Gwen laughed. “You know Dec’s in love with you, too. Anyone can see that.”
“I must be blind,” Bree said.
“Or stupid.”
“Hey,” Bree said as she shoved her sister’s side.
Gwenn didn’t budge an inch and grinned. She brought them home safe and parked the car in Declan’s ‘safe spot’.
After a shower, Bree found Gwenn in the kitchen, two eggs in the skillet. Bree climbed upon a barstool and placed her phone next to her glass of orange juice. Her head pounded as she jumped from her ringtone.
INCOMING: DECLAN CALLING
She hit the red button and picked up her glass. Bree downed her orange juice in a few gulps and clanked her glass on the kitchen counter.
“You’ll have to talk to him at some point, Bree.”
Bree filled her glass for a second time with juice and ignored her sister. Because she needed to do some damage control, Bree picked up her phone to text Declan.
BREE: Last night was a mistake. It needs to stay between us.
Not a moment passed before he typed his response.
DECLAN: The hell? It was NOT a mistake and you know it. Pick up your phone.
He kept calling her. She solved the problem by turning off her phone.
“Sooo, and you go to Kindergarten every workday to do what exactly? Are you a teacher or a student there?” Gwenn smiled above her coffee cup.
“Shut it. I just can’t deal with him now.” Bree stood and walked a few steps. She looked out of her window and noticed that everyone was going on with their day. Like nothing enormous had happened the night before.
“Come, sis. Let’s talk. I know I’m usually not into having a heart to heart, but I know you are, so spill.”
Bree walked back to her seat and dug in. After filling her empty stomach with a few bites of omelet, she cleared her throat.
“He scares me, Gwenn. I don’t want to lose myself. Not anymore, I already have.”
Her sister’s eyes misted over, and she nodded. “Is this because of Mom?”
Bree shrugged and said, “Probably. Don’t know.”
“You know it’s not only Mom’s fault things went to shit with Rob.”
Bree noticed how Gwenn never used ‘Dad’ to address their father. She always called him Rob. Being the youngest of the family, she had spent the least of time with him. Before he left their mom to deal with five girls between eighteen and six-years old on her own.
“I don’t blame Mom.”
Gwenn snorted and stood from her side of the kitchen counter to refill her coffee cup.
“I really don’t, Gwenn.”
“I get it. Mom lost herself. She took a lot of shit from Rob and we all know she’s still not over him. And to make it worse, Rob never looked back. Never once did he call us on our birthdays. Or showed up for school plays or all that shit.”
Bree blinked and the first tears fell down on her half eaten omelet. She pushed her plate to the side. “I can see myself in Mom. No matter how often they got into fights, she always worshipped the ground Dad walked on. I know I do that with Dec, too.”
“You’re in love with Dec, you’re not some sicko trying to hold on to him.”
They both waited a beat to let the importance of Gwenn’s words fall between them.