Succulents on the Window Sill

Chapter 22

Sara always worked on a Monday. Corinne, therefore, didn't know why she walked into the bakery with wide eyes upon seeing her stood behind the counter. Sara was wiping it down, the energy around her so detached from her usual cheery self.

Corinne huddled inside of her jacket from the cold air, waiting as the door slowly swung closed behind her. There was a weight keeping her feet on the rug inside the door, a fear stopping her from stepping off it and onto the tiled floor to face the music.

"What are you standing there for?" Sara's voice was sharp, bitter. Corinne couldn't yet tell if it was from the pain she was pushing down in order to get a day's work done, or directly aimed at Corinne.

"I'm just..." Corinne shrugged, tugging her handbag strap up her shoulder from where it was slipping. She didn't know what to say, what to do. Standing in the doorway wasn't a solid plan for the day though.

She stepped off the rug, and across the floor to stand opposite Sara, with the counter between them. "How are you feeling?"

"How do you think?" Sara's head lifted, eyes shooting Corinne a glare strong enough to kill.

Corinne bit her lip at that, fingers fiddling with the strap once more. "Zach said that you were spending some time with your mum yesterday, so I didn't call." She wished now that she had at least sent Sara a text.

Another glare. "You could have texted me before bed."

"I know, I'm sorry." Corinne dropped her head, attention focusing to the scuffs on her work shoes. "Yesterday was a long day."

"Too long to text me to make sure that I was alright, after being manhandled out of that house?"

"You weren't manhandled, Sara, you walked out and got into the car with your own two legs." Corinne regretted the roll of her eyes as soon as her vision hit the ceiling. She hadn't meant to do that.

Sara huffed, tossing her cloth down onto the counter. "Why are you on Zach's side, huh? Is it because he's like family or whatever? Is it because of your brother? He told me about that, why didn't you tell me?"

The last person Corinne wanted to talk about right now was Nicolas. She glanced away from Sara to look out the window, watching the mum's bringing their kids to the school at the end of the road. "We don't talk about him."

Corinne turned back to Sara just to see her eye twitch. "What? Why not? Surely Zach was exaggerating, right? I know your family, Corinne, your mum is way too nice to just disown him like that."

"Well, she did."

Sara's face fell in disbelief, before she shook her head at Corinne. "No. I can't believe that."

"We haven't heard from Nicolas in nearly ten years. I'm not sure if we ever will again." It was the truth, and honestly, Corinne wasn't sure how she felt about it. She imagined if he walked back into their lives now, it would be with a look of disappointment that she had given in to their parent's wishes for marriage, and not followed in his footsteps. She understood why he had run though, for arranged marriages were for the continuation of the lineage, something he couldn't have done with a man instead of a woman.

"So, you're on Zach's side because you're going to have an arranged marriage too or something?"

Corinne nodded her head, before shaking it quickly. "I'm not on his side, no, but I understand the pressure."

Sara sighed, picking up her cloth again. Her anger seemed to be easing, but it was being replaced by something much worse. Hurt. Disappointment. "You knew about this, didn't you?"