We Both Reborn And I Let Go This Time Chapter 02

We Both Reborn And I Let Go This Time Chapter 02

“Eleanor, are you done changing? Mom and Dad want to go get dinner.”

Clara called through the door, her voice bright.

I dried my face, pulled on clean clothes, and stepped out.

Raymond stood beside Clara, straightening her collar with two fingers, his touch careful in a way that made my chest tighten.

His eyes flicked to me when I came out. Then they moved right back to her.

Mom locked up the house, and we all headed for the restaurant down the street.

Clara walked arm in arm with Raymond up ahead, while Mom and Dad trailed behind them, already going over the wedding.

I walked behind everyone else. No one even bothered to look back.

The place was packed, but we found a table near the back.

Dad grabbed the menu and started ordering. “We’ll have the honey-glazed pork. And bring us a bowl of those roasted peanuts for the table.”

Mom leaned in. “Extra spicy on everything. Clara loves a kick to her food.”

My stomach clenched before I even touched my fork.

I’m allergic to peanuts.

I ate them once as a kid. My throat swelled shut, and I ended up in the hospital, gasping for air. They almost lost me.

My whole family knew.

But when Dad ordered, it didn’t cross his mind.

It didn’t cross Mom’s either.

All they remembered was that Clara liked spicy food.

Clara didn’t notice either. She was too busy laughing at something Raymond said.

The food came out. The pork glistened in its peanut glaze, and the roasted peanuts sat in a bowl nearby, tossed with chili flakes.

Clara popped a few into her mouth and nudged the bowl toward Raymond. “Try these. This place makes them so good.”

I reached for my water glass, trying to settle my stomach.

But just the smell of them made my chest feel tight.

“She’s allergic.”

The whole table went quiet.

It was Raymond.

He was looking at the bowl of peanuts in front of me, then at my father.

“She’s been allergic since she was a kid. One bite and her throat swells shut. You didn’t know that?”

Nobody moved.

Dad’s face went stiff. Mom looked like someone had caught her doing something wrong.

Mom let out a thin laugh. “Of course we knew. It just slipped our minds. It’s not like anyone’s forcing her to eat them. No need to make a scene.”

Raymond didn’t answer. He flagged down the waiter and ordered two more dishes, nothing with peanuts.

Clara smiled at him. “Always so thoughtful. I totally forgot.”

The corner of his mouth tugged up. “The three of us grew up on the same block. I picked up a few things.”

Then, without being asked, he refilled Clara’s glass and made sure her plate was full.

Mom and Dad traded a satisfied look.

I sat across from them, head down, shoveling plain rice into my mouth.

The peanut bowl dragged me right back into my previous life.

Raymond had taken me to the mess hall once, and I’d accidentally eaten something cooked in peanut oil. I started choking and breaking out in hives right there at the table.

It got worse fast. My airway started closing up, and they rushed me to the clinic. The doctor said I was close to going into anaphylactic shock.

Raymond was terrified.

That was the first time I ever saw him cry.

He held my hand and told me he’d remember. He said he would never, ever forget.

He kept that promise.

But what did it matter?

I chewed another bite of plain rice and swallowed it down. Another memory surfaced, older this time.

When we were kids, the three of us lived on the same block.

One winter, Raymond was playing out on a frozen pond and fell through the ice. I was the first one to reach him.

I hauled him out, pulled off my own coat, and wrapped it around him.

He was shaking so hard he could barely talk, but he kept mumbling through blue lips.

“When I grow up, I’m gonna marry you… and keep you safe forever.”

He was delirious with fever. I never knew if he remembered saying it.

By the next day, the fever broke, and he was back to his usual self.

The way he looked at me was exactly the same as before. But the way he looked at Clara was different, warmer, closer.

Like I’d never pulled him out of that water at all.

He forgot what he said. I didn’t.

The only one who ever took those words seriously was me.

After dinner, the family started walking home, and Raymond and I ended up at the back of the group.

When he was sure nobody was watching, he grabbed my sleeve and yanked me to the side.

“You came back too.”

He stared at me, his voice barely above a whisper. It wasn’t a question.

I didn’t answer.

He didn’t need me to.

“I don’t care what you’re planning,” he said, biting off every word. “Don’t try anything.”

“Go take that work placement out in the country like you’re supposed to. I’ll make sure your family’s taken care of. But this time, don’t even think about getting between me and Clara.”

I looked at him and opened my mouth to tell him I wasn’t going.

He cut me off. “How’d you get out of the water today?”

I started to answer.

“Raymond!”

Clara’s voice floated back from up ahead, warm and teasing.

He let go of my sleeve, turned on his heel, and strode away.

I never got to tell him I’d been about to swim back on my own, or that someone else had pulled me out.

I didn’t get a single word out.

Forget it.

He’d find out soon enough.