with Nick and chuckled. It didn't matter that she'd seen him when she first arrived and many times after, he just always looked goofy. His lips crept into a smile. "We heard you two had a cheese board?"

"Men." Devyn shook her head, giggling.

Nick threw himself on the bed and Christian followed. Stella laughed as they tackled her with tickles. Austin came around the side of the bed, so Avery could wave at Devyn. Nick and Christian settled down and relaxed into a hug. Austin and Devyn joined in and Stella felt like she was with her angels. She let them all hug her until her tears had dried.