It’s only for a few days, I quickly reminded myself. You can do this.
I remained mute as my family suggested we go into the sitting room so we could “talk”. I went with them because I needed to be away from my uncle for a few moments to gather my thoughts. I was devastated over him, and ripped apart at seeing Kale, and if I didn’t leave the room soon and refocus, I feared I would have a nervous breakdown.
I was the last to enter the sitting room, so I sat on the lounge chair across from everyone else on the huge L-shaped sofa where Lochlan already sat, scowling at me. I pretended not to notice him, even though I was hyper aware of his gaze on me.
My brothers, like my mum and uncle, were fraternal twins, and they had a similar close bond, though they were the polar opposites of one another. Lochlan was temperamental, whereas Layton was calm-headed; their differences balanced them out. I greatly appreciated Layton when Lochlan got angry with me because the thing about my brother was that I could never ignore him when he was mad with me, mainly because he never let me get away with anything, which apparently had followed us into adulthood.
Everyone sat on that sofa with my pissed-off brother except Layton. He slid onto the lounge chair next to me and put his arm around me. I smiled because he was big with muscle, and his sharing the chair with me just squashed my body into his. I didn’t complain, though, I loved the closeness. I had missed this. I had missed him.
Layton was the true peacekeeper in our family, and the only reason I didn’t see eye-to-eye with him was because he didn’t like me living abroad. He feared for my safety and thought it was cruel of me to disregard my family’s concern for me. He made it clear how much he would miss me when I was away and how much he flat-out hated that I chose to live so far away, but unlike Lochlan, he brooded in the comfort of his own mind after I made it clear I couldn’t come back home. Layton suffered in silence, and he took his silence seriously, which is why we never spoke after I left, unless I was wishing a family member a happy birthday or merry Christmas.
Things were rosy right now because I was home, and my family were glad to see me, but it didn’t change the fact that we had problems. There was a reason I’d only spoken to my uncle. He was the only person who didn’t threaten me or guilt me into coming home; everyone else did with no remorse.
They didn’t understand that I needed to be away from home. They knew why I needed to be away – they just didn’t get why. My decision to leave abruptly ended day-to-day communications between us. It sucked not speaking to them. I missed them terribly, but I was just as stubborn as my family and fought their anger and hurt with my own. It resulted in a barrier of silence that only my uncle’s death had been able to break through.
I leaned my head back against Layton’s shoulder and hummed with content when he leaned his head on mine. “God,” I murmured, “I missed you, Lay.”
He kissed the crown of my head. “Missed you too, darling.”
I snuggled into him and listened to everyone as they spoke about mundane things. I made a point not to look at Kale, who was on the far end of the sofa, well away from me. I didn’t need to look at him to know he was there, though. I could feel his presence. I was always aware of when he was close by; it was like my body had a sixth sense designed specifically for him.
I glanced to the sitting room door when the blonde woman and her brunette friend I met upon entering my parents’ house walked by and out of the house, closing the door behind them.
“Who are they?” I inquired, finding it bizarre that two strangers were just walking around the house like it was nobody’s business.
Layton turned his head and said, “Samantha Wright is the brunette, and Ally Day is the blonde.”
I knew the second girl’s name – I was sure I did. I thought about it for a minute, and then like the snap of my fingers, the name clicked in my head. I blinked and stared around the room dumbly.
“Ally Day?” I quizzed. “The Ally Day who convinced me, along with her evil friend, that I was fat and ugly when I was younger . . . that Ally Day?”
Everyone froze as they looked at me.
“People change, Lane,” Layton murmured, making sure to keep his arm tightly around me, like he was afraid I would bolt. “She’s not the mean girl she was when she was a kid.”
Was that supposed to be comforting? I angrily thought.
I swallowed the sudden lump that formed in my throat. “You didn’t suffer like I did because of her and Anna O’Leary,” I said, fighting to keep composure. “I was self-conscious for a long time because of those two. Do you know how many times I wished I looked like anyone other than myself just so I could feel like a regular girl?”