I raise my eyebrows. “Okay?”
He nods. I think he grumbles something under his breath about it not being fair, but I don’t ask him to elaborate.
We sit together in silence for a minute, and I can feel his anger dissipating. Our arms are still touching, but it doesn’t feel awkward like I thought it would. It feels like sitting with a longtime friend. Even though it’s the end of one relationship, it’s the beginning of another that feels…right.
“Can I give you a hug?” he asks.
“Of course,” I say. He wraps me up, the familiarity of his embrace comforting me. But it’s never given me butterflies, which is what I hope to feel when I see Ryan again.
I’m so relieved we’re ending on this note. We still love each other, but it won’t be a forced romantic love that shouldn’t have been there in the first place. I’m actually impressed with how mature Zach is acting.
“Can you tell my parents?” he asks.
And…there’s the Zach I know.
“How about we tell them together?” I say with a smile. He should be man enough to do it himself, but his parents are like family to me, too.
But as I walk up the stairs to the living room, it turns out they already heard Zach’s exclamation and are waiting for me. Mike has his hands in his pockets, and Julie looks at me with puppy-dog eyes.
“I’m so sorry,” I say to them. “I wish I’d been brave enough to say something sooner. But?—”
Julie shakes her head, cutting me off. “It’s okay, hon. We’ll figure it out.” She holds her arms out, and I let her hug me, another weight lifted off my shoulders.
Now I have to face what I’ve been most worried about: my parents.
CHAPTER 40
Claire
I don’t thinkI’ve ever been so nervous about going to my parents’ house. Then again, I’ve never done anything that would make them upset. Well, there was that time when I got into a fender bender one week after getting my driver’s license. That time, they were pretty upset but kept their cool and helped me figure out what the next steps were.
This time, I think I’m going to break their hearts.
“Hey, guys,” I call as I enter the front door and kick off my shoes.
My mom pops out of the laundry room. “Claire? What are you doing here?”
Oh, nothing. Simply shattering your dreams and bringing misery upon your day.“Just wanted to say hi, have a quick chat. Is Dad around?”
“He’s in the backyard. I’ll go get him.” She leaves me for a minute.
This is so awkward. Standing around, waiting for them to come, my heart nearly explodes in my chest. I will myself to steady my breaths so my voice doesn’t come out all shaky. It’s hard, feeling so certain of my decision, yet uneasy about sharing it with the people I love.
Is this how Annie felt? Is this why she just ran instead of having the hard conversation?
I won’t lie—it’s tempting to just run away from everything and start over somewhere else. Away from my parents, away from Zach and Mike and Julie. I’d want Ryan there, of course, but who knows how he feels about me right now.
But no. I need to be brave and face the consequences, and in this case, that means boldly telling my parents what I’ve decided. Instead of disappearing, like Annie, I can hope to avoid completely damaging our relationship. Maybe they won’t understand, but at least we can have mutual respect for each other.
That’s the goal, after all. Respect. Love. Peace in the family.
I remind myself of these things as I watch my parents enter the foyer. Their worried glances tell me they know this isn’t an ordinary hangout.
“Let’s sit down,” I say, gesturing to the living room. My parents follow me to their couches, and they sit on one together while I sit in the armchair.
“What’s going on, hon?” Dad asks.
I inhale, then let out the words. “I need to talk to you guys about the wedding.”
