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“Is that why you let Grant take her to the hospital?” Dana questions.
“Dana, it’s okay,” I whisper.
My eldest sister sits up straight, daggers in her eyes. “No. It’s not.”
“Dana, dear, I didn’t think Harley would want me to help her. You’ve all made it very clear that I’m not welcomed here, so–”
“And yet, here you are. Besides, whose fault is that?” Dana shoots back. “You waltz back into our lives afterten yearsand expect to be welcomed? What kind of mother does that?”
Mom lifts her chin. “I’ve made mistakes. I’m not proud of everything I’ve done. But I’d like to atone for–”
“For nothing.” Dana is going in for the kill. “You came here with Malcolm because you wantmoney.You’re just an accessory to this lawsuit he has with Infinium and–”
“You weren’t supposed to know about that.”
“Why? So you can pretend that you give a shit about any of us?” Dana’s shouting now. I never hear her yell. She’s got the sweetest lilt of us all, perfect to care for the emotions of others. But inside her is anger that has been brewing for ten whole years. “I’d like you to leave. You don’t have a place here.”
Mom’s eyes widen. “Dana, I’m your mother. You can’t–”
“Yes, you are my mother. Who walked away from me when I was nineteen, the oldest of five girls. Who do you think did everything you were supposed to while they were growing up, huh?” Dana growls like a mother lion protecting her cubs. “Me. I did. Who motheredmein all of this?”
The other four of us are quiet. We’ve done our best to take care of each other, but Dana has taken on the brunt of mothering.
“Your father–”
“Did everything he could for us when you left,” Dana says sharply. “But he could never be ourmother.”
There is a standoff. The silence is deep and profound.
“I’ll walk you out,” Dana says, getting to her feet.
“Dana!” Mom gasps.
“This is our house. Not yours. And you are not welcome here. Now, you can leave of your own accord. Or I’ll make you.”
I resist cheering for Dana. It would undercut the moment. Buthell fucking yeah.
Mom stands to her feet and straightens out her skirt. “Fine.” She looks at the rest of us, almost like she’ll say something, but decides against it, her lips dropping with shame.
Good.
Dana ushers Mom through the door and follows her down the stairs.
The four of us share a sigh. “Wow. We owe Dana like, big time,” Amy says.
“You can say that again,” Kira adds.
We collapse back on my bed, staring up at the ceiling. “What a fucking summer, huh?” I say.
“Emphasis on the ‘fucking’,” Amy echoes.
We giggle, even Gillian.
Our reverie is interrupted by Dana’s footsteps fast on the stairs. “Guys! Dad is–” She catches herself in the doorframe. “Dad’s car is gone.”
I sit up immediately. “Oh no.”
“You think he went to see Grant?”
