Page 127 of Rules

“Can you please give us a moment?”

Nobody is happy, but we let them be. Well, all except Andrew. I’m not sure if he’s left her side with the exception of those few minutes when Jeanette just fell asleep and he joined me in the hallway.

As soon as we’re outside, Mom asks: “What happened? When your dad…”

“I would like to know too.” I interrupt her, not in the mood to listen about Dad. I haven’t seen him since he left with that nurse. And while Jeanette obviously didn’t want him in her room, he could have at least waited here in the hallway. Instead, he disappeared without a word.

It pissed me off. He’s supposed to be here. He’s our dad, and he left her without a care in the world after she was in a car accident.

This time, the doctor leaves in a few short minutes, and as soon as he’s out the door, I go back inside.

Andrew is helping Jeanette sit up in the bed, rearranging the pillows so she has better support behind her back.

“What the hell happened, Anette?” I ask, not wanting to wait a second longer to find out the truth.

Her head snaps up in surprise. My tone is sharper than necessary, and she can hear it. She can see the boiling anger just underneath the surface.

Sighing, she knew this moment was coming, yet she tried to push it back as much as possible. “Sit, I’ll tell you.” Gray eyes look around the room, staying glued to every face for a few seconds. “I’ll tell you everything.”

We do as asked, both Mom and I taking a chair while Andrew sits on the edge of the bed, Jeanette’s hand clasped between his.

My stomach is uneasy, and no matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to calm down, my leg furiously patting the floor.

Her eyes find mine—for reassurance or strength, I’m not sure. My throat goes dry, and hers must be too because she clears it before she starts speaking. “It all started freshman year of high school…”

And then she tells us everything. After it all originally happened, I found out things, bits and pieces here and there that helped me glue the picture together enough to understand, but now I realize I didn’t know shit. Even after those secrets almost cost Jeanette her life, she still kept them hidden inside.

“Then, one day, while I was waiting for Max to be done with practice, I went to visit Dad at the hospital.” Back in the day, she used to do that a lot. She swore she was going to be a doctor, just like our dad. I don’t think I’ve seen her enter the hospital in years. Not until today. “And I f-found him…” She looks at Mom, her eyes glistening with unshed tears, just like our mom’s. “He was with another woman.”

There is a loud crash in the room, and until all eyes turn to look at me, I didn’t even realize I did it. I stood up, knocking down the chair in the process.

“What?”This can’t be true. Not Dad.But from the look the two of them share, I know, deep down, I know it is. “You’re wrong.” I turn to Mom. “Tell her she’s wrong.”

Mom sobs, shaking her head. Her dark hair is swaying from side to side, and for the first time, I see how disheveled she looks. I don’t remember seeing her with her hair down in years. Tears fall down her cheeks, leaving a black trail from her makeup.

And the look in her eyes… resignation. “You knew?”

“S-suspected,” she hiccups. “I suspected it for a while.”

I take a step back.Am I the only one who didn’t know? Didn’t see?

Apparently the answer to that is yes.

“And you didn’t call him out on it?”

“What was I supposed to do, Max?” she asks, wiping away the tears. “Call him on it and then throw him out?”

“Yes!” I shout back at her.

“It doesn’t work that way.”

“That’s bullshit, and you know it.” I point my finger at her. “If you had called him out on it, maybe none of this would have happened.”

She inhales sharply, like I knocked all the air out of her lungs. The guilt comes instantly, and then the shame. Rationally, I know it’s not her fault. None of us are at fault. This all is on Dad and his inability to keep his dick in his pants, but I’m angry and I need somebody to blame, so I lash out at the first person who’s in my way.

The silence that follows is almost deafening. The only thing breaking it is the sound of machines still connected to Jeanette’s body and my heavy panting.

“It’s my fault,” Jeanette whispers softly.

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