Splinters: Part One

Part One | 44

When we got home, I was right. First, we had dinner, and by that time, it was six o'clock. When we all finished, Melissa put her hands together.

"Alright, you guys, we're going to go to the living room and discuss some things, okay?"

I lowered my head in shame. I knew it would be soon.

Everyone took that opportunity to gather their dishes and place them in the sink. My sisters and I slowly made our way to the living room, knowing exactly what the discussion would be about. No one had tried to talk to me about why I left, but I'm sure they all had a clear assumption. Ursa hadn't even tried to ask me questions which I'm positive was Melissa's doing.

Melissa and Greg both sat on one sofa while three of my sisters sat on the floor and Beau and Dera sat next to me on the other sofa. Rethinking her spot, Ursa sat in the singular chair. It was the first time Greg hadn't chosen that spot during these family meetings.

"So we all know that Brayden had a bit of a sudden decision to leave to New York. You're not in trouble, son," he promised, looking directly at me. "Your mother and I have thought clearly about what has happened-"

"I've come to the conclusion that my grounding was a bit unfair, especially on Collie's birthday, but abruptly leaving was also unfair," Melissa added calmly.

I knew that the word unfair wasn't close to how running away really was.

"It's obvious you ran away for that reason, right?"

I swallowed, suddenly feeling my throat go dry. "I-I mean, it wasn't like I was leaving forever," I mumbled. "I was gonna come back."

The room was quite for a couple more seconds.

"If this is about Brayden running away, why are we here?" Odera asked. The words were rude, but she said it as if she were genuinely curious.

"Because," Melissa replied quickly. "I don't want this to happen again. We love all six of you equally."

"We want you to know that," Greg nodded, leaning forward and placing his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands together. "If you guys feel like you can't breathe here or you're just not comfortable with something, we want to make sure that you guys will come to us instead of leaving."

I bit my lip. I wanted to say that I did go to them, but did I really? Would I have still left if we all sat down and talked about why I can't go to Collie's?

"Brayden, if you ever feel like something's not fair, come to us instead of leaving."

"I did," I admitted quietly. "But you guys kept saying no."

"But does that give you the right to run away?" Melissa questioned forcefully.

Greg placed a hand on her leg. "Lis."

She closed her eyes and drew a deep breath. "I'm sorry I said no, and I'm sorry if that's not what you wanted. Your punishment shouldn't have been as long as it was, but Brayden, let me explain to you why I don't want you around her."

I opened my mouth, but she didn't let me speak.

"This is your first real relationship. I've given her the benefit of the doubt multiple times, even after she did all those things to Ursa. After we caught you guys in your room-"

"Alright, girls, the moral of this meeting is that we want you all to come to us before you do something irrational, okay?"

The five of them nodded.

"Now can you all give us some privacy?"

Slowly, they all exited the living room and waited until they were out completely to begin talking. My parents looked back at me.