Page 53 of Unwanted
“It’s fine, Aubrey. It was a long time ago and–”
“You were so thin,” Aubrey cut Verity off, his eyes blazing with fury again. “So very,verythin.” He cleared his throat and swallowed, a sheen of wet over his eyes for a moment before he blinked them away. My chest tightened and there was a low ringing in my ears.
“What year was this?” I asked, my voice harsher than I intended, causing everyone to flinch.
“It’s fine, Harry,” Verity said in a placating tone, but I wasn’t willing to let it go.
“What. Year?”
She sighed. “I think I was fifteen? So the start of Year 10?”
“Jesus Christ.” I pushed back my chair in a sudden movement and stood up. Everyone’s attention was on me now. “So, you sat with meevery weekin the library, and I never once asked you why you’d lost weight? I remember you didn’t look right that term. You didn’t smile as much, and you were sososkinny. But did I once ask you what the matter was? No of course I didn’t.” I slashed my hand through the air and started pacing the floor. “Of course, I just assumed you were on some sort of crazy posh girl fad diet. I was too self-obsessed to see past the end of my own nose, pastmyproblems. Too angry with you for being beautiful and popular and everything I wasn’t.”
Verity was on her feet now and rounded me to stop my pacing, taking both of my hands in hers. “You sat with me in the library,” she said. “You let me rest my head on your shoulder. You read meA Game of ThronesandTheLord of the Ringsbooks. You made me feel safe. You gave me peace. Please don’t blame yourself for not knowing. I wasn’t ready to tell anyone that. Even if you’d asked, I wouldn’t have been able to be open about it. The only reason the Hardcastles knew anything is because we needed their help, but we hid the worst from even them. Between the school and them we were okay. Really, we were, Harry.”
I grunted in disagreement. “You weren’t okay that summer, were you?”
She looked over at Heath, who had also risen from his chair and was hovering in the background, ready to come over to us if his sister needed him. “No,” she said quietly. “No, we weren’t okay that summer.” I released her hands then mine went up to cup her face before I rested my forehead on hers and let out a deep breath. “But we’re okay now. It’s over now.”
“You’re damn bloody right it’s over now,” I said in a fierce tone. “I just wish that back then I–”
“You’ve got to let it go,” Verity whispered. “Honestly, they’re not worth your anger now. You were seventeen, Harry. Give yourself a break.”
“I wasn’t seventeen when I behaved like a total bastard this time around though was I?”
Verity moved her head back slightly so she could study my face. Her hands came up to my wrists and she gave both a light squeeze. “Harry, I think we’ve established that you’ve more than made up for some callous behaviour you demonstrated before you had all the facts. And let’s not forget, I didn’t exactly make it easy for you.”
I closed my eyes briefly before giving her a short nod, then I slid my hands from her face to catch hers in mine, tugging her back towards her family (it was clear to me now that her family included the Hardcastles). When we were all settled back at the table I turned to Fern and Aubrey.
“What you did for Verity…” I trailed off and glanced to the side, before giving my head a quick shake and turning back to them. “It might not be my place to say it, but thank you. Thank you for seeing what I didn’t and acting on it.”
Fern cleared her throat and shifted on her chair uncomfortably. “Well, anyone else would have done the same.” She was clearly going for a brisk tone, but her voice was just a little shaky and hoarse, and the unshed tears in her eyes told another story.
“Yes,” Aubrey said in a gruff tone, laying his hand over his wife’s in her lap. “They were great kids. Still are… most of the time.”
“He’s right though,” Verity said in a soft tone. “We really needed help then and actually nobody elsewaswilling to step in. I can’t tell you how much it meant to us.” Verity reached across the table to lay her hand over Aubrey’s arm and give it a squeeze. Heath, who was next to Fern, put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her in for a side hug whilst kissing her temple. Fern cleared her throat again, too British to allow any tears to escape.
“Right,” she said in her not-quite-brisk-enough-to-be-convincing tone, “that’s enough ofthat. I need to check on my Yorkshires.” Off she bustled then to the oven but not before she patted my shoulder on her way past, which I was guessing was about as affectionate as she got.
“Well, I think this family’s bloody brilliant too,” Mia said, her voice also shaky with emotion. “And I count you Markhams in with that as well. I wouldn’t have survived without you all and now I have Max and Sophie and… well… I’m pregnant again!”
“Oh my God!” Yaz cried, her chair flying back as she rounded the table to hug a now crying Mia. Everyone moved to Mia and Max then, the Yorkshires that Fern was supposed to be checking on long forgotten. Verity leaned into my side and let out a happy sigh, but her body tensed as a now also tearful Yaz pulled back from Mia and shouted, “Well, I’m only bloody well pregnant too! I told you that crystal I gave you last month was powerful.”
I felt Verity suck in a shocked breath, glanced down at her and saw her mouth drop open. “Oh my God,” she whispered, her gaze flew to Heath who was smiling at Yaz and shaking his head.
“Yaz, darling,” he said. “I thought we were going to wait to– oomph!” Heath was cut off by a Verity-shaped missile. She’d launched herself from my arms into his and nearly caused his chair to topple backwards with the force of her hug.
“Hey, V,” Heath muttered as his arms came around his sister. “You okay there?”
She pulled back to look at him, an almost fierce expression on her face. “I’m so fucking happy for you,” she said. “You deserve this. All of this.”
“I know, sis,” he said in a soft voice. “We both do. You know that, right?” He glanced at me as Verity tore out of his arms and then threw herself at Yaz who was taken back a step.
“Wow, V,” Yaz huffed out in a surprised tone. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you quite so huggy. Maybe I’m rubbing off on you.”
Verity released Yaz so she could stare at her with that same fierce expression she’d worn with her brother.
“Thank you,” she said. “I can’t tell you what it means to… just, thank you. I’ll be the best fucking auntie you’ve ever seen.”
