I tuned out the rest. I’d heard it all before. Liam responded appropriately, keeping them talking and the focus off me.
A while later, he interrupted to say he was going to go make lunch. “Come help me, Jenna.”
“Jenna, stay and talk to us. You can handle it yourself, can’t you, Liam?” my mom said.
“Sorry, but I do need your help, Firefly.”
“I’ll be right back,” I said to my parents as I followed him to the kitchen. As soon as we were out of sight, he pulled me into his arms.
“Since when do you need my help to cook?”
“I’m not leaving you alone with them.”
I nodded my appreciation against his chest. “What’s for lunch?”
“I was going to make sandwiches, but I’m trying to come up with something that will take us longer.”
I laughed. We made sandwiches anyway, and while we ate, I brought up the question that had been on my mind “Did Ty try to come, or…?”
“It would be hard for him to miss classes, especially so close to finals.”
I knew that. I guess I just wanted to hear them say that he tried to, or he was upset he couldn’t come, or something. “Yeah, I know.”
“He’d really like you to go to graduation. We’d all love to have you home, Jenna. It’s been so long since we were all together.”
My skin crawled and I worked hard to swallow the bite that suddenly swelled in my mouth.
Liam rubbed my back. “Easy, Firefly,” he murmured.
“He came out for your graduation,” my dad added.
I latched onto that, trying to ignore theallmy mom referred to, which I’m sure included the Belkes. She always included them.
“He had no choice for mine. You weren’t going to leave him home alone. I don’t think I can take off from work.”
Work. God, I couldn’t handle work and Brian in the same conversation, not today. Was I really going to go to work to avoid Brian? It’s not like I was safer there. After all this, I might as well go to the graduation and see Brian.
“Sorry to rush lunch,” Liam said firmly, even though we were barely halfway through. “We need to get ready for Jenna’s doctor appointment.”
My appointment wasn’t for a few hours, but we hadn’t told them the time, luckily. I was totally on the same page as Liam.
“Oh, of course, we’ll let you get dressed and go. We’ll head back to the hotel and maybe explore a bit, and then, Jenna, do you want us to come to your apartment later or would you like to meet us out for dinner?”
Fury flared, red-hot hate burning through my veins. How dare she suggest she wants to see only me after Liam was more than welcoming to them? I gritted my teeth and calmly talked us out of that. No way in hell would I exclude Liam, or go back to my apartment, or force Liam to spend more time with them. “I’m tired, Mom. The doctor might be a long wait, and I’d like to just relax alone after that. You can come back here tomorrow, okay?”
My mom’s eyes filled with tears, and a pang hit my chest. I was proud for sticking to my guns, even if a part of me also felt bad for making her sad. Although, did making up an excuse really count as sticking to anything?
“Are you sure? We’re here to help you, to be with you.”
“I know, and I appreciate it. I’m just exhausted.”
“It’s okay, Kathryn,” my dad said. “We’ll have tomorrow with her, too.”
“Yes, I’m sure I’ll feel better tomorrow,” I said, then it hit me what he implied. “Are you leaving tomorrow?”
“In the evening,” he said, like that made it better. “I have a meeting on Friday.”
Heaven forbid he miss a meeting. Well, at least I didn’t feel bad anymore. “I should get ready now. Thanks for coming, guys. It was great to see you.” I pushed up from the table and stepped around Thor. He hadn’t growled at them since they first came, but he hadn’t left my side or warmed up to them either.