Page 4 of And the Best Man Ran Away With the Groom

There’s a brief pause and then Mum finally says, “Alright. I’ll wait ’til he leaves.”

I send my best friend a hard look. “You’re never leaving this house. Ever.”

Alastor just smirks at me. “What? Are you saying you don’t want Macey’s essence cleansed from this place?”

I roll my eyes. “Don’t be a dick.”

It’s notuntil the cricket’s over and we’re starting to talk about getting something to eat that I finally manage to get Mum and Dad to budge from my house.

“Oh, but maybe we should stay a bit and I can cook you some tea?” Mum suggests, sending me a worried look as Dad tries to shuffle her towards the front door.

Yeah, because tofu is really what I feel like eating right now. I give a sharp shake of my head. “No, no, it’s all good. I’ll be fine.”

“I don’t know,” Mum says with a sigh. “I don’t like the idea of you being on your own at a time like this.”

“Leave him, love,” Dad insists in the gentle tone he always uses with Mum. “He might want to have a bit of a cry. Won’t want us around for that.”

“I donotwant to have a cry!” I all but shout, scowling at my parents.

“It’s okay if you do, sweetheart,” Mum says in what I’m sure she thinks is a soothing tone, but it sounds completely grating to my ears. “It’s perfectly natural to let your emotions out. In fact, I’d say it’s beneficial,” she adds with a knowing bob of her head. “It’s not healthy to keep everything bottled inside.”

“Nothing is bottled,” I assure her. “I’mfine.”

“Don’t worry, Bern,” Alastor says, appearing from the kitchen, chomping on a muesli bar. “I’ll be here to support him through this difficult time.”

Mum puts a hand to her heart, beaming at my best friend. “Oh, Alastor, you’re atreasure.”

I roll my eyes but don’t say anything to disillusion her. Whatever’s going to get her out of the house is fine by me. I love my parents, but I’ve already had way too much of theirsupportfor one day.

Dad finally manages to get Mum out the door, but only after I’ve promised to call her first thing in the morning—probably so she can be certain I don’t drown in a sea of my own tears during the night.

As soon as the door’s closed behind them, Alastor turns to me. “Alright, let’s grab some KFC and watch porn.”

I groan, rubbing a hand over my forehead. “Okay,nowI want to cry.”

“Well, if you’re not in the mood for the Colonel we could get Macca’s instead,” he suggests. “Bet a caramel sundae would cheer you right up.”

I just give an exasperated shake of my head and start making my way back downstairs.

“So, is that a no on the sundae?” I hear Alastor call after me.

We compromisewith KFC and aCaptain Americamarathon and are halfway throughThe First Avengerwhen Alastor decides to get all pensive.

“You know, it’s funny. I never really pictured you with someone like Macey. He’s all neat and tidy and clean-shaven. I figured you’d end up with someone kind of scruffy,” he muses. “You know, kind of like Bucky.”

“Well maybe the next guy to leave me at the altar will be someone scruffy,” I say dryly, taking a swig from my beer.

“You know what I mean,” he says with a groan of annoyance. “You’ve always been way more into Bucky than Steve, but you were going to marry Captain America.”

“Jack isnotCaptain America,” I say with an eye roll. “For one thing, he’s Vietnamese. And for another, Cap would never leave someone at the altar.”

“I don’t know…I think he would if the world was under threat.”

“Something tells me that’s not why Jack bailed yesterday,” I say with an eye roll.

The doorbell rings and I let out a weary sigh. I’m partly relieved to have this ridiculous conversation interrupted, but I’m also a little trepidatious about who could be stopping by at eight pm on the night after my failed wedding. “That better not be Mum back to check up on me,” I grumble.

“Nah, didn’t you see the way your dad was practically pushing Bernie out the door? They totally went home to fuck. And you know they’re into that tantric stuff. Won’t be done for ages.”

---