Page 118 of Bodybuilders for the BBW

“New year, new you? No, you’re reverting back to the same damn patterns.”

“Mandie…” Mum growled.

“No, it's gotta be said.” Mandie crossed her arms. “When’s the last time you did a shift at the shelter?”

“Well, I?—”

I didn’t get to reply, because that just got in the way of her making her point.

“You’ve stopped going to the gym. You’re doing the same thing you always do. Your life is always uprooted, changed to fit around his, or in this case, theirs. Firies have to fight fires. Nurses have to help people heal.”

“You’ve finally stopped calling him a murse.” I tried to smile, but they both just stood there, perfectly impassive. “Look, they were up front with me from the start. The whole polyam thing? That’s their way of dealing with the situation.” I watched them shift and it was like the axe was being drawn back, leaving me powerless to do anything other than stare up at the sharp blade. “With the way their jobs work, they can’t commit to being anyone’s boyfriend full time.”

“Katie…” Mum’s hands went to my shoulders, giving them a squeeze, as that would help get me through this.

“But between the three of them, they’ll work it out so I’m never left in the lurch. Someone will always be there to take me out, be with me. It might not be the person I made plans with, but who cares, right? They treat me so much better than Dave ever did.”

“Baby.”

Mum wrapped her arms around me and she held me tight, but rather than being comforting, I felt like I was suffocating.

“Katie, I don’t know why the fuck it always ends up this way. You are smart, so much smarter than me.” Mandie couldn’t have hurt me more if she grabbed a knife from the sink and stabbed it into my back. “You’re way more organised, caring, sweet, funny.”

“Thanks, I guess?”

My reply was muffled by Mum’s shoulder.

“But I didn’t bring my daughter up to be satisfied for one third of a person.” Mum’s tone made it seem like she was pulling her punches, but she wasn’t. “Not when she deserves someone who’s prepared to give her their whole heart, the way she always does when she cares about them.”

I couldn’t bear this for one more second. We’d come here in good faith, and somehow this turned into an intervention? My hands went to Mum’s shoulders and I pushed myself free, my face feeling red raw as I sucked in a breath.

“I…” This was where I came up with a snappy retort, where I made clear how wrong they were. “I…” My throat worked, words forming and then fading, unspoken. “I…” My eyes shifted sideways, grateful to stare at anything but them, only to land on Mum’s apple pie. Golden crust, dusted with sugar, the sweet scent of stewed apples had my guts roiling. My mouth filled with saliva, making clear what I had to do. “I need to go.”

Without thinking about the guys for a second, I snatched my keys off the side table and then strode towards the front door. My name echoed throughout the house, but I didn’t let their shouts stop me. Bronson kept pace, his doggy smile the only bright point. I should’ve gone back to the guys, slid into the space between Rhys and Garrett, and rescued them from whatever inquisition Dad was putting them through.

But I didn’t.

I couldn’t take a full breath until I was walking down the driveway, so I sucked them in noisily. It was like I’d finally gone running on the treadmill. My chest was tight, my heart pounding.

But why?

My family was protective. They’d grilled every guy that I brought around and they would again. Their love for me made clear that they wouldn’t just welcome them with open arms. There was a willingness to get to know any guy in my life, to judge him on his merits, but if he didn’t meet their perilously high standards, they’d stay polite, but I’d know that they didn’t think he was good enough for me. With Dave, that made sense. With any of the other guys I’d dated. I opened my car door and Bronson scrambled in, sitting in the passenger side seat, shooting me a doggy grin. But this time…

This time I finally, finally thought I’d found guys that were good enough to earn their approval.

My hands wrapped around the steering wheel, and that’s when I heard the sound of the front door opening. I shoved the keys in the ignition, turning on the engine, because I needed to get the fuck away. Mum and Mandie had made their point, but I was done talking about it. There was no way to process it, not when my head felt like it was stuffed with cotton wool. Everything was speeding up and slowing down at the same time, which meant I probably shouldn’t have been driving. Perhaps that’s why Rhys appeared by my window.

“Katie?” He took me, the car, Bronson, then my shaking hands in before yanking the back door open. “Shove over, bro,” he told the dog when he came to sit in the middle and stared through the gap, Bronson desperately trying to lick his face. “What’s up? Did that not go well? Everyone seemed cool. A lot cooler than the last girl’s parents we met. Let's just say they weren’t as progressive…”

As his voice trailed away, I looked in the rear vision mirror and saw his eyes staring back. That look of concern, it broke something in me, smashing it to pieces when his hand went to the back of my neck. Small, soothing strokes, it was the same kind of thing I’d use when one of the animals was distressed. Turns out it was effective, because with each caress, the tears were summoned forward.

“I need to go.” That was torn from me. “I need to get the fuck away from here. Bronson?—”

“Move over, boy.” Rhys was out of the backseat and waving the dog into it before opening my door for me. “I’ll get you out of here, babe. We don’t have to spend a second more in this house, not if you don’t want to, but I’m gonna drive and you.” He produced a clean handkerchief with a flourish. “Are going to dry your eyes and tell me what the hell went down in the kitchen.”

I blinked up at him, catching the way the streetlight turned his sandy hair to white blond and found myself smiling despite the tears.

“You had me at move over.”

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