Page 28 of Always Mine

“Go for it. I have enough to last me, by the looks of this.” I scan the table in amusement, thankful for the distraction she’s giving me. “You’d think I died or something.”

Snorting, she gets up from my couch and goes to my kitchen again. “I said the same thing to Mama,” she calls back as she opens and closes the cabinets, making herself right at home.

“What are you doing anyway?”

“Making some tea. Do you want some?”

“No, thanks.”

“Good,” she teases, rounding the corner with her single cup in hand. “Because I wasn’t going to make you some even if you did.”

“Don’t you have someone else to bother today?” I grumble, setting the package of bread down. “I just want to forget any of this is even happening.”

“You know that’s not going to happen, no matter how much you want it to,” she says so matter-of-factly, not comforting me in the slightest.

She’s right, but it doesn’t change the fact that I wish she wasn’t. “So what’s everyone saying?”

I don’t actually want to know, but I need to prepare myself. Sadly, I’m going to have to leave my house, eventually. If I didn’t work with my dad, I’d have surely been fired from missing so much work this week.

“Oh, what you’d expect.” She clears her throat, dropping her voice an octave to mimic their tones. “Poor Wyatt, he looked so devastated. I hope he and Paxton can work it out. They’re such good boys…” She pauses, flopping her hand around. “Blah, blah, blah. You know how they are.”

Rolling my eyes, I can’t stop the groan from leaving my lips. “I hate being a part of the gossip. I feel like I’ve only just stopped being the main topic of people’s whispered conversations.”

“It won’t last forever.” Ember continues eating, not at all caring about the emotional breakdown I’m going through. She even manages to drop some food on my floor in the process of shoving forkfuls into her mouth. She’s so gross.

“It’ll last long enough.” I sit up, snatching the food from her before setting it on the coffee table. “And stop making a damn mess. You’re getting it all over the place.”

Smacking her lips, she takes a sip of tea, unbothered by my rant. “You should try that mac and cheese. It’s really good.”

“That’s it, I’m demanding a DNA test. There’s no way we’re related.”

“You just can’t handle my awesomeness. It’s fine.”

“Yeah, I’m sure that’s exactly it.” My tone drips sarcasm, but once again, I don’t faze her in the slightest.

“It’s fine. Not many people can.” She bats her eyelashes, and I’m seconds away from taking my blankets and going to my room. Actually, that sounds like the best plan. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before. I stand and get about four steps before her voice stops me dead. “Oh, good, you’re up. Go take a shower and get ready. We have to leave soon.”

My eyes widen and I whirl around, blanket swishing and falling to the floor in a perfect swoosh. “What do you mean? I’m not going anywhere.”Probably never will again, if I can help it.

“You are, and you will!”

I chuckle, knowing this is going nowhere. I don’t care what she says, I’m not leaving my house today. “Just give me the weekend to wrap my head around him being here again, okay? I promise.”

“No can do. We have things to do.” She tilts her head, her eyes on mine, and I see the challenge there. “Plus, we’ve all given you a week already. It’s time to tear off the training wheels.” She’s preparing for a fight, but I think she underestimates how unwilling I am to go anywhere. At least, not while Paxton is back in town.

“I’m sure those things can be done another day,” I grumble, bending down to grab my blankets.

“Nope.” She stands her ground, tone firm. “That’s where you’re wrong, It’s a today-only kind of thing.”

After rewrapping myself in the fabric, I give her a shrug. “Then I guess I’m going to miss out.”

“I’ll drag you out of here, kicking and screaming in those pajamas if you don’t go get ready,” she says as she stands, and I get the sense that she’s preparing to chase me if I run.

“You’re exhausting, you know that?” My tone is defeated, matching my mood.

“And you’re hiding away,” she throws back, face pinched in frustration. “I’m not letting you do this again.”

Out of all the people in the world, I thought she’d have my back on this. She was there for the fallout and every painful step it took for me to stand again. She knows how deeply Paxton destroyed me last time. How in the hell does she expect me to go through being near him again?

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