Pushing past me roughly, she stops in front of Kevin. “You think you can just come into my house without asking? You think you can just show up here at all and that everything will be fine? Get the fuck out of my house.”
I’ve been on the wrong side of my mom’s anger, and the fact that Kevin isn’t paling in fear is amazing to me. He looks unhappy, but not penitent in the slightest. “What is happening right now?”
Again, I am ignored. “Get. The Fuck. Out. Of. My. House.”
“Go, Kevin,” Edward says.
He does, but angrily, stomping through the crowd and causing a stir. I hear the door slam shut and the curious silence that follows. My mom turns to me. “And on top of everything, you’re with him?” She points at Edward. “I thought I made myself clear that I didn’t want you involved with anyone while you’re here. This has to be our entire focus.”
Anger floods my system, and Edward sees it. He steps to me, shielding me from my mother, and her from me. “Julia, you don’t have to do this now if you don’t want to. You are allowed to do this on your terms.”
I look up at him and see nothing but support. He’s not angry in the slightest that she knows or that I outed us. All he wants me to do is what’s best for me. I try to keep my voice calm and even so we don’t draw attention unnecessarily. “After everything? I don’t know what the hell is going on. And clearly, you haven’t made this your sole focus either when something is driving you to get so drunk you black out, and you kick someone out of the house without me knowing why. As for Edward, like I just said, I’m an adult. I don’t have the same views on men as you do, and whether or not you believe this.” My volume is rising, and I’m doing my best, but I’m losing a little bit of my control. “I am allowed to make my own mistakes, Mom. You may not remember what you said to me when you were drinking, but I do. And if you really think that I’m a whore because I happen to have a boyfriend who I love very much, then I don’t know what to tell you.
“I agreed to come home and help you because I don’t exactly know what I want to do with my life. And like I’ve said many times, I’m happy to help. But this isn’t my mission, it’s yours. I’m not going to stop my life for you, and right now Edward is a part of that.”
If looks could kill, I would be dead right now. And I’m not even sure that she would be sorry. Someone steps into the kitchen, and looks curiously at us. “Jane? You’ve got some questions out here.”
Her face transforms into a smile. “I’ll be right there, Ellen.” At the door she turns back to me and Edward. “This isn’t over.”
As soon as she’s out of the room, Edward pulls me into his arms. “Are you okay?”
“I have no idea. You know what happened?”
After a moment, I feel him nod. “I wanted to tell you, but I didn’t feel like it was my place to tell you. I came so close. And it’s the reason that I was pissed when Kevin showed up unannounced.”
I take a deep breath in and out. The fact that he didn’t tell me makes me angry, but I also understand why he wouldn’t want to tell me. With my mother, if her business had been outed by a man, she would never have forgiven him. “You’re going to tell me now though, right?”
“Absolutely.”
“Then let’s get out of here. Your house.”
I know that I’m going to have to deal with Mom again after the party, but right now I’m not interested in being in this house. We leave out the back door, and I don’t look behind me.
18
Julia
This moment has wonderful symmetry. We’re sitting on the couch in Edward’s living room with glasses of wine, but instead of sitting on opposite ends, I’m leaning back against him with my feet up. When we came inside, Kevin’s car was gone, so we’re alone. Edward’s arm is around my waist, and it feels like it’s the only thing that’s grounding me. “I think it’s story time.”
Edward sighs, and I turn around to face him. “It’s not a very long story,” he says. “But I think it will explain a lot.”
“Okay.” I take a big sip of my wine.
“Last year, when you were still at school, Kevin came to stay with me unexpectedly. He told me that his marriage was over and he needed a place to stay for a while. Of course I said yes. And it was fine. He seemed really down, but he was getting through it. Or so I thought.