Hurt squeezes my chest as I absorb that. He says he loves me, but I don’t believe him. Maybe he’s right, we’re too different. Our age. Our backgrounds. We may not have a lot in common, but I know I could hold a conversation with him if he really wanted to try.
Carter mirrors that thought. “It’s a shame you’re willing to walk away from her, man. She’s a good person, a hard worker, and a great mother to Danny’s little girl. Your personal problems shouldn’t get in the way of finally getting to know her after all these years.”
All Jesse says is, “Yeah, well…”
I don’t expect him to walk out of the room until it’s too late. My glazed eyes meet his, his widening in shock as I grip my bag and stare at his pale face. “Shit. Piper—”
I hold up my hand. “You’ve said all you had to say, Jesse. But don’t you dare lie to me and say that you love me. You just feel obligated to because we have Dad’s blood running through our veins.” Rubbing my lips together, I dig through my bag and see Ren come out of the room from the corner of my eye. I pull out two tickets, passing one to them each. “Come to the commencement ceremony or don’t. At this point, I really don’t care. I’ve had enough of half-assed love in my lifetime. I don’t need yours.”
Ren frowns as Jesse’s eyes dull. I’m surprised to see hurt. It’s almost as if he does care in some way. Or maybe he just hates knowing I called him on his bullshit. Either way, I meant what I said. I’m done.
Carter walks out and stands behind them, sympathy edged into his features. I ignore him and look at my brother and his wife, suddenly wishing I’d just gone home. Anywhere but here to share the good news. “Before you act like the other half of my blood that we don’t share is bad, you should probably remember who gave you a roof over your head and food in your stomach. You can say that we’re different and have nothing in common that connects us, but we both come from a good home with good values. My mom might not be yours, but she’s never treated you like that. You were never grateful for that and it showed. And for what it’s worth, I’m sorry that you lost your mother and sister. But I know what it’s like to lose somebody. We could have leaned on each other. Connected that way. Grieved. Mourned. Instead, you chose to make me an outcast in your life.”
I look to Ren. “And you. I’m sorry that you’re struggling to have kids. You can hate me all you want, make excuses as to why you can’t come to dinner that I got up way too early to make, and avoid me at all costs. In fact, throw away that ticket before you leave campus if that’s what you want. But you don’t know me, so you can’t make any assumptions about how easy I must have it to be a twenty-something-year-old mother who had to drop everything. I wasn’t prepared. I made sacrifices. I’ve cried myself to sleep and tortured my liver with alcohol when shit got tough. But Carter is right. I survived. Danny counted on me to make sure his baby girl has a good life, and I can’t have toxic people in it if this is how they act.”
She blinks back tears as I step away. I have nothing more to say to them. If I even try opening my mouth again, I’ll break. I can feel the beginning of tears well in my eyes, and I refuse to let them see me fall apart. Not here. Not now.
I turn on my heel and ignore Carter calling out my name. He defended me and I’m thankful for that. Nothing will make how my brother feels about me any better though.
When I lock myself in my car, I ignore the burning tears that want to fall. I focus on how beautiful the day is, how the snow is gone, the sun is out, and the temperature is warm enough to wear long sleeves outside without a jacket.
There are no more snow squalls.
No more ice.
It’s a good day despite my brother.
When I park my car in my driveway at home, a crushing weight rests on my chest. I struggle to breathe when the sound of fresh air