Chapter 4.

Was I mad at Theo? Yes. But did I also worry? Absolutely. Why does he think he has to lie to me? As if I wasn’t his best friend, bloody hell Theo is the brother I never had. Stopping in front of Aurelia’s shop, I took a deep breath and decided that I would first take care of the flower crisis, and then I could confront Theodore. Sounds like a plan to me. Before I could even put a hand on the door handle, Aurelia swiftly opened it herself, so I had to take a quick step back. “Darling, what a pleasant surprise it is. What are you doing here? Don’t tell me something is wrong with the flowers I gave you yesterday. Oh no, my dear, we can’t have that.” I eyed Aurelia with a bright smile. She is a lovely person, and sometimes when she rambles on about unimportant things, she reminds me of Cecil. I put a hand on her shoulder so that she would look at me. “Nothing is wrong with your flowers. But I do need your help with another flower problem.” At that point, Aurelia’s eyes began to shine with anticipation; now I had all her attention. After telling her about my little crisis, she went into full planning mode. We talked, planned, and chose flowers until my phone exploded with missed calls and texts from Theo. It was then that I looked at the time on my phone and gasped with surprise. We’ve been planning for hours now! I quickly talked about the last few details with Aurelia and left her with a quick hug. She stood in her shop, smiling after me as if I had made her whole day. On the next incoming call from Theo, I let my head fall back while looking at the now dark sky, sprinkled with stars. Am I still mad? I think so. Am I more worried now, because he just called? Yes. So I accepted the call but didn’t say a word. “Sunshine?” Still saying nothing. Theo’s groan put a small smile on my face. “Sunshine, look, I am terribly sorry that I lied to you. And believe me when I say I just yelled at my brother for the past hour. Cecil told me everything. I don’t know what his problem is, but he won’t be bothering you again.” My eyebrows rose at that, most likely into my hairline. “Theodore, did you hit your brother?” My eyes went wide as I didn’t get an answer. “Theodore, I swear to God if you don’t answer me…,” he interrupted me before I could get the chance to threaten him in every way possible. “Stop calling me Theodore.” He sounded like a spoilt brat. “Start telling me the truth.” I raised an eyebrow, as if he could see me demanding that he answer honestly. His reply was so quiet that I wasn’t even sure he answered at all. “Theo, don’t make me ask again.” His defeated voice was now louder as he left me completely in shock. “Yes, I did, and it does not look pretty.” That didn’t sound like my sweet, innocent Theodore; he usually prefers to talk to people instead of getting into fights. The closest Theo ever got to physical fighting was while fencing. And even then, Theo always tried not to harm his opponent. Everett is normally the one starting fights and, well, ending them. I really could not picture my sweet Theodore smacking his older brother. “Celest? Are you still there?” A smug grin spread across my face. “I would’ve loved to see that; damn, you didn’t even think about filming this for me? Do you even know me at all?” Silence followed, but not for long. We both burst out in roaring laughter. These are the moments I cherish the most. Theodore and Celest, acting like they don’t have a single care in the world. “Will I see you tomorrow, then?” Still giggling, I waited for him to answer. “Sure thing, sunshine. I’ll be waiting for you.” I closed my eyes to relish the moment. “I’ll be late as always.”