14. Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fourteen
Sebastian
“Five minutes to spare,” Mac said, checking his phone and sighing. “We’re good then, right?”
He was a bundle of nerves, and I wished I could tell him yes. That just because we were on time, my family would be pleasant to be around. Or that because they were meeting the love of my life for the first time, they’d actually be decent.
But that was something I couldn’t guarantee.
I looked around and a lifetime of memories flooded over me as I stared across the lake I knew so well. It normally felt like coming home, even more so than the actual home I grew up in.
The lake house was a place I loved. A place I used to look forward to going to every single summer growing up. But that was because it gave me some respite from my real life.
This trip wouldn’t be like those endless summers. Instead of being able to hide away in remote corners of the woods with Rob, Em and I would be the center of every conversation. And Mac would be on display like a performing monkey.
My parents were always more pleasant at the lake house than at home, but after being out of their house for over a decade, coming here was no longer a respite.
I opened the trunk and sighed. We were literally walking into the lion’s mouth.
I was only here because of Em. Her request to come for the week was wholly unexpected, and I wasn’t about to say no. She must have had her reasons, and I would not get in the way, no matter how uncomfortable it was being here.
“Sebastian!”
I turned around so fast I almost dropped our bags. Nina, Em’s aunt and a bigger fan of me than I was of her, was running toward me, her arms outstretched like she thought I would forget how awful she was to us after Rob died. She was of the out of sight, out of mind camp and told us we were prolonging our suffering by mentioning his name.
She reached me and I deposited Mac’s toiletries bag into her hands. She looked down at it and frowned. “I was trying to give you a hug.”
I feigned innocence and slung all our bags over my shoulders, topping my load off with a pillow to insulate myself from her. “I guess I’m just so excited to get inside.”
She grinned and smacked my back. “It’s good to see you. It’s been a long time—” She frowned, as if doing the mental math.
“Since the Christmas before Rob’s death—”
She let out a little squeal and handed Mac’s bag to him as he stepped out of the car.
Em was hot on his heels and tucked her arm in his. “Aunt Nina, hi.” She gulped, and I gave her a small nod. We’d get through this trip unscathed if it was the last thing I did. Putting on her bravest face, she smiled at Mac. “This is my fiancé, Mac.”
“I thought Sebastian is your fiancé?”
“They both are—”
Nina made another little squeal and pressed her lips together. “Let me show you to your room.” With a cutting look, she assessed our trio and frowned. “I’d have you in separate rooms, but there just isn’t the space.”
Em jogged ahead of her and opened the front door. “We can find Bash’s room on our own.”
The lake house was exactly like it was the last time I saw it. There were faded flannel throw pillows on each couch. The couches had been made by my grandfather using felled logs from the property. The cushions had been custom made by my great uncle and my grandmother. There was a lot of history in this place.
Before I could lose myself in any sort of nostalgia, Em yanked me down the hallway, Mac on her other side.
Inside our room—the room that was mine, and then mine and Rob’s, and now, unbelievably mine, Em’s, and Mac’s—Em flicked on the light. The single uncovered bulb in the center of the room cast a warm yellow glow over us.
“I am so sorry,” she whispered. “This was a mistake.”
Dropping onto the bed that would be way too small for us, she covered her face. Mac and I perched on either side of her, rubbing her back.
“We’ll make the best of it,” I said, burying my face in her neck.
Even if the whole idea of being here was insane, we had each other. We would be okay if we stuck together. Dread pooled in my stomach as I thought of all the ways my family—and Em’s—had tried to tear us apart when we were just friends, before there was even a chance of us being together. And how they would react to our unusual relationship when it was staring them in the face.
Being with the two of them was as natural as breathing for me. I wasn’t me without them. But our families wouldn’t see it that way.
Em and I had texted our parents to let them know about our engagement. It didn’t seem worth the hassle of having a party and getting them all involved just to have our feelings hurt.
They hadn’t written back.
“Are they all that bad?” Mac asked, his green eyes so wide I thought they’d pop. “Nina was intense.”
“She’s the most confrontational,” I said, reaching for him to snuggle closer to us. “Our parents won’t say anything about our relationship unless it’s brought up directly. If they brought Grandma Agnes, she’s a wildcard. She speaks her mind, but loves Em—”
“Who wouldn’t?” Mac kissed her cheek, and she pressed her eyes shut.
“This was such a bad idea,” she moaned.
“It really was.”
Her eyes snapped to mine. “What?”
“It was.” I shrugged and tucked her hair behind her ear. “Want me to lie to you?”
“No.” She sighed and kissed my shoulder. “I never want you to lie to me.”
“Okay, well, it’s going to be miserable being here, but we’re here together, so it’s not going to all be bad.”
Mac yawned and stretched back on the bed, his arms reaching either side. “And we get to sleep on top of each other.”
He smirked and pulled me down with him. We both reached for Em, squishing her between us.
She squealed, and we took turns kissing each other until another yawn overtook Mac’s whole body.
“I didn’t realize how tired I was.” He tried to blink his eyes open and sit up, but Em put her hand on his chest and pinned him down.
“You played hard,” Em murmured. “Take a nap and we’ll come get you when dinner’s done.”
“I don’t even have the energy to argue,” he said around a yawn.
He tucked himself in and it took a lot of willpower to leave him behind.
“Ready?” I put my hand out and Em laced her soft fingers with mine as we stared at the end of the hallway, where I knew some fresh hell awaited us.
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
We barely took a deep breath and steeled ourselves before our mothers caught sight of us.
“Nice of you to say hi—”
“We just got here,” Em started.
“Save it.” Her mother, Rachel, dismissed her with a wave. “We heard the noises coming from your room.”
“Laughter?” I asked.
My mother’s face twisted with disgust. “Laughter. Sure.”
“Sorry if this place is so miserable without us, you forgot what laughter sounds like,” Em spat out.
“Are you going to let her speak to me like that?”
I wasn’t sure if my mother was talking to me or to Em’s mom. Either way, I wasn’t going to let her speak about Em like that.
“She’s free to say what she wants—”
“Oh, save it, Sebastian.” My father strolled in, his hair swept back like he’d been out on the lake. “What’s the problem, Alicia?”
My mother huffed and pointed at us. “I can’t believe they thought they could bring their sex toy here.”
I saw red. Literal red.
Was she talking about Mac?
I looked at Em and she was just as startled as I was. I could only hope Mac had truly fallen asleep and wasn’t hearing any of this.
“How dare you—”
“We’re not the only ones who think this,” my dad said, crossing his arms and making me feel like I was six again and being blamed for breaking something I hadn’t even touched.
“Who the hell else have you been talking to?” I tried to keep my voice low, but it was hard.
He smirked and shared a patronizing look with my mom. “It’s all over the news, Sebastian.”
“The entire world thinks your relationship is doomed. That it’s some depraved debauchery, and it’s appalling you’d be so public with it.”
“The news?” I pulled out my phone, but there was no reception.
“I’m so sorry,” Em whispered.