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I looked over at him, my brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”
“You don’t have to explain yourself right now. You’re weak and need rest. You’re just going to stress yourself out if everyone comes down on you.” He rubbed my hand. “Don’t feel like you need to give much of an explanation at this second. It can wait.”
I nodded at him as my entourage approached.
“Ivy, what are you doing here?” my mom asked.
“I was working,” I said quietly. “Although I’m probably fired now.” I laughed sarcastically.
“Working?” my dad repeated. “What job is this?”
“I took a second job working for a catering company,” I answered.
“But why?” my dad asked.
My mom studied me, and I saw the moment she figured it out. “The groceries, Ivy? You were doing this to help?”
I nodded.
Katy peeked out from behind my parents, tears in her eyes. “Are you okay?”
I didn’t know how to answer her. All I wanted was to help my family. Katy, who had her childhood upended. My parents, who had done everything for me my entire life and deserved none of this. I couldn’t speak, so Scott took over for me. “She hasn’t been taking care of herself. She’s working too much and exhausted, and her body couldn’t keep up.”
Katy whimpered.
“But she’s going to be okay,” Scott quickly added, realizing he needed to give her some hope. Katy stared daggers at Scott. Old grudges die hard.
“And the shock of everything tonight must have accelerated everything,” Amy added, kneeling down in front of me. “Ivy, I’m so sorry.”
I shook my head. “It’s no one’s fault but my own.”
“I don’t know about that,” my mom murmured.
Scott cut us off. “We don’t need to assign blame right now. We need to get Ivy home to rest. I can come stay with you and help take care of her tonight.” I started to cut him off to tell him that was ridiculous, but he kept going. “I think you’ve done enough for everyone else for the last few months. Let me take care of you.”
A lump formed in my throat, and I swallowed hard. “Okay.”
An hour later, Scott led me to my bedroom, his arm around my waist as I leaned on him. He let me get changed alone, then came back in to help me get into bed.
“This is definitely not what I envisioned when I thought about you in my bedroom,” I joked as I climbed under the covers.
Scott huffed a laugh. “I can’t believe you’re still kidding around right now.”
“If I don’t laugh, I’ll cry, you know?” I said with half a smile.
Scott sat on my bed with me. “It’s okay to cry sometimes, too.”
I shook my head. I had already cried enough in front of him. What did it mean that I allowed myself to cry with him, but not anyone else? “I have to be strong for everyone.” I rubbed my eyes, my lids suddenly feeling too heavy to stay open. “I’m so tired.”
He nodded and ran a hand over my head. “I’ll let you go to sleep.” He stood up to leave the room.
“Scott?” I said, my voice breaking.
He turned to face me again.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
He was back at my bed a second later, his hand behind my head as he kissed me and leaned me back onto my pillow. Gentle, sweet kisses that told me just how much he cared for me. He pulled back and leaned his forehead on mine. “I love you, Ivy.”
