Page 8 of Devotion: Isn't What It Seems (Love Isn't What It Seems 1)

We left the McLaren building and walked to my apartment grabbing dinner on our way. Elise talked the entire time, and I didn’t mind it today. It was her way of releasing stress, and I knew I gave her plenty of it. I needed to be more considerate of her.

As she set up the table for dinner, she placed the third plate and I raised my eyebrow glancing at her.

“Brandon is joining us,” she mumbled hesitantly. “Is that ok?”

I nodded and her happy smile instantly brightened her face.

My poor sister, maybe she had it the worst. She wanted to be with her husband and was stuck here with me, scared to leave me alone. She didn’t deserve all this, and neither did Brandon.

Her husband came shortly before dinner, greeting me with a kiss on the forehead as he always did since he started dating my sister twenty years ago. They were high school sweethearts. He’d known me so long he acted like my big brother. He even roughed up a few boys in high school that made me upset, just like a real big brother.

As three of us sat together for dinner and it was almost like the old days. Except we weren’t home and I wasn’t happy anymore.

Now I felt like a shell of a person I used to be, staring at the food I couldn’t stomach. As if from a distance, I heard Elise and Brandon chat about stuff I couldn’t quite catch. Occasionally, they’d throw me a worried glance and I wanted nothing more than to tell them to stop worrying. But that would make them worry more.

I stood up abruptly and both of them looked at me.

“I’m going to bed,” I mumbled, then added for justification. “So I’m not late for work.”

I must have said something right because both Brandon and Elise had relief wash over their face. It was way too early to go to bed but I needed to be alone.

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