Floored - Karla Sorensen Page 0,72

"Oh wow, so we get to meet the whole family?"

My stomach dropped out when my parents stood from the table in the back, regarding us warily as we approached.

I glared at Lewis, who held up his hands. "Jude, Mum told me what happened when you stopped by. It's past time you three have a decent conversation."

"And you thought tonight was the best time for it?" I hissed. I waved my hand at Lia and Isabel, who were standing by the bar, waiting to approach my parents until I was with them. "I'm not in the mood, Lewis."

He raised his eyebrows slowly. "Are you ever? I thought with her here, maybe you'd actually manage to be polite, and if they were expecting to see you, they could attempt the same." He shook his head. "You're all so bloody stubborn it makes me sick."

Slicking my tongue over my teeth, I tried to breathe through what their unexpected presence did to my mood.

Lia gave me a sympathetic smile when I slid my hand up her back.

"Sorry about this," I told her.

"Don't apologize to me. I wouldn't mind getting to know your family better, but …" Her voice trailed off as she gave my parents a quick glance under her lashes. "I don't know if this is the best way to do it."

Isabel looked between us. "What am I missing?"

"You're about to find out," I exhaled. "Come on, might as well get it over with."

Lewis muttered something to my parents, and my dad gave him a tight nod.

My father looked older, just as my mum had, and he gave me the same nod he'd just given my brother. "Jude. Nice to see you."

My mum was staring wide-eyed at Lia's stomach. There was no part of her even attempting to hide it.

"Dad, Mum." I motioned to Isabel with my free hand, the other was occupied by holding Lia's like she was a bloody life preserver. "Isabel is here from the States. She's Lia's sister. Mum, you remember Lia."

She nodded, giving Lia a small smile. "Hello again. It's ... it's nice to see you."

Lia smiled back, her hand reaching up to rub her stomach. I'd seen her do it so many times but never had I been so aware of it. For her, it was probably a comfort, to be able to reach down and feel that warm curve of flesh as I'd done all the times we'd been in bed together.

My dad's forehead wrinkled when he watched her. "I was working when you two stopped by the other day. Lewis thought we should make a trip down and try to ... talk."

Isabel and Lia pulled out heavy wooden chairs, and I did the same once Lia was seated to my right. Upon sitting, she slid her hand over my thigh and squeezed. Isabel looked at Lewis. "A pint would be great."

"Of course. Would you care to see our tap list?"

"Nope. Just ... any kind will be perfect."

I looked away, a feeling of shame coating every part of my skin. On the drive here, they'd been all warmth and ease.

And then there was my family. Dysfunction and discomfort.

My dad whispered something to my mum before he met my gaze. "How was your match tonight? Did you win?"

Lia blew out a slow breath as Isabel hastily grabbed the beer Lewis brought back for her. I inhaled slowly, then exhaled even more slowly. It didn't help.

"No. We got our arse kicked."

Mum frowned, and Dad looked away. Lia's hand squeezed on my leg again, and I looked over at her.

“Try,” she mouthed. “Please.”

For the first time since I met Lia, I was furious at her. She was asking me for something without any bloody idea of how much it might cost me. But that was the point, wasn't it? She had no idea because I'd never told her.

It deflated most of the fiery righteousness that fueled my anger. But the frustration, the underlying sense of uselessness didn't dissipate. Maybe because it wasn't fire. It wasn't hot, something that could be stoked and tended.

What I'd been feeling all day was more like a fog. Murky. Dark. Everywhere.

Nothing you could touch, but it absolutely swamped the senses.

Fire could be extinguished, but fog ... it had the ability to destroy everything in its path if you didn't watch carefully enough.

I swallowed, laid my hand over hers, and looked up at my parents.

"This may surprise you," I said lightly, "but football is actually the last thing I'd like to talk about right now."

My