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“Then help me hone my skills instead of pushing me away. Show me you believe in me and you trust my work. A work, I must add, I did very well at, without you goons holding my hand every step of the way. I know. Shocker.” Her sarcasm cut deep, but her hurt was way worse.
Heavy silence surrounded us for a few moments before Mia resumed in such a tired tone that it made me feel even more like a jerk. “You know what the problem is? We all lived together for far too long.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ll never regret living with you, Benny. Don’t get me wrong. Having you as a brother was a gift. But I think...I think growing up as closely as we all did was supposed to make you value me and truly know me. Instead, it made you both disrespect me. You two still force me into this frame of the helpless kid,” she scoffed. “As if I’d ever been one. You blaming me for what Michael did decades ago is a low blow, Zachary.”
“I’m not blaming you,” he retorted, although without conviction.
“Aren’t you? Because it seems to me you’re implying things could’ve been different if I weren’t so defenseless. This is how you see me. How you both see me. As someone you need to take care of. Someone who needs guidance in every little thing.” She placed her hands on her hips and hung her head in defeat. “I feel like the only one who truly sees me as someone who has something good to say is Danny. I’ve spent my whole life living with you two, yet he’s respected me more in the years we worked together than you ever did my whole life. I think growing up together made you entitled to disregard me.”
Zach tried to justify our wrongs. “We worry because you’re our little sister.”
“That doesn’t make it okay to dismiss me so easily. We started this company together because I believed you trusted my abilities. I believed you saw something in me I could bring to the table.”
“We started the company with you because you asked us to.” It would’ve probably hurt her less if Zach slapped her in the face. “No, that came out wrong.”
“So all this,” she waved her arms around, indicating the building, “is what? You indulging me? Playing with the little sister until she takes a nap? Why are you here if you don’t believe in this?”
“I do. I think it was a great idea, and I love working with you. I worry, though. I have good reason to be worried. You’re my little sister, and taking care of you is something I’ll always do.”
“I love you, Zach. I do. But once, just once, I wish you didn’t treat me like a sister. If you’re just trying to appease me, indulge me on this: for just one time, don’t be my big brother. Don’t think of me as your little sister. Think of me as a co-worker. A partner. Someone you do business with. Just for once, forget I’m your little sister and look at me like someone you could bring yourself to trust and respect.” She choked on the last words, turned on her wheels, and headed out, shaking her head.
After throwing us a disapproving glare, Danny followed her.
“She isn’t wrong,” I uttered.
“I can’t risk losing her.” He sounded as defeated as he looked.
“Why do you think she can’t handle things? She did prove once, and time and again, she’s way smarter than all of us combined.”
“I know. She’s also proved she’d do whatever it takes for us. Even if that means putting herself in the eye of the storm. I can’t let that happen. Because this storm is way bigger than anything we’ve ever faced. I fear she’ll get herself into a situation where she needs to decide if she’ll save one of us or herself. We both know what she’ll choose.”
“Maybe it won’t come to that,” I retorted weakly.
“Those guys are capable of anything. If they found out already she’s the one they’re looking for, then her head is already wanted.”
At that moment, I changed the course of our lives. I could blame it on my exhaustion. I could say it was a result of my desperation. No matter the motivator, I was about to ruin my family. My ultimate betrayal of one of the people I loved the most would cost me more than I was able to afford.
“What if they thought it was you?”
Teddy’s first Thanksgiving came and went too soon. We gathered once again at Rosie and Jackson’s for dinner. Even Sofia, Danny, and his mother, Sonia, joined us. Gabe and Fee played with Hugo as Teddy kicked his legs in excitement. All the grown-ups who weren’t babysitting participated in making dinner. There was chatter, laughter, and so much love surrounding us.
However, there was also underlying hurt. I wasn’t sure what had happened between the guys. All Ben said was that Mia and Zach got into a fight, something he’d never seen before, and he didn’t know how to fix it. To make matters worse, Danny and Ben took sides in the whole situation: Danny joined Mia, while Ben sided with Zach.
They were mindful not to make the day awkward, though. Mia and Zach played with the kids (separately), made jokes (not with each other), and behaved the whole day. There was no denying the strain between them, though, which was heartbreaking.
Even Rosie and Jackson didn’t know what to do. It was as foreign a situation to them as it was for everyone else.
I knew it wasn’t easy for Zach and Mia. Since I met them, one of the things I admired (and envied) the most about them was how easy and loving their relationship was. Their sad eyes were proof of how much they were hurting. The fact that they were putting it aside so we could all enjoy that day was an indication of how selfless they were.
The first snowfall greeted us. Nothing major, just enough to make us wear our heavy winter coats and smell Christmas approaching. Holy Water went all out on decoration. It was something out of a movie.
The snow added to the whole picturesque scenario, and people seemed even more welcoming than usual. On the main street, every single building and business place was decorated. Garlands hang over doors. Ornaments, angels, and wreaths framed the windows. Colorful lights illuminated the streets. Everyone who passed us by wished us Merry Christmas, even though it was early December.
Ben promised me we’d decorate our place during the weekend, and I couldn’t wait. It was Teddy’s first Christmas, and our first one as a family. I wanted it to be memorable. I was already splurging on decorations and little presents to display under the tree. It should be a holiday like Ben and I never experienced. After we started our tradition, we’d go to Rosie and Jackson’s to perpetuate the one they already had going on.
I was counting down the days. I just hoped everything would be peaceful again until then.
