14. Creed

CHAPTER 14

CREED

"It smells good in here," I said, ambling into the kitchen. Avery's mother sat at the head of the table, focused on her meal. Pancakes were on her plate with a jug of coffee letting off steam.

I joined her at the table without waiting to be invited.

Her forehead scrunched up in confusion. "I didn't expect anyone else to be awake at this hour. I would have told Cora to make some more if I had known."

The look on her face showed she was beginning to clue in that this wasn't going to be a light-hearted conversation.

I shook my head. "Honestly, I didn't come down here for breakfast. I'm here because I need to talk to you. About your behavior last night." My eyes rested on Evelyn.

She straightened up in her chair, delicately set down her fork and let her hands fall to her lap. "What's going on?"

"You can eat while we talk. I've got no intentions of holding up your breakfast."

Evelyn's actions were almost robotic as she dipped a strip of bacon into the syrup on her plate and then promptly brought it to her mouth. Her eyes narrowed slightly, and she reached for a napkin. "What do you want to talk about?" Her gaze wandered from me to the door I had left open. "Is something wrong with Avery?"

"Nothing you can't solve considering how much of a shitty parent you were to him last night."

Her mouth hung open, but I was not done.

Not yet.

"He didn't deserve any of what you doled out last night. I see how kind and respectful he is with everyone. But then, you choose to humiliate and accuse your son because you're grieving your husband, whose actions had a hand in the trauma Avery now has to deal with. It was ignorant and in poor taste to blame Avery for his father's death."

I paused for a minute, watching as Evelyn's face turned remorseful. She dabbed her forehead with the napkin and then crumpled it with her fist.

Evelyn took a shaky sip of her coffee, the strong aroma swirling in the air. "I didn't mean to upset him. Avery understands that. I let my emotions get the best of me last night, drinking a little too much wine and having an emotional meltdown." Her hands trembled as she set her coffee cup down on the table. "They don't happen very often anymore, but I have a feeling there will be more over the next couple of days."

I just shook my head. The tentative internal calm I had achieved this morning needed to stay intact.

"The truth is that I was never good at handling Avery's sexuality. It was just easier being passive about the entire thing and being the mediator when things began to get out of hand with his father. I'm sorry about the way I acted and spoke impulsively. I'm ashamed of myself. Going forward, I hope to be better, despite how hard it might be." There was nothing except sincerity in Evelyn's voice, yet it was the most unlikely thing I had ever expected to come out of her mouth.

"I totally agree, Mrs. Branson; you should be ashamed of yourself." My words seemed to strike a nerve with her, and tears brimmed in her eyes. "It's understandable that you're still grieving your husband and might be unable to find the proper coping mechanisms but you aren't my responsibility. Avery is. And you have no right to hurt him."

She looked down at her lap, closing her eyes as if in a desperate attempt to stop herself from losing it totally.

"And I'll be spending the whole day with him and away from you. I don't care about whatever bias you and the others have against Avery and his choices. I want all of you to respect his space. Our space. Hopefully, he is going to have a day that's not a guilt fest and if every one of you is on their best behavior, then maybe, we'll consider joining you for dinner instead of staying in our room. Deal?"

Evelyn's body stiffened. Barely able to mask her fury at being told what to do, she bristled, tapping her legs in a steady rhythm. Nothing would make me budge nor rethink the ultimatum I'd given her, so I fixed her with a pointed stare.

She sucked in a noticeable breath. "I don't have much choice in the matter, do I?"

"You don't." This was a big step. I couldn't tell how Avery would react to this if he ever found out, but then, his mother had overstepped her boundaries one too many times. He was too much of a nice guy to put her in her place. Someone had to do it and I'd never minded being the villain in any story. It was a role I could play efficiently now.

"Fine. I get it. I'm not going to be a bother."

I gave her a small smile and rose to my feet. I'd begun to walk away when the sound of her voice stopped me in my tracks. I whirled around to look at her as she spoke.

"The way you look at him…" Evelyn cocked her head slightly, as though she wasn't sure what she planned to say. "I see it. And I realize just how much you care for him. The way you look like you can't focus, the way your eyes search him out in a room. It's clear that you love him, even though I still wonder how that's possible. I appreciate your concern for my son."

Different emotions coursed through me. I couldn't voice the thoughts in my head. Heck, I couldn't even sort through my emotions.

Exhaling, I stamped them down. It was what I did best. I nodded to Evelyn as I walked out of the room.

It was time to give Avery a day he wouldn't forget.