Page 13 of Seeing You

“But he was like that a lot of the time,” Billie corrected.

“He didn’t like coming home to visit, but he did. And when he had to move back, he was certainly a jerk, but he wasn’t openly hostile about it. Marcus looks like he thinks we’re all beneath him.”

“That’s definitely what he thinks. Trust me. And whatever brought him back here, it’s not going to keep him here for long.By tomorrow, I’m sure he’ll be packing his bags and going back to whatever snooty place he’s calling home these days.”

They were all quiet for a moment until Chloe asked, “Don’t you have anything you want to say to him? Something that will give you closure?”

“Look, I love you guys for worrying, but I don’t need closure. I’m fine. I’m not going to let Marcus Calloway take up any more space in my head. That’s in the past and it’s over and done with.” She finished her wine. “That was seriously good. I’m going to pour myself another glass. When did you say the food would be here?”

She heard them whispering about how they were worried about her as she walked away, but it didn’t bother her. They were simply wrong. Today happened and it just solidified that she had made the right decision all those years ago. She didn’t need to talk about it or have any conversations with Marcus for closure. She was fine.

However, one hour and two glasses of wine later…

“I mean…he was unreasonable!” she said, her speech a little slurred. “He didn’t understand that my family—you guys—needed me! He was all like, ‘they can handle themselves!’”And yes, she tried to mimic his voice. “But like…I knew…Iknew…that I needed to be here! You guys were both in crisis and Mom had no idea how to handle it!”

“Jeez, Bill. That sucks that you gave up everything for us,” Ashlynn said, picking up the last dumpling. “I had no idea he gave you an ultimatum.”

“And we’re the reason you lost the great love of your life!” Chloe wailed. “I feel terrible! We had no idea how much pressure we were putting on you!”

Taking another sip of her wine, Billie considered her words.

Sort of.

“It wasn’t you guys directly. Mom was just worried and kind of a mess and had no idea how to deal with the two of you once you were adults! I love her, but…man, is she a lot! Dad wasn’t around, Levi wasn’t around, and I wasn’t around.” Another sip. “Ash, you were working three jobs to pay for beauty school…”

“Cosmetology school,” her sister corrected.

“Okay. Fine. Cosmetology school, and Mom was freaking out that you were going to work yourself to death. And Chlo, you were having those anxiety attacks and Mom was worried sick that you couldn’t handle the pressure of being away at college. My coming home allowed her to chill the hell out! You’re my sisters and I love you and you needed me!”

“Um…”

All eyes turned to Jade.

“What was that?” Billie asked. “What was that, ‘um…?’”

Jade looked a little like a deer in the headlights. Still, she took a sip of wine and explained. “Personally, I don’t think that Ash and Chloe needed you.”

“What?!That’s insane!” she argued. “Didn’t you just hear me say how much they were struggling?”

“Yes, and they were, but you just said they weren’t the ones reaching out to you. It sounds like it was all your mom. So…Marieneeded you.”

“But…”

“Damn,” Ash whispered. “She’s right!”

“Again, I didn’t know you guys then, but when you moved back here, what did you do?”

“I…I um…I temporarily moved back in with my mom, got a job at the bank, and…”

“Ash? Did you stop working three jobs?”

She thought about it for a moment. “No. I kept going because it was helping me pay for school and have money to live. Billieused to give me spending money, but that was so I could have a life outside of work and school.”

Nodding, Jade looked at Chloe. “And did you get over your anxiety?”

“Eventually. I made some friends and would text with Ash every day and Billie started calling more often and…they just sort of went away.”

Now she looked back at Billie with a sympathetic smile. “You are a nurturer. We all know that about you. You came home because you saw things you thought you could fix. And maybe the fact that you were here made your mom calm down and stress less, but it feels like maybe you had other reasons for bailing on the relationship.

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