Page 80 of Dearly Unbeloved
So I nod my head—ouch. “Thank you,” I say, and trynot to put too much stock in the look of relief that crosses Sierra’s face.
“Perfect, it’s settled,” Jazz says, clapping her hands and immediately apologizing when I flinch at the noise. “Between us, this is probably for the best. He’ll never admit it, but I think Liam’s a little scared of your rabbits ever since the big one grabbed his wallet from his pocket and ran away with it, thinking it was food.”
“And yet, you volunteered him to look after them,” Xan says, rolling his eyes.
“It’s Liam. We all know he would’ve volunteered himself if he was here instead of trying to give usfamily time. I bet he’s hovering around outside, right?” Jazz asks, and Sierra nods.
“Yep.”
“You know, that’s a great point, Jazz. This is supposed to befamily time,” my dad says, with a pointed look at Sierra. Her face falls.
Absolutely fucking not. As far as I know, they don’t even know we’re not together anymore. They’re probably blaming her for the fact that I haven’t been speaking to them lately. But I won’t sit by and pretend to be okay with my parents talking down to her.
“I’d like you to leave.”
My mom gives Sierra a smug look, and I see red.
“Not Sierra. Mom, Dad—I don’t know who called you, but I don’t want you here, and I’m not going to let you talk to Sierra like that. All you ever do is make me feel like shit, and I’m usually better at hiding it, but I alreadyfeel like shit and?—”
“Rose!” They both stare at me in horror.
“No. I’m not arguing. I want you to leave. And please don’t try to reach out to me. I’ll be in touch when I’m ready to talk,ifI’m ready to talk.” Once I start, I can’t seem to stop myself.
Everyone is silent. My parents and Xan look like I’ve shocked the hell out of them. Jazz looks impressed. I don’t let myself look at Sierra for more than a second, but it’s long enough to see that she looks proud.
My mom recovers first. “You don’t get to kick us out and decide you’re not talking to us. We’re your parents, Rose.”
“I’m an adult. I can do what I want, actually, and I’m tired of feeling like we’ve made some kind of progress as a family, just for you to slip back into your usual ways. Go. Please. Or I’ll ask someone to escort you out.”
Something in my tone must convince them I’m serious, because their chairs scrape as they get up to leave. I wince as the sound sends a sharp pain through my head.
“Shit, Rose,” Jazz says, her eyebrows sky-high. “That was… Wow. Amazing. Seriously.”
“Are you okay?” Xan asks, his voice softer.
I nod and instantly regret it. Fuck, I’m sore. “I’m fine. I just… God, it’s been a day.” It’s been a week. Hell, a month. At some point, I’m going to have to deal with my parents. I have to decide if they have a place in my life, and, no matter what, I need to make sure Xan and Jazz aren’t going anywhere. But not today.
“Of course. You must be exhausted. We’ll leave you to sleep.”
Jazz reaches over to squeeze my hand, and she and Xan head toward Sierra, who’s still hovering in the doorway.
“I’d like Sierra to stay.” I brace myself for the blow of her declining, but she doesn’t. Her eyes widen, but something like relief flickers on her face.
“Of course.” She walks slowly across the room and sits on the edge of the chair Xan was using, right by the bed. Up close, I can see more clearly how rough she looks. Her lips are bitten raw, her eyes bloodshot. She’s still wearing her collar.Fuck.
“How are you feeling?”
What a loaded question. I know she probably means because of the explosion, but there’s something in her expression that makes me think she’s talking in general.
“I’m tired, and everything hurts, but I survived.”
Sierra bites her lip. “Imogen said you refused to leave until you got everyone else out of the room.”
I force my lips into a twisted smile that hurts more than it should. “No one can accuse me of not being a team player now. I definitely earned that promotion.”
For all our differences, Sierra and I share the same sense of humor, so I expect at least a little laugh out of her, but horror crosses her face. “Is that why you did it? You risked your life to prove you’re a team player?”
“No, no,” I assure her, toying with how much to say. “When everything exploded, I blacked out, and when I woke up, I only had a split second to decide how to handle it. I looked around the room at my colleagues, and all I could think was that they were worth saving. I’ve spent so much time with everyone over the past few months thatI know too much about them. And I actually like them.” Turns out being social isn’t so bad when my parents aren’t in my ear telling me everyone is my competition.
