We finished through dinner with barely any leftovers to spare. No one was surprised; Eloise was a fantastic cook. If she hadn’t found success in marketing, I was convinced she would’ve been a chef. Maybe in another life.

The polite and typical chatter continued, and I tried to join in where I could. It was hard when my mind kept wandering. Three years, I had distanced myself; did I really even know them anymore? It felt almost wrong to laugh at their new stories or pretend like I’d known what they had been dong the past few years.

I avoided seeing them in person as much as I could. I didn’t want them to see how broken their daughter was. Calvin could spot a mile away how burnt out I was getting.

“Should we have dessert?” Eloise asked.

“I am so full, I don’t know if I have the appetite,” my dad chuckled.

“I think we should have dessert,” Calvin pushed, and I heard the nerves there.

Strange.

I felt Stone shift beside me, and I knew he picked up on it too. My parents were oblivious to the change in the room. My brother hurried off behind his wife, helping her grab whatever they had planned.

“We will be coming back again for the clambake at the end of the month!” my mother exclaimed, cutting the tension.

“Will you still be here?” my dad asked Stone.

He looked shocked for only a moment before training his face back to its usual thoughtful disposition. “There is a good chance I will be,” he admitted.

Part of me filled with relief.

Stop it. 

I couldn’t think like that. It had been only two weeks, and already, I was letting my judgement be clouded by Stone’s protection. It had become a comfort. A comfort, nothing more.

You can’t become reliant on him. He will leave. Everyone always leaves. 

Jake left. My brother left when he had Eloise to take care of. Never once did I blame him for that, but I knew I’d far outstayed my welcome. My parents left. They never once noticed the signs, the desperate pleas for help at what my life had become.

My brother and his wife returned to the room carrying a cake. They walked side by side, Eloise with a large smile growing the closer she got.

My mom continued to go on about the logistics for the clambake; where they’d stay, all of us going together. I lost track of the noise as they got closer. My anxiety started to sink in.

I couldn’t place it.

There was no occasion to celebrate. Perhaps being together for the first time in a while was a celebration, but I knew my brother well enough to know he wouldn’t buy a cake for just that.

He placed the cake on the table, and I caught sight of writing on the top.