“Tell me this,” Milo said, his arms crossing over his chest once more. “Are you still planning to wait until after Christmas? After all this? After what he’s done? What he just admitted?”
Shit, Eliana thought. She’d forgotten about the plan. She’d not even considered how things would need to change. There was too much happening. She needed a moment tothink. To consider if they even had everything where?—
“I can’t believe this,” Milo breathed, coming to the wrong conclusion at her hesitation. He threw his hands up and spun away, then turned back, his eyes blazing. “You said you were holding out for the sake of the girls. But the girlsknow. A fake holiday would just be a giant sham with everybody playing pretend. Is that really what you want?”
He continued before she could even get a word in, “Or is it not even about the girls at all? But just a way to delay the confrontation? I canhelpyou. We can go back in there, and I can back you up. Right now.”
Eliana shook her head, her tongue finally untying. “No, I can handle it.”
Milo grunted in frustration. “You told me to remind you. Remember? When you told me about your story. You told me to tell you if you were letting your fear get in the way of your future.” He paused. “This is that moment.”
“Milo—”
“Bugs, you have so much opportunity. The thing about writing your own story is thatyou get to decidehow it ends. And yes, you have a great plan that you put a lot of thought into—but you don’thaveto stick to it. You can adapt andadjust. You can take a risk. I promise you’ll be okay. I know you’re scared to make a change and to leave. But youareready. And I’m right here.”
Eliana sighed, working to focus her mind on the issue at hand. “I appreciate it, I truly do. But I don’t need you to take care of me. I’ve got this covered.”
“I’m not talking about taking care of you, Eliana,” Milo snapped, his tone fierce as he stepped closer into her space. He stared down at her face, his honey eyes vibrant with greens and golds and a thousand words left unspoken. “I’m talking about the fact that I’m obsessed with you. Ever since you dragged that mattress out of your house and set it on fire, all I’ve wanted to do is follow you around to see what you’d do next. Every time you speak, you say something that surprises me. You’re kind and more thoughtful than anyone I’ve ever met, and I love how you put every ounce of who you are into whatever you’re doing, no matter what it is. I’m talking about the fact that I’ve been waiting for you to be ready to hear this, and I know it’s too soon and this is terrible timing and I’ll continue waiting for as long as it takes—but I’m so scared, Eliana, down to my bones, that I’ll have to watch you settle for something less than the future I envision for you and your girls—even if it doesn’t include me.”
His hand brushed her cheek, hesitantly, before gently moving a loose strand of hair away, tucking it behind an ear, and leaving a trail of fire in his wake.
But then he stepped back, running a hand down his face. “I have not handled this well. I’m sorry, Bugs. I–I’m going to go.” He turned, then paused. “Call me . . . if you need anything. Anything at all.” Then he walked away. Each step was rigid and forced, until he was shutting his front door, and Eliana found herself standing alone in the yard—hermuscles locked in place and her brain finally, blissfully quiet following the shock of Milo’s words.
Her breathing was shallow as she considered the truths he’d shared. All the truths that had been laid bare at the dinner table just a few moments past.
Abby and Zoeyknew.
Jessetrappedher.
Milo wanted tobewith her.
It was too much, so Eliana blocked it out and chose to focus on one thing at a time. The one thing that had always been, and always would be, her priority.
Her daughters.
She thought about what they’d revealed. How long Abby must have sat on that information. Stuck between her loyalty to each parent. Confused and alone. It twisted Eliana’s stomach to imagine how much she’d missed; how much she’d allowed to slip past her.
And then she considered what lessons her daughters must be taking from this shitstorm. She considered what she would want them to do if they found themselves in such a situation – and suddenly, the path forward was easy to see.
For above all else, above every wrong that had been done, Eliana had a responsibility to set an example. To show them when and how to take a stand.
So she focused on her plan. The reason Clem was in town and the information they’d gathered just the day prior. And Eliana realized that adjusting, moving up the timeline, was no real hardship at all.
Milo was right, she was ready.
But much more importantly, she wasdone.
32
THE CONFRONTATION
When Eliana re-entered the house, she was startled by how out of place she felt. She could hear the television still on down the hall, and the quiet notes of the kitchen radio playing a soft holiday tune. The decorations were festive, with garland lining the halls and paper turkeys grinning from the side table. It still smelled of cinnamon and candied yams, with the faintest notes of charred turkey lingering in the air.
She walked down the hall, feeling unsettled, yet determined, and wasn’t surprised to find that Jesse and her parents had relocated to the living room. Jesse sat alone in his chair by the fire, an ice pack pressed to the cheek Milo had clocked. Eliana’s eyes squinted, however, at the realization that Jesse’s opposite eye was darkening swiftly.
Her gaze turned on her parents, sitting across from Jesse on the plush loveseat. She raised her brows in silent question, and to her surprise, her dad shook his head and then tilted his head at Sue, who was still glaring at Jesse, her fingers clenched tight around her small handbag, with alook much like she was readying herself to deliver another blow.
Given the wary looks Jesse kept casting in Bill’s direction and then towards Sue’s bag, Eliana felt confident they wouldn’t be going anywhere—so she walked past the group and popped into the guest room for the file folders she’d left in the bedside table. She flipped open the first to scribble in a date, and then she took a slow breath, steeled her spine, and walked back into the living room.
