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When the kids all have their food, the rest of us sit down and pass the serving bowls around the table, filling our plates. A slight hush falls over everyone while we dig in.
Momma’s cooking is delicious as usual, and we all eat until we’re completely stuffed.
After we’re done, I attempt to stand up to help Momma clear the table, but everyone scolds me, saying I should be taking it easy.
Just another reason I can’t wait to get this cast off. I’m tired of being treated like I’m helpless.
I excuse myself to the restroom to get a little peace. When I shut the door behind me, I do a weird hop over to the sink and splash some water on my face.
When I make my way back to the kitchen, I stop outside the living room and hear Jessie and Shane talking in hushed tones. My attention is piqued when I hear my name.
Jessie asks, “Between you and me, how’s Jenna doing?”
Without missing a beat, Shane replies, “She’s fine. Better than I’d be in her circumstances.”
“Just be careful.”
Shane interrupts him. “You don’t have to worry about me, Jessie. I’m not going to hurt her.”
“That’s not what I mean,” Jessie begins. “Jenna is generally a fairly happy person, but when she goes down the rabbit hole of depression, she falls hard. Her highs are high, but her lows are pretty damn low.”
There’s a long pause before Shane asks, “Why are you telling me all this?”
“I just want you to know that it may not always be flowers and rainbows. I just don’t want you running away because you don’t know what you’re getting into.”
“I’m not going anywhere, Jessie. Besides, you know you can't have flowers and rainbows without the rain.”
Good lord, I love him.
Deciding I’ve heard enough, I enter the room.
Staring at my brother, I say, “Jessie, what the fuck are you doing?”
Realizing he’s been busted, he starts to back-track. “I was just looking out for you.”
“By implying I’m a basket case?”
“That’s not what I—”
I cut him off. “Save it. Let’s go, Shane.”
I hold onto his arm as we stop by the kitchen to say bye to Momma.
I lean in to kiss her on the cheek and tell her we’ll see her later.
Her eyes go wide. “You’re leaving already? I made coffee and pie for dessert.”
“We need to get going. Talk to Jessie,” I scoff as we head out.
As we walk out the front door, I hear Momma yell, “Jessie, what the heck did you do to your sister?”
Our entire drive home is a quiet one. A slew of emotions wash over me—anger, betrayal, embarrassment. But I don’t vocalize any of them. I’m not sure I could do that without bursting into tears.
I’m so lost in my thoughts I don’t even realize when Shane makes a couple of turns, heading in the opposite direction of my house.
It isn’t until we are pulling into a big field in the middle of a clearing that I realize we are somewhere new. He backs the truck up and puts it in park. Before coming around to help me out, he grabs something out of the backseat and tosses it into the bed of the truck.
He leads me to the back and lifts me so that I can climb in easier. A moment later, he joins me, and we get comfortable before pulling the blanket around us.
