She arrived before lunch and helped me pack enough clothes for a few days.
Jake watched from the hall.
“You’re leaving over one stupid gift?”
I turned.
“No. I’m leaving because you made plans for my body with someone who hates me.”
He flinched.
“She doesn’t hate you.”
I’d spent years defending him to Maya.
Whenever she asked why he never stopped his mother’s insults, I said he was caught in the middle.
Now Maya stood beside me, holding a half-filled suitcase.
She said nothing.
She didn’t have to.
Then the doorbell rang.
Jake looked uncomfortable.
“I asked Mom to come apologize,” he admitted.
“You what?”
Before I could say anything else, he went downstairs and opened the door.
His mother walked in.
She wasn’t looking sorry.
She looked angry.
Maya stepped between us.
“Not today.”
His mother ignored her.
“After everything this family has done to welcome you, this is how you behave?”
