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Corey sat beside me on the ride back home. From time to time, he’d clap me on the back or wrap an arm around my shoulder in a half hug.
My insides throbbed like an open wound.
It’d been years since Corey looked at me without sneering or glaring.
He blamed me for everything and I took his hits and taunts without complaint.
I was the reason they committed such atrocity on an innocent girl.
I was the reason Milla disappeared.
He couldn’t forgive himself and he wouldn’t forgive me either.
For the first time in years, Corey was acting like he’d forgiven me. His effort to comfort me was like a balm on my aching soul.
No one could see the way my heart bled.
Milla didn’t see how much I hurt when she gave me a cold shoulder. She only saw me as a cold, unfeeling bastard.
I’m the one to blame for that too, I thought miserably as memories flooded my mind, reminding me of every moment I hurt her.
A subtle jerk made me look around.
The car had stopped and we were right before the gates of our home.
Climbing out, I blew on my freezing hands. There hadn’t even been time to grab a jacket when we took Dad to the hospital.
Entering the house, we headed to the family dining room.
Milla and my brothers quietly settled around me. Everyone seemed absorbed in their own thoughts.
I was silently grateful they let me stay with them. Their presence calmed my anxieties about Dad.
Hubert entered the room half an hour later with the cook.
Together, they placed dishes of sandwiches on the table before us. The scent of coffee wafted from a silver pot.
“It’s quite late, so we’ve made some sandwiches for you,” said Hubert.
“I’m not hungry,” said Milla, not even looking at the food.
“Same here,” said Caleb.
“I don’t think anyone’s in the mood to eat,” I said. “We’re all worried about Dad.”
“I understand that,” said Hubert with a nod of his balding head. “Still, you’ve got to eat something before going to bed. All of you need the energy to look after him. Your dad will worry more if one of you falls sick. Don’t you want him getting better quickly?”
A few mutterings sounded in reply.
“Come now,” Hubert insisted. “Eat something.”
Without waiting a second, he started serving us the food and coffee.
None of us had any energy left to argue with the old coot. It seemed easier to let him get on with serving.
Hubert stubbornly stayed in the room, leaving us alone only when we all started nibbling at the sandwiches.
Milla and my brothers were quiet throughout the meal.
