Blake opens and closes his mouth a few times before he speaks. “Look, it wasn’t my story to tell, and I assumed they had their reasons for keeping it quiet. Not to mention, I’m literally in the business of not spilling other peoples’ secrets.”
“Or maybe it’s because you feel sorry for him. Now that you and JD have worked out your brother complex, you’ve started to think my shit with Landry hasn’t been so one-sided after all.”
“Maybe,” Blake says on an exhale.
Landry huffs loudly. “That’s great. As if it’s not enough that everyone barely tolerates me, now I have your pity on top of that.”
Loren stops shortly, looking wounded. “Wait, what did you just say?”
“I’m so sick of feeling like this,” Landry continues quietly, the sadness in his eyes making my chest ache. “Like I’m just a burden to the people I love most.”
I want to correct him, to tell him that he could never be a burden to me and that I can love him enough for everyone. But it’s not my place. It’s not my love he needs right now.
Loren sniffles and reaches up to wipe a tear from her cheek. “Landry, you’re my brother. Of course I love you, even when you say or do stuff that upsets me.”
He shrugs and looks downcast again. “I guess I’ve always wished someone could say that to me without having to add the ‘but’ at the end. You know, a while back I got this stupid notion I could fix that. I thought with Daisy’s help I could make it easier for my family to love me as much as I love them. But I’ve obviously failed at that, too, and this feels even shittier than being alone.” He turns to leave, stopping shortly. “I’m sorry, Daisy. Will you be okay to get a ride home?”
I exhale shakily, ignoring the urge to correct him again. It’s hard to believe a man who’s still worried about me more than himself needs to prove his worth to his family. But I know if I were to tell him again that I love him right now, he’d only convince himself that I pity him, too.
“You don’t want me to come with you?” I ask carefully.
“I think I need some time to myself.”
My chest tightens. “Okay.” I step forward to reach for his hand again. He lets me hold it for a second and shoots me an apologetic look before he drops it. “Will you let me know you’re okay?” I whisper.
“Yes,” he says stiffly, and I can tell he’s struggling to hold it together. So I nod and back away, letting him go.
“Don’t tell me you’re going after him,” Loren warns Blake. He frowns but lifts his free hand in surrender.
“I’ll go.”
We all turn to see JD walk into the kitchen with Charley in his arms. “This is my fault. I shouldn’t have said anything in the first place.” Then he glances my way and mumbles an apology.
“No, I’ll go,” Tenley says on a sigh when she walks up beside him. She leans up and kisses JD on the cheek. “You’re all too extroverted to understand.”
I should probably be grateful she’s willing to help Landry, but jealousy swirls in my stomach instead. If Landry says he wants to be alone, what makes her think she can make him feel any better?
My eyes narrow as I watch her walk out the door.
“Whoa, you all right, Miss Daisy?” Ethan asks when he returns to the scene in the kitchen.
I clear my throat as I feel my face heating agin. “No, I’m not,” I reply after a second before turning to Loren, who’s still crying. “I needed health insurance,” I tell her. “I didn’t know that I wasn’t going to qualify for benefits until I got a permanent teaching position, and your brother literally saved my life by marrying me and putting me on his policy so I didn’t have to go without my epilepsy medication.”
Loren cringes. “Of course. I’m sorry.”
“Besides that, he’s been voluntarily driving me around because I was too embarrassed to admit I’d had a seizure. I knew my family would force me to move back home. That’s why he moved in with me, to make sure I was safe. Do you want to know the only things he’s ever asked for in return?”
She bites her lip, and I continue. “He asked me if we could be open and honest with one another, because he’s exhausted from a lifetime of trying to fit in and failing to read people correctly. He wanted me to teach him how to be nicer, especially to you, because he was so desperate to play a bigger part in your life. And he practically begged me not to fall for him, because he’d convinced himself he’d do me more harm than good. At first, I couldn’t understand why he was so stubborn and cynical about relationships, especially since he so obviously wants to feel loved and accepted and to have a family of his own. I think I get it now, though, and it has a lot less to do with your parents getting divorced than with the way his family has always treated him.”
“Wow,” Loren breathes after a second. “Thank you for settling the ‘am I the asshole’ debate once and for all.”
I shrug and smile. “You called me a cow first.”
“A cute one, though,” she reminds me, smiling through her tears.
My bottom lip trembles, and I step forward to wrap her up in a hug. She accepts it and murmurs “Sorry, Bessie” over my shoulder.
“So, um, I guess this makes us sisters?” Loren asks when I pull away.
