Page 73 of Snowed In
“Hey,” Aidan says sharply, and Hannah’s gaze bounces between the two of them as if suddenly aware she’s bang smack in the middle of everything.
“I never said I wasn’t,” Megan says, but Sophie doesn’t seem to hear her.
“And now you waltz back home like nothing ever happened. Like you didn’t disappear without a word.”
“I tried to get in touch with you.”
“Yeah, months later,” she mutters, crossing her arms.
Jason clears his throat. “Okay,” he says mildly. “Why don’t we take a breather? We’ve all been drinking and—”
“I haven’t,” Megan and Sophie say at the same time.
“Well, I have, and I need some fresh air,” he says.
“Or maybe we can just finish the game,” Cormac says tiredly, picking up Sophie’s cue stick. “Soph, come on. It’s your turn.”
“You could have told me what was wrong,” Sophie says, ignoring him, but Megan shakes her head, standing from my lap.
“You would have talked me back into it.”
“Into marrying the love of yourlife?”
“He wasn’t the—”
“And you don’t know what I would have done,” she continues. “Not that that matters anymore.”
“Guys—” Cormac tries again at the same time Jason looks over at us.
“Maybe you two should go.”
I don’t like that. Neither, as it turns out, does Aidan.
“They don’t have to go anywhere,” he says, as I stand by Megan’s side. “And can you stop ganging up on my sister?” he asks Sophie, who falters under his stern gaze.
Now it’s Cormac’s turn to look mad. “Don’t speak to her like that.”
“Don’t treat Megan like she killed the guy.”
“We’re not.”
“You are,” Aidan snaps back. “Maybe she was right to leave him, Soph, ever think of that? Maybe she didn’t marry him because he’s a boring, self-righteous dickhead, who wouldn’t know a joke if it laughed in his face.” He takes a pointed swig of his beer as Sophie turns the full force of her glare on him, a glare he only smirks at.
“You don’t even know him,” she says.
“He was at my house every day for ten years. I think I did.”
“He’s a good guy.”
“What an incredible endorsement. Write it on my tombstone.”
The two of them stare at each other, something flashing in Aidan’s eyes before Sophie turns back around, looking like she’s about to lose it.
“Okay. Look.” Cormac steps in front of us as if to physically block his sister’s view of Megan, but that just riles everyone up further. And I’m wondering just how much yelling will be allowed before we’re all kicked out when three things happen at once.
Across the table, Jason, bored of waiting for the game to resume, fumbles his shot and knocks over an errant beer bottle balanced on the ledge of the table. The resulting smash is enough to draw everyone’s attention, and Cormac whips around to see the commotion, bringing the two sticks he’s holding with him. One narrowly avoids Megan’s forehead as I tug her back, and I’m so focused on her that I don’t see the other one until it’s too late.
She gasps as the heavy wood connects with my face, and for a split second, I hover in that gray area between impact and pain.
