“You always get to be the good one. The successful one. Everyone thinks I’m a mess and you’re some saint.”
“So you planned this to embarrass me?”
“I wanted you to know how it feels!”
My throat tightened.
I’d imagined Vanessa was simply trying to get another free meal.
I hadn’t understood that hurting me was the point.
Rachel put a hand over her mouth. “Vanessa, that’s awful.”
Vanessa wiped her eyes. “Oh, don’t pretend you’ve never been angry with your family.”
“Of course I have,” Rachel said. “I haven’t ordered $2,000 of food to punish them.”
I stood, afraid I’d say something cruel if I stayed seated.
Vanessa looked at me. “Now you’re walking away?”
“No. I’m trying not to say something I’ll regret.”
“When Dad died, you called me every night for months. Sometimes we barely talked. I just listened because you didn’t want to be alone.”
“I remember.”
