Page 68 of The Rules We Broke
She asked if I’d come read to the kids on Friday.
I said yes, eagerly.
Sometimes, the best cure for feeling sorry for yourself is doing something kind for someone else.
And admittedly, I felt pretty sorry for myself.
If my aunt weren’t in the hospital, I’d probably be hosting a full-blown pity party for me, myself, and I. To be honest, it still might make the evening’s agenda.
My aunt was alert when I walked into the room. Still fragile, but better. Her cheeks had a little color now—the blush of fight returning.
The doctor said she’d move to a regular room tomorrow. Maybe home by the weekend. I held on to that.
A large floral arrangement caught my eye. White roses, spray roses, oriental lilies, and alstroemerias. It was breathtaking.
“Who sent the flowers?”
“That Jackson boy,” she rasped.
Of course they were from him. He needed to stop being wonderful. It wasn’t helping.
“Are you ever going to call him Brady?”
She narrowed her eyes at me. “Do I have a good reason to?”
“Other than the fact that he has a first name, and he’s not a boy anymore?”
“It’ll take more than that, sugar.”
Fine. I didn’t want to talk about him anyway.
“Are you alone today, Ella Lu?”
Apparently, the universe had other plans. “Yep. Always and forever, it looks like.” Dramatic? Yes. Honest? Also yes.
I sat beside her and held her hand. Her eyes softened, worried.
“What happened?”
“Nothing.”
“You’re not a very good liar, Ella Lu.”
“That’s not true. I lied to you for over a whole year once, remember? And I’ve never stopped being sorry for it. I paid for breaking the rules.”
Her gaze steadied.
“Ella Lu, I’m sorry I made you lie.”
I leaned back.“What?”
“You heard me,” she said, her voice tender but certain. “I never should’ve made that rule. It wasn’t fair to you—or that Jackson boy.”
“In the end, you were right. I should’ve stayed away from him.”
“Sugar, what happened last night?”
“Oh, just years of pent-up emotion finally erupted.”
