Beautifully Angelic - Charity Parkerson Page 0,5

invisible. He raised his bed a little higher, reminding everyone he was right here and could hear every word they said. “Do you care to hear my side of things?”

Jessie shoved past Declan. Declan took a seat and crossed his arms over his chest—like he had given up and closed himself off from the room. Ezra was grateful for that. He didn’t need any more eyes upon him. Jessie’s angry stare was enough.

“Let’s hear it, then,” Jessie barked.

Ezra’s gaze slid Theo’s way. Theo was the only one who looked understanding, so Ezra looked at him as he spoke. “I guess I got kind of depressed after Christmas. You two had just gotten married and I didn’t want to bug you about it.”

“You got married,” Declan said, obviously finding a reason to finally lose his patience. “You got married and didn’t tell me.”

Ezra fought the urge to remind Declan of his earlier boast about having ears and eyes inside Jessie’s house even when he was out of town. It didn’t seem like he knew all the goings-on after all. Jessie and Theo had secretly gotten married in Ezra’s living room. Declan hadn’t known that one, so ha.

Jessie waved off Declan’s words. “Yeah. Don’t get mad. We’re doing a big wedding later. I just needed some privacy and time alone with Theo after rehab. We’re not talking about me right now.” Jessie focused on Ezra. “Go on.”

Since he looked calm now, Ezra focused on him. “Starving myself wasn’t a purposeful thing. I was happy for you and all. I was just sad for my own reasons.” He felt Declan’s stare as it settled on him. Ezra didn’t want to keep talking, but he did. Declan didn’t deserve to know his final rejection had broken Ezra “At first, I just didn’t feel like eating because I was depressed. I kept thinking it would pass, but it didn’t. Instead, my thoughts just kept getting darker. No one was calling. Not my friends or job offers. So my thoughts kept churning, telling me I’m not good enough. That I’m alone. Then I started wondering if I really am getting fat and if no one cares about me because I’m ugly and unappealing. I don’t know how these things grow. It just grew, turning into a vicious cycle. I wasn’t hungry, so I didn’t eat. My appetite would re-emerge and then my brain would remind me that was why no one called. Then I’d lose my appetite again.”

Theo sat on the foot of the bed and rubbed Ezra’s leg. “Oh, babe. I’m so sorry I didn’t text or call while we were gone. You know I’m not used to having a phone, but that’s no excuse.”

A hot tear rolled down Ezra’s cheek. He swiped it away. “It’s not your fault. It’s no one’s fault. I told you, I’m messed up in the head. That’s no one’s problem but mine. I need to learn to live with being unwanted. That’s not on anyone but me.”

Jessie swiped a hand through the air, as if calling an end to Ezra’s bullshit. “We deal with this as a family. You’re coming home with me until you’re fixed again.”

Ezra’s chest nearly caved at the idea of living under Jessie’s roof, watching Declan sneaking men from the house. Another tear sneaked out. “No.” The word choked him, but he couldn’t back down. “You just got married. It’s time to focus on yourself. I’d prefer to do this alone.” No witnesses.

Jessie wasn’t backing down. “You’re not doing this alone. I’m sorry, but no. This is one of those times I can’t let you have your way. You’ve already proven you can’t be trusted to be left to your own devices.”

“I’ll stay with him.”

Ezra’s eyes fell closed as Declan’s voice cut through Jessie’s lecture.

Declan’s voice grew stronger. “He needs to learn to do better without the pressure of failing you every second of the day. So I’ll stay with him at his place. You know you can trust me to watch out for him.”

Ezra looked to Theo for help. Theo was the only one in the room who understood why Declan could not come stay under Ezra’s roof. He was the only one who knew Ezra was in love with Declan while Declan decidedly did not love him back.

Theo looked helpless as he tried interjecting on Ezra’s behalf. “Maybe Ezra should have the final say in this. He won’t get better if he’s chaffing against the process.”

Ezra flashed him a grateful smile. It disappeared