Page 31 of Only When It Breaks

“Emmie,” Mum warns.

“No, it’s fine,” Joel says. “She doesn’t trust me. I get it. I’ve earned that.”

“Glad we agree on something.”

He picks at his salad. “I just want to fix things. With both of you.”

I lean back in my chair. “You don’t get to justfixthings. This isn’t IKEA. You don’t show up with an Allen key and a sad salad and expect us to forget everything.”

Mum looks pained, like she wants to both laugh and cry. “Can we just eat, please?”

“Sure,” I say, stabbing another tomato. “Let’s all bond over cold carbs and repressed trauma.”

Joel sets down his fork. “Emmie, I’m not trying to replace anyone. Or force anything. I just want the chance to show you that I’ve changed.”

I meet his eyes. “Then you’re gonna need a hell of a lot more than pasta and a speech.”

He nods slowly, then looks to Mum, who gives him a tight, encouraging smile like he just survived a battlefield.

I roll my eyes and focus on my plate. I can feel Mum softening already, and it pisses me off. He messed up. He was awful. And now he makes one decent meal and says the right words, and suddenly, she’s glowing like it’s a rom-com dinner scene.

Not happening. Not if I can help it.

I push my plate away, the clink of cutlery sharper than it needs to be. “I’m done.”

Mum looks up, startled. “You haven’t eaten anything.”

“Not hungry.” I stand, grabbing my phone. “I’m going out.”

Joel raises an eyebrow. “Now?”

“I can’t think of a better time, Joel. Can you?” And I head towards the hallway.

“Emmie,” Mum says, her voice tight. “We’re having dinner.”

“No.Youtwo are pretending we’re one big happy family. I’m not playing along.”

I toss a glance over my shoulder at Kai who’s watching the whole scene unfold with confusion. “Let’s go.”

“Me?” he asks.

“Yes, we’re going to that precious party you ditched for this shit show.”

His frown is immediate. “You don’t evenlikeparties.”

“Yeah, well, turns out I don’t like family dinners either.”

We step out into the hall, Kai closing the door behind us. “Emmie, seriously, is this a good idea?”

I whirl on him. “Oh,nowyou care?”

He blinks. “What?”

“You haven’t spoken to me all week, Kai. Not a word. Not even a ‘hi’ in the hallway. So, forgive me if I don’t buy the concerned act.”

“It’s not an act.”

“Could’ve fooled me.”

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