chapter 36

Bernard

Being around Rachel was hard.

Especially when I had to keep my hands to myself and pretend like the space between us wasn't killing me. Over the past week, I had done everything I could to respect her wishes, even keeping our conversations strictly about Ron, but I didn't know how much more I could take.

And I had no idea how to make things better.

How was I supposed to when she wouldn't even look at me?

In the mornings, she didn't linger over breakfast anymore and instead ushered Ron out the door as soon as he was done. In the afternoons, she sat as far away from me as possible in the car and didn't say a word until Ron got into the car and filled the silence. However, dinners were much worse. Gone were the warm hugs and bright smiles she gave me when I got home from work. Instead, they were replaced with a stiff greeting and a nod in my direction.

I had well and truly messed things up.

Why couldn't I seem to make her happy?

Over the past few days, I had considered going to h