Page 102 of All for Love

MERCEDES

Two broken hearts? So I’m not the only one hurting. That was a surprise. Well, I kind of thought he’d been stinging a bit but not really hurting. I definitely hadn’t been expecting him to have a broken heart.

On the other hand, the more I’d thought about it, the more I’d started to realize that mine was broken. I hadn’t wanted to admit it to myself and I absolutely would not have stated it quite so plainly to our entire family, but I supposed it made sense that if mine was broken, his could be too.

Our relationship had run much deeper than any of our family members had realized—or cared to consider. They’d wanted peace and we’d given them that. Why the heck did I bring gifts? He was right not to.

I stared at Kody and blinked hard, longing to go to his side and comfort him. It was like my skin was pulling away from my muscle and bone as it begged to make contact with his. My heart suddenly ached twice as much, and my soul was in tatters.

Here we were, both of us in pain, and yet these people who were supposed to be our family—the people who loved us most—were acting like nothing was wrong at all. I glanced at each of their faces in turn, noticing every different reaction while they gaped at him with varying degrees of anger, disapproval, and disappointment in their eyes.

Kaden brought his hands to his hips, hung his head, and dragged in a deep breath. Brooke massaged her temples and sighed before he went to top off her wine. Mr. Wagner got sharp with Kody, finally calling him out on his attitude problem while Mom sniffled.

“What is wrong with you?” his dad snapped at him. “It’s Christmas, for God’s sake. Have a drink. Adjust your attitude. If you’re too immature to be able to do that, then you’re immature enough that I’ll send you to your room.”

Mom tried to manage everyone while still sniffling, stepping up next to her husband and taking his hand. “We want everything to be just right tonight. Can’t we all get along and table this for another time?”

“That’s fine by me,” Kody said. “I was just answering a question. You’re the ones causing trouble.” He turned to his father. “There’s nothing wrong with me except what you’ve all done. I’ve had a drink. I’ve been keeping my attitude in check and I’ll gladly leave if you’d rather send me to my room. I was mature enough to show up, wasn’t I? If you didn’t want me here, you should’ve just said so.”

His voice was lazy, like he was doing his best to sound unaffected, but I heard the edge hidden not so far beneath the surface. If they kept pushing him, he was going to blow—and I wouldn’t blame him for it.

While he and his dad stared each other down, I skirted around them and added the last few of my stocking stuffers. He was right that we’d already given enough, but I hadn’t thought of it that way before, and I had these here now. I might as well give them. Plus, he’d said we’d given them peace but what was happening right now was the complete opposite of that.

Perhaps my contribution to the stockings would help right the equilibrium. I hoped it would, but as I turned back to them, I realized the tension in the room had skyrocketed.

Brooke clutched her wine with resignation tightening the corners of her eyes. She turned to Kody. “Maybe you were right about dessert. Some sweets should cheer everyone up.”

Without waiting for anyone else, she spun and headed back to the dining room. Kaden followed first, then Kody, and finally, our parents. I brought up the rear, taking my seat as far away from Kody as possible. In fact, I was a little surprised we were even seated at the same table. With the way everyone was acting, I wouldn’t have put it past them to have set two different tables just to keep us apart.

Kody looked at me as soon as I sat down, a slight smirk on his lips that made me brace for trouble even before he opened his mouth. “What did you put in my stocking? Is it something naughty?”

“Knock it off, Kody,” Mr. Wagner barked, a red flush creeping up his clenched jaw.

I blushed, glancing at my hands as I shrugged. “You’ll find out tomorrow morning. Just like everyone else.”

Dessert was served then. Chocolate lava cake with a raspberry sauce and topped with fresh raspberries and mint. Any other time, it would’ve made my mouth water but now, it was just making me feel a little nauseated.

Kody tucked in heartily, but everyone else seemed to feel more like me. The molten center was perfectly gooey and the cake was so soft it melted in my mouth, but I hardly tasted a thing. After taking as many bites as I could manage, I pushed my plate away and dabbed my mouth with a napkin. “This is delicious, but I’m stuffed.”

Brooke nodded her agreement, not having gotten much further with her dessert than I had with mine. “Yeah, we should definitely wait longer tomorrow. I can’t manage another bite.”

Kaden chuckled as he glanced at his girlfriend, but the sound didn’t have much humor in it. “Come on, push through the pain. It’s good enough to warrant a little discomfort.”

“It is,” she agreed easily. “I’m way past the point of discomfort as it is, though.”

So was I, but for a different reason. Or maybe it was the same one. Either way, we all fell back into silence, and only Kody managed to finish his cake. He ate with gusto, but I was pretty sure he was faking it.

There was no way he wasn’t aware of the fairly foul mood everyone was now in. As soon as he was finished, Mom pushed her chair back and stood. She forced a tight smile as she looked at everyone but the two of us. “Right. Let’s layer up and head outside to go take a look at the Christmas lights. A walk and some fresh air will be good for us all right now.”

Still feeling a bit sick, the last thing I wanted was to go for a walk, but she wasn’t wrong about the fresh air. It probably would do us good. Freeze us but calm us down.

While we were donning our heavy winter gear, she disappeared into the kitchen and came back with a tray of personalized thermoses. Everyone got a steel travel mug with their names and some holly engraved on it.

Brooke smiled at her. “These are awesome, Margaux. Thank you.”

Mom shrugged but shot her a small grin in return. “I’m glad you like it. I thought it would be nice. Call it my version of matching Christmas sweaters. Did you bring the marshmallows, dear?”

I nodded, heading back to the living room to grab the bag. She tore it open after I handed it over, then wrinkled her nose at me. “These are a little hard. They’re expired.”