I step to her, wanting to pretend all is swell, and focus on helping her. “Everyone is just concerned. Look at you, already walking.” I attempt to stretch a smile.
“The nurse here.” She indicates with her head behind her. “She’s a little strict and made me try walking. The yelling was just a coincidental incentive to move.” Brielle sounds less than enthused.
“Yeah,” I draw it out. “We were just having adiscussion.”
“Liar,” she mumbles to me before she attempts to smile at her mom.
Her mom who, like always, stays out of the drama, reaches to touch Brielle’s arm. “We’re so happy it’s just your appendix. You’ll be on the mend real quick.”
“Why did I hear you all talking about Connor?” Brielle asks.
Crap, she heard, and that means we triggered her mama bear button.
“It doesn’t matter.” I know that’s not true, but I can at least try.
“How about you all move into Brielle’s room not to disturb the other patients,” the nurse orders more than she suggests.
We all look at one another and seem to agree without words to step into Brielle’s room. It takes a minute for her to get settled on her bed again, but already she looks better than even an hour ago. Though, her face has lost any ounce of positive momentum we had when she woke. My eyes circle the room, and I get it. Our parents are here with serious looks and arms crossed.
When the nurse leaves, Brielle opens her mouth immediately. “I guess we are going to do this now?”
Her father pipes up, no surprise. “We’re happy you’re okay now, sorry this happened.”
“But…” Brielle waits.
“It doesn’t matter. I was just chatting with yourfiancéman to man.”
I swipe a hand across my jawline. “Something like that.”
“We were going to talk to you all soon about our new relationship status, whatever you want to call it.” Brielle avoids anyone’s eye contact, and I internally feel victorious that she didn’t correct her father about the fiancé title. “It can’t be surprising.”
“Maybe sudden,” my father points out.
I shake my head. “You’ve all watched us punish ourselves for years.”
To my surprise, Kerry speaks. “You both needed to find your way back to each other in your own time.”
“Afterour daughter got everything she wanted,” her father adds.
Brielle throws her arms up, and I can tell she felt something pull. “Yeah, I know, I failed the Bar, so let’s add on another eight months to the ‘will I ever accomplish what I was supposed to’speech.”
I want to scream at her not to let them get to her, but maybe now the post-surgery adrenaline is wearing off and she recognizes that her father might have a point.
“We can’t go in a circle about this,” my father volleys.
I blow out a breath, already exhausted from this.
“Easy for you to say, your son got everything. Brielle just sacrifices over and over for Ford and Connor.” Her father clearly hates me, that I’ve long thought but now established.
“You don’t think I fucking know that?” I raise my voice. I’m the one who could probably define selfishness in the dictionary.
“What the hell, everyone,” my sister loudly whispers and peeks around the corner of the door. “Knock it off, Connor will be here any second, and this isnotwhat he can walk into.”
We all nod, agreeing on something.
“Can you all go,” Brielle requests, and she looks defeated.
It’s when I look at her, study her, that I see it. A sadness in her eyes, and in this moment, I hope her father didn’t get to her, because I know he was only highlighting the obvious.
