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“Enough.” He dropped his hand and it slammed against the table. Dishes clanked and Nathan’s empty water glass fell over.
Elisa wanted to come out fighting, but something inside her shriveled. He blamed her for Josh’s choices. She had no idea why, but she could feel it. “What did I do to make you so pissed off?”
“You alienated my brother,” he shot back. Didn’t even take a second to think about the question.
“Oh, come on. How, exactly?”
“Why do you think they ran off to get married instead of having it here with friends and family?” Harris started gesturing. “Why do you think we weren’t invited?”
The verbal hits had her gasping as her mind searched in vain for the right words to say in response. She went with the first thing in her head. The only thing. The thing that played nonstop. “He’s been playing games with me and still you’re siding with him.”
He looked at her like she was talking gibberish. “Now what are you talking about?”
Every word he uttered contained a smack. She felt battered. Unable to defend herself. Before she could think of the right words to say she felt a prick on her palm and realized she’d been holding the butter knife in a tight grip. The edge pressed into her skin and made a dent. She rubbed the sore spot, but the pain only intensified.
“You could start with Josh’s messing around with the storage unit and not telling me.”
Harris made a strangled sound. “He put the unit in your name to make it easier on you.”
Yeah, because he was such a great guy and all. “It was empty!” And only one game of many. “Then there’s the nonsense with Meredith.”
“He said he’ll explain. That it was a misunderstanding.”
Harris gave Josh break after break... and gave her none. “What could he possibly say to convince you?”
“Whatever happened with Meredith, it’s over. He’s clearly not with her now.”
This was like listening to Josh’s talking points. Forget personal responsibility. Josh made a mess and failed to show one ounce of remorse, but they were all required to move on.
She didn’t understand how Harris couldn’t see what was so obvious. “You have no idea if that’s true because he’s hidden Meredith and, for some reason, she’s lying for him.”
“Mom?” Nathan shuffled into the room and stood by her chair.
She had no idea how much or exactly what he’d heard. The entire argument had passed in whispered angry words, but he was a kid. Kids tended to hover and hide and overhear things.
This time, he popped up and she never saw him coming.
She tamped down on the energy sprinting through her. Putting on a fake smile, she tried to modulate her voice. Keep things normal. “What do you need, honey?”
“Are you guys fighting?” He carried a plastic robot that lit up and talked when it was turned on. It fell silent as it hung from his hand.
“We’re having a discussion.” Harris’s tone didn’t leave a lot of room for questions.
Nathan’s gaze bounced between his parents. “Okay.”
Those big eyes got to her. She hated to see him shut down when he usually brimmed with life and excitement. “Go back to your game.”
“But I want to stay.”
“You heard your mom.” Harris sounded stern and unbending, not at all the usual tone he used with Nathan.
Nathan’s little shoulders shrunk and his head bowed.
Elisa wanted to kick Harris. Instead, she focused on Nathan. “It’s fine, honey. I promise. We just need a little adult talk time.” She glared at Harris, daring him to disagree. “Daddy will be in to play with you in a few minutes.”
Nathan shrugged and walked away.
“Happy?” Harris didn’t give her a chance to fire back at his snide tone. “The mood of the house sucks.”
