“You didn’t have to impress me, you just had to not deliberately go out of your way to be as obnoxious as possible. It’s not like I knew your parents when I first met you - I didn’t know anything about you. And you didn’t give me a chance to get to know you, did you? No, you just immediately decided I was like your parents, and went out of your way to antagonize me and make sure I didn’t get that chance. Who’s really the judgmental one in that scenario? And just for the record, I liked the you I’ve gotten to know, up until tonight. I don’t know what version of you this was, but she’s a royal bitch.”

Shaken, Sharon just sat there as Jake practically hurled himself out of the car and slammed the door behind him. She watched him walk up the stairs and into the house, a very large lump in her throat.

Part of her wanted to run after him to yell at him some more. A much smaller part of her wanted to run after him and apologize. But she was afraid that if she moved, if she tried to speak, she would burst into tears.

Swallowing hard several times, she angrily wiped the tears away from her eyes as Thomas came down the stairs of the house. She clenched her jaw and straightened her spine, taking in several deep breaths through her nose as she pushed down all her emotions. It felt like icing herself over, like an impenetrable shield that she could hunker down inside of.

It was a tactic she’d taught herself growing up, the only way she’d been able to deal with her parents’ constant disappointment that she wasn’t the daughter they wanted. Eventually she’d managed to stop caring at all - mostly. She hadn’t had to do this in years.

Now she felt even more resentful. She really, really, really hated that she cared so much about what Jake thought. That he’d managed to hurt her.

Nodding regally to Thomas as she passed him, she walked quickly into the house and up the stairs. Jake had apparently already found his way without her. The door to the room he was staying in was firmly shut. Yeah, her plan to head over there tonight... definitely not happening.

Quietly she let herself into her room. She thought about slamming the door for a minute, just so he’d know she was there, but she didn’t. It might be satisfying for a moment, but it would also prove his point about her deliberately doing whatever she could to be provoking.

And, despite how mad she was, she already knew there was some truth to his words.