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My eyes stung, but the tears didn’t fall. I felt drained. Defeated. Like nothing I’d done was right or redeemable. I should stay away from Mark and Kendall. He didn’t want me to help.
“Are you okay?” Ellie rushed in with Courtney at her back.
A water bottle was shoved into my hands. “Drink.”
I couldn’t seem to coordinate my brain and my fingers as I fumbled with the cap.
Courtney twisted it off for me.
“Thanks,” I murmured, taking a small sip.
“What happened?” Ellie asked Courtney when I didn’t respond.
Courtney’s concerned voice floated over me. “Kendall ran out. Sophie called Mark. I don’t know what he said to her—”
“She saw the custody papers. I’m worried she ran away,” I said flatly.
“What custody papers?” Ellie tipped her head to the side.
I hadn’t confided in her because it was Mark’s business. “Kendall saw something she shouldn’t, and she was asking me questions. I told her she needed to talk to Mark about it, but she accused me of not caring about her.”
The tears slipped over my lashes and down my cheeks.
Ellie crossed her arms over her chest. “She used emotional warfare.”
“I shouldn’t have said anything. I should have referred her to Mark.”
“It sounds like that’s what you did,” Ellie said practically.
“Then she ran out, saying something about not seeing her again. I called Mark, and he was upset. He’s going to call Colton.”He said I’d done enough.
Those words were burning a hole in my chest.
“Does he need someone at the house in case she comes there?” Ellie asked, her voice measured and reasonable.
I stood, prepared to go home and hide. “No, he said I’d done enough.”
My voice sounded bitter. I felt rather than saw Ellie and Courtney exchange a look.
“Let’s get you home, and then I’ll see if he wants Dad to help,” Ellie said.
“You don’t have to do that. I don’t think he wants us to get involved.”
“Then he’s an idiot,” Ellie muttered as she guided me outside. I shielded my eyes from the bright sun, wanting nothing more than to hide under my blankets when I got home. I wanted to drown out his words and disappear.
“You didn’t do anything wrong. You tried to navigate a difficult conversation. You balanced being there for Kendall and preserving Mark’s position.” Ellie’s voice was soothing despite the turmoil in my chest.
I clutched my elbows, wanting to forget the last hour ever happened. “I want to be alone.”
“Is that the right thing to do?” Ellie asked me pointedly.
I was acutely aware that I was the big sister and the one who usually led these kinds of conversations. It was an unusual role reversal for us.
I bit my lip. “I asked if I could help, but Mark said no.”
“He said you’d done enough,” she murmured.
I nodded my head. His words were painfully clear.
