Page 52 of Where the Waves Kiss the Shore
“Hey, Dad, how are things?”Tierney’s screen flickered from a still image of her father to his video feed. He was sitting at the large oak desk in his study. Rarely was he anywhere else when she called.
“I’m well, thank you, Tierney. Your call is well-timed.” He turned from the screen and mouthed something, and then louder he said, “Come and say hello.”
He turned the screen slightly, and Tierney went cold. Megan came into view, pulling up a chair next to her dad.Our dad,she corrected herself.“Meg? You’re back at work?”
“Yeah, I’ve been back a while. It’s a busy time for the business and?—”
“Wow. So, you’ve cleared the air withhimafter everything he did?” She flicked her hand toward her father as anger replaced shock. “But you can’t even drop me a call to say we’re okay?”
“Stop oversimplifying things.” Her father leaned across the desk. “Megan and I have a lot to work through, but I agreed to go to family therapy. We’ll find our way.” He smiled at Megan in a way that had never been directed at her.
Tierney grasped the counter and tried to stay calm, but a rushing sound filled her ears, and she thought she might fall off the stool. “I don’t… What about me?”
She couldn’t think straight, let alone string a sentence together. She just knew the torture she’d been through for the last couple of months imagining Megan grieving and alone with her thoughts had been for nothing. Everything was fine. For her dad and Megan. And they were clearly happy to leave her ostracized on an island thousands of miles away.
“Tierney, we had this conversation before. The world doesn’t revolve around you.”
Megan’s voice was distant amid the noise in her head. She couldn’t bear to look at them any longer. She slammed the laptop shut and slid from the stool to the floor, wrapping her arms around herself. A sob opened the floodgates, and with her back to the counter, she sat and howled for the unfairness of it all and with the pain of realization that her dad and Megan, the two people she’d put the most trust in throughout her life, hadn’t bothered to bring her into their little family dynamic. As always, she was on the outside.
“Tierney?” Kasia’s distant voice broke through the noise of her crying. “Where are you? What’s happened?”
She held in her sobs, hoping Kasia wouldn’t find her and would leave her in peace.
“What the hell, Tierney?” Kasia was suddenly on the floor alongside her and pulled her into her arms. “Breathe. Then tell me what happened.”
Her breath warm against Tierney’s ear, she placed comforting kisses on her temple. Gradually, her breathing even out as she took long breaths. “I’m sorry.”
“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
Kasia’s voice was calming, and concern laced her words. She sniffed and wiped her face on her sleeve. “Thanks. I’m fine,really.” She sniffed. “Maybe we could get off the floor and make ourselves more comfortable.”
“Of course.” Kasia jumped up and hauled her up by her arms.
Tierney was glad of the help. She felt drained. Kasia led her into the lounge filled with a sweet baking smell coming from the kitchen. She dropped onto a couch.
Kasia sat close, facing her. “Tell me when you’re ready.”
When her warms hands wrapped around Tierney’s, she soaked up the comfort. “Megan’s back at work. She and Dad are going to therapy together.”
Kasia’s eyes widened. “Since when? And neither of them thought to tell you?”
“I don’t think they factored me into any of it. It’s as if I don’t matter.”
Kasia squeezed her hands. “Try not to think of it like that. Did you tell them how you feel?”
She pulled a hand free to wipe her eyes. “I think I made my feelings clear before I hung up.”
“But did you say how excluded they’re making you feel? You’re part of their family.”
“They’re doing family therapy without me, so I don’t think they see it like that. That’s something I would’ve benefited from my whole life.”
“But you weren’t able to say that?”
Tierney rubbed her eyes. “I tried. A little, but Megan said it wasn’t all about me, and I ended the call.” She felt the tears pricking again.
“You need to be able to speak up for yourself, Tierney. They don’t seem to take you seriously, so you have to make sure they do.”
Tierney blinked. She wanted Kasia’s sympathy, not her judgment. “I told you I tried.”
