“How did the introduction go?”
“Great. Seb hung his picture beside the others.”
“That sounds about right,” he smiles. “What’s the plan for tomorrow?”
“Shopping, gift wrapping and Jake.”
“Okay darling. I’ll be out shortly,” Zander says.
Chapter 57
Summer
Seb, E, and I are having brunch at Alex’s house this morning to talk things out, then I have shopping to do.
I arrive around 9am and see Seb’s Jeep already parked. E is in the apartment kitchen cooking when I arrive. “Good morning, guys,” I call to Alex, Seb, and E as I enter.
“Good morning,” Alex answers, coming over for a hug, followed by Seb.
I get a “hello” and smile from E, his hands covered in dough, so I ask what I can help with. “There’s fruit in the fridge if you don’t mind cutting it up, Summer,” E replies.
“No problem.” I wash the fruit and then start cutting.
E puts the biscuits in the oven after pulling out some candied bacon, which Seb and I both grab a piece of. “Oh, it’s got a kick. E, what is that?”
“Sugar and a pinch of cayenne.”
“It’s fantastic,” I compliment. After placing the cut fruit in a bowl, I scramble some eggs while E cooks sausage. Once the biscuits are done, we set the table and sit down to eat. As usual, everything's delicious. E makes a plate for Steven, and Alex runs it downstairs to himwhile we clean up.
Once we’re all settled on the couch, no one knows where to start. It’s awkward with a lot of mixed emotions. Luckily Alex begins. “I think we should start by acknowledging the hurt feelings between the three of you. Perhaps each of you can tell us what you would like out of this conversation? Summer, would you like to start?”
“Okay,” I nod, taking a deep breath because I need to remain calm. “I need to understand why you made the choices you did, E. What you were thinking, or not thinking about, and if you realize why Seb and I were so hurt.”
“I’m wondering that too, man. It seems you chose money over both of us, many times. If you didn’t, then I don’t understand,” Seb shrugs.
“I promise I didn’t intend to favor anything over you two. Despite my fear, it felt like everything would be okay after you both agreed I could live with my grandparents and pretend to be with Summer while I still had you, Seb. I don’t know how it all went wrong.”
“You were going to date other girls, E,” I remind him.
“But they weren’t dates to me.”
“Come on, man, we talked about this. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck…” Seb replies.
“When you both expressed your displeasure, E agreed not to go on any of those dates,” Alex gently reminds us.
“Yeah, then he spent Friday and Saturday with Georgia,” Seb replies.
E's visibly distraught. “I am so incredibly sorry about those pictures. It was all just timing. When she leaned over to talk to me at the table and put her hand on my arm, I moved it off right away. The dance was just a dance. She asked me to escort her on a walk around the garden, and my grandmother insisted. I didn’t see the harm, but I promise you, when she put her arm around my waist, I asked her to removeit.”
“You still put yourself in a position where that could happen, E, and your response to that entire conversation when I got back from Virginia was hurtful.”
“I understand you messed up that weekend, E, but Sunshine's correct,” Seb begins. “You put your foot in your mouth, behaving like it wasn't significant. First, we were hurt, so it was significant to us. Second, the paper quoted your grandmother, and she basically said you were matched. Then you tell us you weren’t going into WITSEC,” Seb says, shaking his head. He looks so dejected. I think this is harder on him because he and E were so intertwined with each other. I grab hold of his hand for support.
“Let us focus on one thing at a time,” Alex placates. “E, can you explain your thoughts during that time?”
“None of it was real for me, so I guess I wasn’t worried about it. I didn’t care about the girls or the functions. You two have my heart, so no one else was on my radar. Even though I didn’t read the article until later, what it said didn’t matter to me because it was all bullshit. I didn’t understand my grandmother’s manipulation at the time, either. What my grandparents did and were willing to do still shocks me. I honestly didn’t think they were capable of the stuff that happened.”
“We told you many times, but you wouldn’t listen,” I say.
