Chapter Nineteen #3
Savannah blinked and turned away. Liam glared at him but Alex simply shrugged.
His dad, sensing the dangerous turn in the mood, quickly ended the speech.
‘Right. It looks like the food is ready. Help yourselves to the meat, fish and vegan barbecue stations over there. There’s a buffet of sides to your left.
Enjoy!’ He nodded at the calypso band stationed at the edge of the lawn and they began to play a cheerful song, the trumpets and jaunty rhythm trying their best to drown out the obvious tension.
‘Savannah, tell me about your next film?’ gushed Caitlyn.
Savannah’s eyes brightened. ‘I play a genetically enhanced doctor who creates a cyborg soldier – played by Liam. We have to save the planet from self-destruction. The film tackles the issues of climate change in a fun yet thought-provoking way.’
Alex hadn’t realised he’d scoffed out loud until all of their heads swivelled towards him. Why were they looking at him like he was the bad guy? They’d all flown in on private jets for this wedding. He’d never heard anything so hypocritical.
‘There are rumours it’s Oscar-worthy. Another trophy to add to Liam and Savannah’s collection!’ Holly said smugly. ‘I’m hoping to get a part in it.’ She glanced over at Richie who was sat at one of the tables closest to them, he gave a non-committal shrug.
Alex rolled his eyes. ‘Oscar-worthy already? Before it’s even been fully cast? Impressive.’
‘Shall we go get something to eat?’ Ellie asked briskly, rising from her seat.
‘Not right now. I’ve lost my appetite.’ He eased back in his chair, and Ellie sank back in hers with a hopeless expression. He knew he was making everyone uncomfortable, but why the hell should he leave? They were the ones who wanted him here.
‘Come on, baby,’ prodded Savannah, and dragged a furious-looking Liam away from the table. A short time later everyone had dispersed, leaving Ellie and Alex alone.
‘Are you okay?’ she asked.
‘I’m fine.’
‘You don’t look fine.’
He sighed. ‘I’m just a little… pissed off.’
‘That’s understandable. It must be hard seeing them together.’ She looked over at Liam and Savannah at one of the barbecue tables with a pained expression. ‘I mean, you loved her, didn’t you?’
Did I?
He didn’t answer. It would sound so stupid and petulant to tell her the truth.
That he was jealous of his brother. That his pride and his feelings had been hurt because everyone in his family had chosen him last, again.
After everything they’d done, Savannah and Liam still had his parents’ love and affection, and he had to just accept the humiliation in silence.
‘Go, get something to eat. I just need a minute alone.’
‘Okay, if you’re sure?’
He nodded and drank some more champagne. It tasted sour and acidic on his tongue, as Ellie, the only person to actually care about his feelings, walked away.
‘Maybe you should slow down, darling.’
His mother was standing beside him, a plate of food in her hands. She lowered herself serenely into her chair, as if she hadn’t just scolded her adult son on his excessive drinking.
Everyone was queueing at the various stations to collect their meals. Ellie was at the buffet table piling up two plates. No doubt she’d ignored him when he’d said he wasn’t hungry and had gone ahead and made him up a plate anyway.
‘Why? Are you worried I’ll embarrass you?’ he spat, and took another long sip of his drink out of spite. ‘That’s what you want, right? For everything to be nice and easy. No bad press.’
His mother sighed. ‘What I want is for things to be better between you and Liam. Which it can’t be if you continue to behave like this.’
‘How do you want me to behave? Happy? After what they did? How can you ask me to just forget it, like it never happened?’ Like I don’t even matter.
‘I know it’s hard. But you can’t keep punishing them for it. I was hoping that by now you’d have both moved on.’
‘You think that because now I’ve got Ellie I can forget what they did?’ The laughter that sprang from him had an almost cruel edge to it. ‘They lied to me. They betrayed me. I’m here, aren’t I? You can’t expect more than that.’
‘They love each other. Surely you see that?’ she beseeched him. ‘Savannah and you were never happy together. Not like they are.’ She looked over at Liam and Savannah. They were feeding each other shrimp – the same colour as their matching outfits. His stomach churned with nausea.
‘And now they’ve found each other, I should be happy for them?’
His mother looked him dead in the eye and answered with a hard tone, ‘Yes.’
‘How can you say that?’
Her eyes narrowed and she stared at him as if he were a child again and she was reprimanding him. ‘Because it’s the only way you can be happy too. You need to let go of all this anger and jealousy. We love you both equally, and all I want is for you to be happy.’
Her words reverberated through him, shaking his foundations and shifting his perspective with dizzying speed.
He still didn’t believe they loved him equally to Liam, but he was beginning to wonder if he should just let go of all this pointless bitterness.
It wasn’t helping him, and his bad behaviour wasn’t fair on Ellie either.
As if reading his mind, his mother added, ‘She’s worried about you,’ gesturing with her chin at Ellie, who was halfway up the veranda stairs with two plates in her hands and eyes overflowing with concern.
Holly was walking up the steps beside her, and he noticed her give Ellie a sneering side-eye before asking, ‘Hungry?’
Ellie blushed, but nodded towards him. ‘One’s for Alex.’
A pang of guilt hit the pit of his stomach, and he pushed away his glass. No matter what, she was still his friend, and that counted for something. He needed to protect her from this den of vipers.