Chapter 15
Sebastian walked in Henry's front door. It was Christmas Eve and Henry was having dinner at his house. Henry was also supposed to propose to Claire tonight. Sitting in the living room were his parents, Claire's dad Frank and Ethan. Ethan was sitting on his mother's lap while she sang Itsy Bitsy Spider with a loving smile on her face. Sebastian stared at her for a moment. Was that really his mother? The condescending bitch? Henry had told him that she's been changing but he hadn't believed it.
His mother Anne glanced up to him, her smile slipping slightly. The pain and anguish in her eyes was clear as she looked at him. Sebastian gritted his teeth and headed into the kitchen where Claire was flitting around the kitchen, getting dinner ready. Henry was setting the table and Christian was putting a case of beer in the fridge.
Sebastian walked over to Claire, who had her back turned to him, and gave her a kiss on the cheek, " Hey lovely", he said, using his nickname for her.
Claire smiled over her shoulder at him, " Sebastian! Hi!", she exclaimed then turned and hugged him.
Claire was one of his best friends now. They really had the whole brother-sister connection going. Yeah, he thought she was gorgeous and sexy but he really didn't see her as more then a friend. She was Henry's woman, always had been, always will be. He was glad that she was going to be his sister-in-law. He loved her and trusted her and she was the best thing that had ever happened to their family.
Claire let him go with a bright smile then he couldn't help but return. Leave it to Claire to put a smile on his face when he wanted to do nothing but scowl. " Grab a beer, relax, dinner will be done soon", she said, turning back to what she was doing.
Henry walked over to him when he was done with setting the table and clapped him on the back. " Hey man"
Sebastian gave him a brotherly hug, " Hey"
Henry raised an eyebrow, " You okay?", he asked, knowing exactly what was bothering Sebastian. Damn him.
Sebastian shrugged, " I don't know...I...she...fuck...", he stuttered, not knowing how to express what was going on in his head at the moment.
Henry nodded and slipped his arm around Sebastian's shoulders. " Let's go talk", he said, leading Sebastian down the hall to his office. Once inside Henry shut the door then sat on the couch, crossing his arms over his chest and waited. Fucker.
Sebastian sighed and raked a hand through his hair. " I just wasn't expecting to walk in and see her singing baby songs to Ethan, I was expecting tonight to go as all the other family gatherings have gone over the years, with her nagging the shit out of us"
" I've been trying to tell you that she's working on changing, she wants to be part of our lives and she knows the only way to do that is by changing her old habits. She's been great with Claire. They've even gone out to lunch a few times just the two of them. Claire says mom has really opened up a lot to her about her feelings. She's also been amazing with Ethan, loves him to death. She's been asking to babysit him more and more"
Sebastian frowned, " Really?", he asked, hesitant to believe what Henry was telling him.
" I wouldn't lie to you Sebastian, you know that. She misses you. She's desperate to apologize to you and start over", Henry said, leaning forward, propping his forearms on his knees. " Do you think you could at least talk to her?"
" Fuck...I don't know", Sebastian sighed, closing his eyes, " I want to stay mad at her, I want to make her suffer for what she put us through, I want her to understand that I'm not a pushover and I won't take her shit anymore"
" It's been four months since you've talked to her. And believe me when I say she's suffered. I can't tell you how many times she's come crying to be because you won't talk to her", Henry said softly.
Sebastian's eyes flew open, " Crying?", he asked, not sure he heard right.
" Yes, crying, like tears running down her face"
Sebastian shook his head, " Mom doesn't cry"
" She does now and it's killing her that you won't even let her apologize", Henry sighed and stood, " I'm not telling you what to do, I just think you should give her a chance. She does love you, you're her son"
Sebastian took a deep breath and blew it out, " I'll see how tonight goes then I'll think about it", he said.
Henry nodded, " Fair enough", he said, moving towards the door.
Sebastian followed him out and back into the kitchen. Quinn was walking in, a couple of store bought pies in his hands. Quinn placed them on the counter then gave Claire a kiss on the cheek and Christian handshake. Sebastian moved in to give Quinn a handshake after Henry forced him into a hug. Quinn wasn't an overly affectionate guy. And he was far from emotional. The only time Sebastian saw Quinn show emotion was when they thought Henry had perished in that plane crash. Sometimes Sebastian got jealous of how well Quinn could hide everything. The rest of them wore their hearts on the sleeves.