“Yeah.”
“Alright.” She clearly doesn’t believe me and takes my hand. “You’re not mad at me for not telling you my full name, are you?”
I sigh. “I am, Alicia. I’m really upset about that.”
“It doesn’t change anything though, right?” she asks hopefully.
I smile sadly. “It changes everything.”
“But why?” Her brows furrow in confusion.
Her mom saves me from answering when she calls her from the living room. “Alicia Jericho Attenborough! Get yourself and your friend over here! The turkey is getting cold!”
Alicia gives me another long look and whispers, “We’ll talk later,” before dragging me behind her.
When I walk into the dining room, I feel like I stepped into the pages of a design magazine. I’ve never seen so many matching cushions and drapes and dishware in my life.
“Mark?” a surprised but very familiar voice says. “What are you doing here?”
Of course Kayla would be here. And of course, she knew Alicia was Justin’s sister. And judging by the look on her face, she didn’t expect to see me at the family gathering. I shoot her a glarethe joke is on you, Kayla,and she has the decency to look guilty.
“Was invited for dinner.” I make the sarcasm drip from my voice as I take my seat to the left of Alicia and to the right of Mrs. Attleborough, who’s at the head of the table on one side and George on the other. Kayla sits across from me, looking sheepish and guilty as hell, as Justin takes a seat to the left of her.
“How awesome.” Kayla forces a smile as she fidgets with her fork.
“You don’t say,” I answer quietly, making Alicia do a double take at me and Kayla. I bet she’s thinking we had something in the past, which cannot be further from the truth.
I don’t belong. I see it clear as day now. Even Kayla was able to mingle with them, but I’ll never be able to do the same. So yeah, this dinner is destined to be the last.
Everyone is picking on their appetizers while Kayla’s happily chatting with everyone. There are no conversations happening among anyone else, but she’s really trying. She gets a few grunts from George and a kiss from Justin. Mrs. Attleborough laughs at something she says, while she only gets a hot stare from Alicia. Yeah, I’ll have to explain our history without giving away too much of Kayla’s struggles. It’s not my story to tell.
“We’re so happy you’re here!” Mrs. Attleborough dotes on me. I think she’s the only one who’s truly happy right now.
Justin lets out a loud snort, and Alicia snaps at him. “Justin!”
“What?” he replies innocently.
“Stop it!”
“I didn’t do anything.” He dramatically throws his hands up. In that moment, I so want to paint his face blue and green and black. I’ve never desired violence so intensely. Yes, we’ve had our differences over the years, but can’t he pretend to be civil for the sake of his sister? I’ve seen him doing a lot of nasty shit over the years, and yet I’m trying to behave like a human.
“Justin, don’t.” Kayla touches his shoulder and shakes her head. It seems to calm him down, because the jerkface softens as he kisses her hand.
Mrs. Attleborough returns from the kitchen with a plate of steaming mashed potatoes and makes a beeline toward me. “Mark, honey, I think I’ve seen you somewhere before.” She places a huge spoonful of potatoes on my plate, and normally I’d be ecstatic at the sight of food, but today all I can taste is metal. Probably from biting my tongue too hard.
“It’s a small town, Mrs. Attleborough. Perhaps you’ve seen me around.” I shrug, trying not to keep attention on myself for too long.
“The station!” She places the plate on the table and claps her hands. “I’ve seen you at the station. You’re a firefighter, aren’t you?” Her eyes turn dreamy, and Alicia groans next to me, “Here we go,” making Kayla chuckle.
“I am, ma’am.” I nod, inwardly sighing. So much for diverting attention.
“Oh, you stop it with this ma’am nonsense.” She playfully smacks my shoulder, and I feel my cheeks turn pink. I’m so grateful for my beard right now, it’s not even funny. “Someone who saves lives on an everyday basis is at our dinner table. So exciting!” She sits at her chair and keeps her eyes trained on me, making me uncomfortable. At her words, I can hear Justin loudly grinding his teeth together.
“He is.” Alicia’s voice is filled with pride. “In fact, he’s saved me so many times since I’ve moved in next door.” She places her hand on my shoulder and proceeds to tell them all the times I’ve come to her rescue. I know how much she didn’t want to share her misfortunes with her family, but she’s doing so to rectify my presence at the table.
I whisper as quietly as I can. “Alicia, you don’t have to.” But she continues with her story, making her mother gasp a few times, her father clench his jaw, and Justin do a double take of me. The only person who’s enjoying the dinner is Kayla. She’s watching Alicia with a dreamy smile on her face, sighing wistfully from time to time. Is she okay? I glance at her, and she notices it, her smile spreads so wide, I bet it hurts her cheeks.
“Why didn’t you call me? I’d come and get you back home right away,” Justin asks through gritted teeth, clearly unhappy that so much was happening without him knowing.
