Celestial Dawn

CHAPTER 18: The Carnival (p.1)

Celestia POV

Today was Friday and Florence was at the house. She was kind enough to show me how to buy things online, which she says is crucial for a teenager to know. We were alone upstairs, while everyone was busy doing their own thing. Dad was at work with Mateo, while Isabella was home today and had nothing to do. I still didn't know what she did for a living except to arrange different charity events and help with the preparations. Weston was at soccer practice again, while Ash was running errands for Grandma Gia. She and her husband, who I still hadn't talked to much, were helping Antonio manage an emergency at one of the businesses his dad owned in the States. 

"It's so boring here..." Florence's exaggerated sigh was apparent, while she dramatically fell on the bed in my room with her hands spread out. I didn't want her to be bored while hanging out with me, but I wasn't sure what we could do. "I KNOW! We need to plan a date for my cousin and your brother!"

She didn't wait for me to talk before speaking again. "We can't just tell them to go on a date, because both are still under the illusion that the other one doesn't have the same feelings. But it's obvious they like each other more than "just" friends. Tell me you've seen it too."

Her cousin Stella and my oldest brother Mateo were best friends. I heard both of them use that term for their relationship in conversations. I hadn't seen much of Stella, but I was sure that my brother felt something more for her. Whenever she would walk into a room Mateo would find her with his eyes and his feelings told me everything I needed to know. He felt so much love, like a soulmate would, but also sadness.

After one of the hospital check-ups he took me to after I got hit by a car, I asked him why he declined Stella's invitation even though he obviously wanted to be with her. He answered that there was no room for Stella in the future he was carving for himself and that she would be safer if she was far away. The doctor was coming and we couldn't finish the conversation. I still wondered why he said that. My brother's job wasn't dangerous, he worked in Dad's law firm in an office.

"Mateo definitely has romantic feelings, but I'm not sure about Stella."

"Oh, please! She is always dressing up whenever she goes to hang out with him. She's always ón about what Mateo said did that, she practically worships the ground he stands on! I've seen it ever since I moved to their house. She is hopelessly in love with him but doesn't have the balls to admit it to his face. Have I told you what happened on their senior prom?"

I shook my head and went to lie on the bed next to her because it was more comfortable. "She had a prom date already for months before the dance. But she didn't want to tell Mateo about it, so I did. Do you know what happened next? Her date, who was an exchange student suddenly had to leave the country and go home a day before prom, even though they had talked about the dance earlier in the week and didn't mention anything about traveling before. I think Mateo got jealous after I spilled that she had a date and threatened him or something. They ended up going together as "friends" and the exchange student's phone number mysteriously disappeared from Stella's phone. She thinks it's a glitch or something because a few other numbers disappeared as well, like the cab company she used, the pizza place near the school that delivered, and a few other unimportant ones.

"You think he got jealous and did something to make the exchange student leave?" I asked

"I know he did, you should have seen his face when I mentioned that they had arranged the date months before. She only accepted the exchange student's proposal because she felt bad anyway not because she liked him. He told her he didn't have many American friends and guilted her into accepting."

"What can we do if they don't want to cross that line? There is a popular saying about leading a horse to water or something like that, right?"

Florence turned to me and smiled "We make them drink the water without knowing they're drinking it, of course!"