Page 135 of No Rings Attached
Drew and I stumbled at first—laughing, breathless—but then we found a rhythm. I leaned into him, he steadied me, and suddenly we were flying. We crossed the finish line seconds after Kyle and Celia.
But I didn’t care that we didn’t win. We were able to laugh at ourselves and work together which is more than I could say for my sister and her fiance.
Drew kissed my flushed cheek. “Told you we’d be fine.”
We collapsed into a heap while Celia berated Kyle about all the ways he could have done better to improve their time. When our mother finally caught her attention and motioned towards the cameras, Celia quickly shut her mouth.
“Celia, let’s go freshen up,” Mom reached for her and the two marched off.
Dad stood by awkwardly, trying to make small talk with me and Drew. He’d been here for two days and this was the first time he’d said much of anything to me.
“Ellie,” he started. “You know you could have more grace with Kyle and Celia. Itistheir party.”
Drew shifted as though to stand in front of me.To protect me.
I laid my hand on his chest and faced my father.
While Dad wasn’t as overtly cruel as Mom and Celia, he was still complicit in it all. He let it happen, or like right now, interjected his opinion. Which was never in my favor.
“Grace is something I give to people who offer it back. Kyle and Celia never have. Have you forgotten Kyle cheated on me with her?”
Dad’s mouth opened, but I was already shaking my head. “I’ve spent my life making myself smaller so she could shine. I’m done with that.”
I slid my hand into Drew’s and we walked away, leaving Dad standing in the shade and wondering if he’d ever realize all he missed and what a relationship with me might have been like.
We moved further away, slipping behind a few trees. Drew wrapped his arms around me. “I’m so proud of you, babe.”
I let out a shuddery breath. “Yeah, it needed to be said, but it still sucks. I’d always held out hope that someday he might support me instead of them.”
Drew rubbed his hands up and down my back. “I’m sorry.”
And what else was there to say?
Nothing.
I wasn’t sure how much time had passed when Glamma called for us all to participate in the final game of Tug-of-War before we sat down for tea time at 4:00 pm by the lake. As Drew and I rounded the enormous old sycamore, I was surprised by the number of people from town that had arrived.
Celia was apparently just as surprised as she exited the back door and stopped short. I smothered my laughter as Mom bumped into her. Quick to recover, Celia gave a wave, like the Lady of the Manor to the crowd, who mostly ignored her.
“I was told there was food being served,” Reggie from the diner yelled out, clearly disgruntled by the lack of options as he picked up a finger sandwich from a passing server and tossed it into a rose bush after sniffing it.
“Shut it, Reggie!” Anita, his nemisis, yelled back.
I giggled.
By the time the rope had been dragged to the center of the lawn to accommodate all the spectators, it seemed like half the town had migrated to Glamma’s yard. The lake shimmered behind us, butterflies flitting out over the gardens as the sun began to set, and all eyes seemed to be fixed on the rope.
“Final round!” Glamma announced, lifting her hands like she was the Goddess of Lawn Sports, her bangles, rings, and caftan sparkling in the fading light. “Tug-of-war, my darlings!”
Kyle smirked as he picked up his end of the rope, biceps flexed for the cameras. “Easy win,” he told his team. Then, loud enough for everyone to hear, “Ellie can’t even keep a man, how’s she going to hold on to a rope?”
The jab landed like a fist to my gut. I jerked in an unsteady breath, and for a second, I wanted to step back, and let someone else take my place.
Beside me, Drew went still. His hand rested on my lower back protectively. His eyes locked on Kyle’s across the rope, sharp as blades. “You don’t get to talk to her like that. Not ever again,” he said, his voice low enough to chill summer air.
I swallowed hard, wrapping my hands around the rough fibers of the rope. My palms burned just from the contact, but I wasn’t letting go.
Not today.
