Page 61 of Aftermath
The way his eyes pushed through every wall I put up, I couldn’t stand it much longer before I-
“Dinner!” Eloise called out, saving me.
I stood fast and hurried to the dining room. The others trailed behind me, and we all found seats around the table, Stone sitting beside me.
Dinner wasn’t as painful as I expected. My father had both Stone and my brother chuckling through most of it, my mother keeping any comments to herself. I even made an effort to catch up with her, asking about work and her recent trips.It’d been awhile since I’d visited home.
I felt Stone glancing in my direction a few times, but I tried hard not to glance up. Instead, I focused on eating the delicious pasta Eloise had worked so hard on.
“Dinner is fantastic, Eloise,” Stone said.
I watched a smile grow, pride beaming from her, my brother’s eyes falling on his wife with adoration. In the entire time they’d been together, there was never a second I doubted they were meant to be. They were one of those couples you just knew would get married.
Something I would never have.
I strived to find what they had. I thought I found it with Jake, but the more controlling he became, the faster I realized it was far different. Manipulation wasn’t love.
“You alright?” Stone breathed the question so quiet, I barely caught it.
I nodded.
“Where’d you go?” he asked.
“Somewhere I never want to be again,” I whispered back.
We finished through dinner with barely any leftovers to spare. No one was surprised; Eloise was a fantastic cook. If she hadn’t found success in marketing, I was convinced she would’ve been a chef. Maybe in another life.
The polite and typical chatter continued, and I tried to join in where I could. It was hard when my mind kept wandering. Three years, I had distanced myself; did I really even know them anymore? It felt almost wrong to laugh at their new stories or pretend like I’d known what they had been dong the past few years.
I avoided seeing them in person as much as I could. I didn’t want them to see how broken their daughter was. Calvin could spot a mile away how burnt out I was getting.
“Should we have dessert?” Eloise asked.
“I am so full, I don’t know if I have the appetite,” my dad chuckled.
“I think we should have dessert,” Calvin pushed, and I heard the nerves there.
Strange.
I felt Stone shift beside me, and I knew he picked up on it too. My parents were oblivious to the change in the room. My brother hurried off behind his wife, helping her grab whatever they had planned.
“We will be coming back again for the clambake at the end of the month!” my mother exclaimed, cutting the tension.
“Will you still be here?” my dad asked Stone.
He looked shocked for only a moment before training his face back to its usual thoughtful disposition.“There is a good chance I will be,” he admitted.
Part of me filled with relief.
Stop it.
I couldn’t think like that. It had been only two weeks, and already, I was letting my judgement be clouded by Stone’s protection. It had become a comfort. A comfort, nothing more.
You can’t become reliant on him. He will leave. Everyone always leaves.
Jake left. My brother left when he had Eloise to take care of. Never once did I blame him for that, but I knew I’d far outstayed my welcome. My parents left. They never once noticed the signs, the desperate pleas for help at what my life had become.
My brother and his wife returned to the room carrying a cake. They walked side by side, Eloise with a large smile growing the closer she got.
