AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Sure you could have. I was just your emotional support animal.”
She gives another closed-mouth smile. “You were great. Now I don’t know how I’m going to tell my family the truth.”
“You have some time to find the words.”
She blows out a breath. “I know. I don’t want to wait too long though. I’m sick of having secrets. I’m sick of feeling angry and upset and guilty every time I come home.”
“Because of Mindy.”
“Yeah. At least in part. I wonder... I wonder if part of the reason I can’t let go of my anger at Mindy is because it’s easier to focus on that, rather than the real reason behind our fight.”
I rest my elbows on the table. “That makes sense. Forgiveness is hard. It’s easier to forgive strangers than the people we care about. The betrayal cuts deeper when it’s someone you love.”
She frowns. “Shit. I may have to accept that I actually love that asshole sister of mine, which means I have to forgive her, don’t I?”
“You don’t have to do anything.”
She releases a sigh, settling back in her seat.
The waitress arrives with our food and we eat in comfortable silence.
Halfway through the meal, my phone dings with a text. I glance at the message. “Sorry.” I silence the notification.
She waves a hand. “No worries.”
I slip the phone back into my pocket. “It’s just Aunt Moira, asking if I’ll be home for dinner tonight.”
“How are things going with your family?” She dips a fry in her milkshake.
“It’s been fine.” I take a big bite of my burger.
Her brows lift. “Fine? That good, huh?”
“I don’t really know how to make things better between us,” I admit.
“Have you thought about, I don’t know, talking to them?”
Humor twists my lips. “I’m not sure what to say. They aren’t doing anything wrong. I don’t want them to feel like I’m being critical.”
She taps her finger on the table. “But you’re not happy.”
I shrug. “I just want us to be closer.”
She picks up a fry and points it at me. “There. That’s it. Tell them exactly that. Ask them to hang out together more. That kind of thing.”
Nerves coil in my stomach. “Do you think it’s that simple?”
What if they don’t want to spend time with me? What if they say no? I don’t know how to ask for what I need. I’m the one who’s shut myself off from them in my attempt to be accommodating and not a heavy weight around their necks. How do I tell them the truth? It’s been too long. Am I too late?
One of her shoulders lifts in a semblance of a shrug. “You never know until you try.”
I lean toward her. “I’ll make you a deal. You talk to your family, and I’ll talk to mine.”
She smiles, the first real one she’s given me all day. “Deal.”
* * *
By the time I’m sitting down to dinner later that night, my stomach is twisted in knots.
