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“You didn’t,” Janessa said, reaching out to grab her hand. “Yeah, things got a little crazy with you just leaving instead of talking to us.”
“I’m sorry. I just couldn’t stick around and see the disappointment, because if I stayed, Nora was going to tell everything.” Aria rubbed her hands on her thighs. “I couldn’t do it.”
“Why did you come back?”
“I needed to apologize,” she said. “And say goodbye.”
“No. You’re not saying goodbye. We can work through this.”
Aria shook her head and gave her a sad smile. “I’ve already talked to Gareth. I can’t stay if he doesn’t want me here. And it’s clear he doesn’t.”
Janessa gave a low growl and shook her head. “He’s hurt and mad. More hurt than mad, but I think he’s choosing to embrace the anger. He doesn’t get mad easily, but when he does... he can carry a grudge. But hedoesget over it.”
“I understand why he’s upset,” Aria said. “I don’t blame him at all, which is why I need to leave.”
“Please don’t,” Janessa pleaded in a way that Aria wished Gareth had. “Where would you go, anyway?”
Aria tried to give her a reassuring smile, but it felt really weak. “I’ll figure it out.”
“Don’t go yet. Give Gareth a chance.”
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to give him a chance, but he didn’t give her the feeling that he wanted that. Though that hurt more than anything, Aria accepted that this was her fault. If she’d been honest from the start, she wouldn’t be in this position.
“Ariaaaaa!” Layla came running into the living room and hopped up onto the couch between Janessa and Aria. She flung her arms around Aria’s neck and gave her a tight squeeze. “I’m so glad you’re back!”
As Aria hugged the little girl, her gaze met Janessa’s. “It’s good to see you again, Layla.”
The little girl sat back and grinned at her. “Your room is so empty.”
Your room. She wished that it was still her room.
When Charli came into the room, her eyes widened, and then she smiled. “It’s good to see you again, Aria.”
Though she was sure that Charli had thoughts and feelings about what Aria had done, she didn’t seem to be mad at her. “It’s good to see you again, too.”
“Layla, sweetie, let’s let Janessa and Aria talk. You can help me get supper ready.”
Layla didn’t look pleased, but she slid off the couch and followed her mom out of the room, glancing over her shoulder once before she disappeared. The hole in Aria’s heart grew at the thought of not having the bright little girl and her friendly mom in her life anymore. Charli had become a friend, just like Janessa was.
“You can stay here,” Janessa said. “Even if you’re not working at the clinic, you can still stay here.”
“This is somewhere Gareth enjoys visiting. I’m not going to make it uncomfortable for him to come here.”
“Where have you been staying?”
“At a motel about ten hours from here.”
“You really did leave,” Janessa said. “But then you decided to come back?”
“I met someone there who listened to me spill everything, and she helped me realize that I needed to come back to apologize before moving forward.”
“Don’t move on just yet. Please. I know we weren’t in close contact over the last year, and I’m sorry for that. You needed me, and I wasn’t there. Give me… give us… some time.”
“I don’t want your pity, Janessa,” Aria said. “I’m not entitled to it. Every decision I made—good or bad—is my responsibility. My mom would have been so disappointed in how I reacted. She would say that she raised me better than that, which she did.”
“I know about grief, Aria. I remember how lost I felt when my mom died, even though we had a supportive family ready to take us in. If I’d been all alone as an adult, I’m not sure I would have made good decisions.”
Aria appreciated Janessa trying to excuse her behavior, but there really was no acceptable excuse. She hadn’t taken any accountability for her actions at the time, even though she’d accepted the consequences. Now, however, she was trying to do that, and she couldn’t take the easy way out.
