33. Chapter 33
Chapter 33
Marcy
Noah took me home. I offered that she could crash on the couch. When Hudson got home, I noticed tension between the two, but I was too tired and too emotional to care. I shut my bedroom door, turned my box fan on high to drown out my thoughts, and called it night.
In the morning, I woke to voices. And the smell of…bread?
I crawled out of bed and peeked out the door. Down the hall, I spied my brothers on the couch horfing biscuits.
I pulled on a sweatshirt and leggings and headed for the bathroom. The bathroom door opened and Noah emerged. “Hey, Marcy. Hudson let them all in.” She rolled her eyes. “I tried to tell them you needed space. I was overruled.”
I shouldn’t have given my brothers keys. My own fault. When I made it to the kitchen, I stopped short. Hudson, Jillian, her fiancé Adam, and Lucas stood around eating biscuits I’d made in a recent baking frenzy. “What are you all doing here?”
Hudson smiled wide. “Hey! She’s awake!”
I glanced at the familiar blue clock, my family treasure, which made me think of the bakery I could now have in a life of my choosing. Without Patrick. “It’s too early for this,” I mumbled. It was somehow ten-thirty in the morning. Not early but they’d invaded my space.
I couldn’t resist asking, “How are the biscuits?”
“Amazing,” Jillian gushed. “It’s great there are so many. We can all have seconds.”
“I heard seconds!” Robby called out. He and Matteo entered the kitchen, followed reluctantly by Noah, who gave me an apologetic look.
Eight adults crowded in a small apartment kitchen when I wanted nothing but solitude. Seeing all of them here with one very obvious omission, it cracked me open.
I burst into tears.
Hugging arms descended on me and a biscuit on a napkin was shoved toward my face.
“Let’s get her on the couch.” Jillian urged me into the living room.
I was being physically moved to my own couch. A pillow and a blanket were tucked beside me as the others sat on the couch, chairs, and floor. This scene felt awfully familiar, remembering when Hudson arrived earlier this year a crying mess and we’d cared for her. I liked it better when I wasn’t the one crying.
“We’re all worried,” Hudson explained. “We didn’t want you to be alone.”
“This isn’t something that can be solved with a vision board,” I told them.
Noah snorted. “I told you Jillian, nobody likes the vision boards.”
“What’s a vision board?” Robby asked.
Matteo elbowed him. “It’s when you collect pictures of the life you want to create an inspirational vision, dork.”
“Oh. That sounds cool. I might want to do that.”
Hudson clapped once. “Focus! We’re here for Marcy. ”
I didn’t mind the lack of focus. I ate my biscuit. Soft and buttery and warm. They must have re-heated them in the oven. The more I thought about this biscuit, the less I would cry.
I wanted to ask where was Patrick. Had they invited him and he refused? Would it be like this now, with the outline of him filled in only by my memory?
“You broke up with Patrick,” Matteo stated. “Why?”
Hudson tossed a throw pillow at him. “That’s too direct! We need to ease in.”
“No, let’s be direct,” Noah fired back. “You all conspired against Marcy, so let’s have it.”
“We didn’t conspire .” Hudson looked miffed, but not for long. “Marcy, we didn’t know about the surprise wedding. We thought we were going along with the engagement party. Telling the truth about the engagement was probably the best thing to do long-term, but we don’t understand what else happened.”
“Patrick told us you said it was over,” Matteo went on. “The dude is crushed. I know him. He doesn’t get all messed up about just anybody. Besides all the stuff with Nonna, what’s going on? You two were happy and suddenly it’s over.”
I hugged the pillow closer. “You guys understand this is weird to talk about my love life with you? You’re my brothers.”
“I swear, we didn’t just come for biscuits,” Robby said through a bite of biscuit.
Again, the regret I felt giving them keys to my apartment.
He finished chewing. “Besides, Patrick won’t call us back.”
So, they had tried to involve Patrick. He’d made his choice. I’d possibly ruined his campaign. Steamrolled his heart and then dumped my emotional garbage all over it. Oh, and all of that right after he’d discovered his parents’ betrayal.
I was truly the worst. He was better off without me.
Matteo sat forward in his seat. “I wouldn’t have ever asked out Carmen if I hadn’t seen what was possible with you two. And yeah, you being my sister, sometimes you’re still a kid in pigtails and overalls to me, but you grew up and started making big moves. Sis, you can do things all on your own, like this bakery, but something tells me you’ll be happier sharing that with someone. I hope you and Patrick can work this out.”
Hudson nodded. “He loves you. I’ve seen it.”
“We’ve all seen it,” Lucas agreed.
They really didn’t understand. “I volunteered to go with Nonna’s wacky scheme to marry Patrick in front of you all yesterday so I could get the inheritance money. Patrick was disgusted with me! He said we can’t build a marriage on lies and he’s obviously right. I’ve been using him all this time to get what I want. He deserves better. I care about him too much to ruin his life.” I sniffed through an emerging sob. “I’m so mad at Nonna for playing her games, but I’m even more mad at myself for falling for them. She dangled that money in front of me and I lost my mind. I hurt Patrick and I can’t take that back.”
“But you gained something more with Patrick through all of this,” Jillian added. “You two were actually dating and making future plans.”
It hurt too much to think on those plans. “I know. But I can’t make him commit to someone like me. I’m a mess.”
I started crying again. This was honestly so embarrassing. I stood and pitched the blanket and pillow aside. “I know you all mean well, but this is too much. I’m going to my room. Feel free to take the rest of the biscuits to go. I have the feeling I’ll be three loaves deep in bread later.”