“He bitched out my mother,” she announces dramatically, and I throw my head back with a groan.
“Seriously? Is that what we’re telling people?”
Gran looks startled, but her face fills with humor. “Well, I might not have expected that, but I can’t say I’m too surprised,” she murmurs. “And I don’t believe for even half a second that the witch didn’t deserve it.”
Charlie shared a little of her story with my grandmother when we were together before, and Gran had made no bones about how she felt about a woman she’d never actually met. Subtlety had never really been her style, and I don’t imagine it was one she ever wanted to try.
I also have no doubt that if I were to ever fuck up again, it wouldn’t be my side that my gran took. And I don’t blame her for it at all.
I’d choose Charlie, too, if it were between me and her. I’d choose her over anyone, and I am going to make sure she believes that from here on out.
She and Gran get sucked into a conversation about new books that Charlie’s recently started stocking at Spellbound Books, and they leave me out of it, which I appreciate. During a brief lull, Gran turns to me, her mouth flattened into a line.
“How was your father’s birthday last weekend?” I can’t stop the grimace that twists my lips, and she nods, like that’s exactly what she’d expected. “I haven’t seen Liz since last week, and I figured that was why.”
I pull Charlie in a little tighter, letting the scent of her shampoo soothe me. “I went on my own,” I tell Gran. “Charlie’s been exposed to enough familial bullshit to last a lifetime. Afterward, I told Mom I wasn’t going to come back around for a while.”
That shocks Gran, her mouth parting into an O.
“Well, then,” she murmurs, looking out into the garden, her mouth tugging down. “This isn’t what I wished for my daughter, you know? She’s the only one who can help herself.”
A pensive silence settles over us until I ask quietly, “Why do you think she stays with him, Gran? You’ve tried to talk to her, and I even suggested counseling. She outright refused.”
My grandmother doesn’t say anything for such a long time that I don’t think she’ll answer. Charlie tangles her fingers with mine, stroking her thumb over my handin a soothing gesture.
Gran finally lets out a heavy sigh. “My Liz has convinced herself that Gavin is what she deserves. Some of it has to do with things that happened when she was younger, before she ever met him. The rest…” She doesn’t look in our direction, but I can still see the sheen in her eyes, the lines stretching out from the corners deeply etched into her skin. “Years of being convinced that she’s earned what he dishes out, I suppose. Brainwashed and blinded by a toxic poison she thinks is love.”
Charlie makes a small, sad sound, and Gran turns to look at her. “I’m proud of you,” she declares suddenly, eyes on my girl. “Standing up for yourself, walking out when the whole world was telling you that you’re less…It takes real strength. Coming back and forgiving him for being a total jackass?” Gran points at me. “That takes even more.”
I cough out a laugh. “Hey!” I don’t deny it, because there’s nothing wrong about what she’s saying.
“I don’t know that I’m strong,” Charlie murmurs, looking down at where her hand is resting in mine. “I spent over two decades letting one person beat me down.”
“There’s strength in walking away when someone is cruel to us,” Gran says. “I think there might be more strength in walking away when you’ve been beaten down so much that you can’t see any way out.” I hear the thread of hope in her words, and it hurts.
“You think Mom will make that choice one day?” I ask quietly.
Gran looks at me then, her smile lopsided. “I don’t know, Dillon. But seeing you two, here today? Knowing that you’re fixing your mistakes and taking measures to ensure it won’t happen again? That gives me hope.”
That night,Barrett and I are sitting on his couch, beers in our hands and an NHL game on the television. Charlie’s cooking something in the kitchen that smells like spicy heaven.
Barrett tips his beer to his lips, attention on the screen as he tells me, “Thinking of doing another Battlefield night next weekend. You in?”
I slouch down, tapping my fingers against my thigh. “I’ll check with Charlie first, see if she’s got plans. Pretty sure it’s all good, though.”
I see him nod out of the corner of my eye. “I already invited Alec.”
My mouth twitches into a scowl. “Why’re you trying to provoke me?”
He huffs out a laugh. “I’m not. Just warning you.”
“Well, you don’t fucking need to,” I grumble. “You invite the asshole every time, and you’ve already told me I need to get the fuck over it.” I don’t have as much issue with Alec as I thought I would, but I am never going to seek the guy out and be buddies with him or anything. The guy has seen my girl naked, and it makes me want to scoop his eyeballs out of his head.
“Well, you did keep Marisa around, so it only seems fair.”
There it is.I clench my fingers around the bottle, reminding myself I can’t punch the dickhead. “You’re never letting this go, are you?” I’ll take whatever penance he dishes out, knowing he’s a big part of the reason Charlie decided to give me another chance.
He grins devilishly. “Not on your life, man. It’s my right as her best friend.”
