Page 71 of For All It's Worth
Max squeezed my hand and drew closer to me so that he was pressed into my side.
At the movement, my mother’s eyes softened a fraction, but it wasn’t enough for me to want to put Max through more of her crap tonight. We were too new for all these pressures. We should be enjoying the honeymoon period, the discovery and joy of finally being together instead of having my family disapproving.
“Mom!” came a call over the din of the bar. “I need your help.”
Together we all turned to see Will gesturing at Mom. He threw a wink at me when she turned to repeat her brunch invitation. So, not all my family was against me being with Max.
The outside area was blissfully cool after the heat and crush of the inside and it was easy to find a free table.
“D’you want a soda?”
Max headed for the bar, leaving me for a brief second before my brother took his seat. “Sorry about Mom,” Will said. He looked truly apologetic. “I’ve been trying to get her to see things from your side. From the way Andy and I see things.”
“How do you and Andy see things?” I asked, curious. Will’s attitude had changed so much towards me since I’d left rehab.
“Y’know what? It’s a whole thing. A process I’ve worked through in therapy and I’ll save you the details, but basically, I see how you’ve always been on the outside of us looking in. Even when our father didn’t need you at the company, he still made you give up what you loved and come and work for him. You’ve never been the same since then. Of course, Alex and I didn’t make things easy with our drama. You chose me and I rejected you.”
I couldn’t help but flinch at his words. He’d nailed it all. The constant striving to be noticed.
“It doesn’t make it right, what I did with Ethan,” I told him, my voice raw.
“No, but you inadvertently saved me from him.” He paused, “Look, we’ve been over this. We can’t change it, and I’m so impressed by how you’ve tackled rehab and rebuilding your life. It hasn’t been easy, I’m sure, but you’re doing it.” He reached over and put a hand on my shoulder, giving it a quick squeeze before dropping it back onto the table.
Tears threatened to spill over and I pushed them back with serious effort. Will looked away, pretending not to notice how his words affected me.
After I cleared my throat I said, “Thank you. For giving me a second chance.”
“The way I see it, everything since you woke up in the hospital has been you taking your second chance. You didn’t need to do anything. Not rehab. Not the apologies. You could have cut your losses here and moved away. I thought about that, y’know?”
“You did?”
“Yeah. Before we got together, Andy and I hooked up a lot and I was still carrying around all my issues, so he ended it. After that, I thought about leaving, but he gave me a second chance. We all deserve them at times.”
The conversation dropped as Max came to join us.
“Listen,” Will said as he rose to stand. “I just wanted to say that I’m so glad that you two are finally together. Andy and I are so happy for you both.”
The tension on Max’s shoulders slipped away as a smile graced his face. “Thanks Will, that means a lot.”
“I’ll go get Andy and Abby so you can do gifts and then you can make your escape if you want. Can’t be easy being here for either of you.”
“That’d be great, thanks.”
Max and I sat and had our drinks under a patio heater and enjoyed the relative quiet until Henry burst through the doors with a face like thunder.
Henry saw us and quickly made his way in our direction. “I’m heading out. I just wanted you guys to know. I can’t stay here. See you later?”
We looked between ourselves and then nodded at him. “Okay. See you at the apartment.” As quickly as he’d arrived, he was gone, exiting around the side of the building rather than going through the busy bar.
A few minutes later, Andy, Will, and Abby joined us at the table. I caught Abby’s protestation, “I can’t leave Josh for long, I promised him a dance.”
“Where’s Henry?” Andy asked as he scanned the growing crowd outside.
I looked at Max, wondering if I could sugar-coat it. “Um…he left.”
Andy immediately looked disappointed, letting out a soft, “Oh.”
Noticing the frown on Will’s face, I sent a questioning glance his way.
