“What happened?” she said in a comforting tone that I didn’t deserve.
Her soft words caused me to break down all over again.
“Mommy,” I sobbed through tears.
She pulled me to her and hugged me tightly.
“They’re engaged,” I choked out, unable to admit the rest of it.
She held on tighter, not needing more clarification than those two words.
“It’s going to be okay, sweetie. You’re stronger than this.”
She held me while I cried until the doctor finally came in to stitch me up.
* * *
Wincing,I dabbed my forehead with a washcloth. I had to get five stitches last night, and the doctor instructed me to keep the area clean and dry.
I hardly recognized the reflection that stared back at me in the bathroom mirror. Aside from my scarred forehead, I had an angry patch on my chin where the skin had met the ground. My eyes were also swollen and puffy due to the hours upon hours of relentless crying.
It was almost noon when I emerged into the kitchen, desperate for caffeine to wake me from my coma-like trance.
“Nice of you to join us,” my father grumbled as soon as I stepped into the main room.
My entire family was sitting at the dining table looking rather sullen.
“Is this an intervention?” I asked jokingly before sitting down to join them.
My mother reached across the table and grabbed my hand.
Oh boy. I was in for it.
“Matilda, sweetheart.” This wasn’t good. She hardly ever called me by my full name. “You know we love you. And we want nothing but the best for you…”
She trailed off and looked to my sister for support.
Frankie sighed and looked at me. “It’s time to move out. You need to get back on your feet.”
I groaned. “Is this about the crash? I know I fucked up, but I'll pay for it. In case you all don’t remember, I had to deal with some very difficult news yesterday.” Of course, they didn’t know about themostdifficult news I heard last night.
My father’s face was red, but he continued to sit there, stewing, while my mother and Frankie handled the conversation.
“I know it was a tough pill to swallow, sweetie. Trust me. I would love nothing more than to wring his neck for you. But the reality is, they’ve moved on. And us babying you, letting you stay here? It isn’t helping you anymore. It’s been almost a month. It’s time for you to start figuring out what’s next. I haven’t seen you so much as look at an apartment ad since you’ve been here.”
“I’ve had a lot on my mind,” I mumbled.
“Mattie, you need to do this,” Frankie continued. “How would you feel if Nadine and Garrett could see how you reacted last night? Moving on is the best revenge, trust me.”
I glared at Frankie, irritated she wasn’t on my side.
“Excuse me for having a few issues right now. My life was completely upended justweeksago.” I turned my attention back to my mother. “You were the one encouraging me to wallow, remember?”
“But you haven’t been wallowing. You’ve been pretending everything is fine until you finally blew up yesterday.” She shook her head. “Look, Mattie. We’re not saying you need to be okay just like that. We’re just saying that you need to start making an effort.”
“It wouldn’t kill you to try something new,” my dad finally spoke. “You’ve lived within the same twenty-mile radius your entire life. You’ve had the same boyfriend and friends for nearly a decade. Maybe it’s good that you’re being forced into a bit of change.”
My mouth hung open. “Are you implying it was good that my boyfriend cheated on me with my best friend?”
