Page 107 of Leave a Mark
Wren found the measuring spoons and cups, but there was a disturbing lack of music. Baking required music, and since she didn’t want to wake Lee, the jukebox was out of the question. Her purse sat by the back door, so she retrieved her earbuds, tapped her Spotify app, and got to work with Hozier. By the time“innocence died screaming,”Wren had mixed all of the dry ingredients.
She stirred in the milk, the vanilla, and the cooking oil and folded in the blueberries, humming along with Hozier about questions that shouldn’t be asked. And while darlings kissed“likereal people do,”she spooned muffin batter into a greased tin.
“It Will Come Back” opened just as she slid the dish into the oven. And at that moment, Victor tore through the kitchen toward the front room, squeaking his best puppy bark. Frowning, Wren turned to follow him into the living room, and her scream rattled the windows.
A man and a woman stood in Lee’s open doorway, staring at her with terror in their eyes. Victor postured between them, barking wildly. Wren yanked the buds from her ears, but her legs wouldn’t move.
“Oh, dear, Thomas,” the woman gasped, and that’s when Wren realized she was meeting Lee’s parents.
In her panties and tank-top.
The man facing her raked his eyes up and down her body, bringing a stinging blush to Wren’s cheeks.
“Um…” she managed.
“I’m sorry… miss,” Lee’s father seemed to choke on the word. “Is Leland at home? We knocked, but—“
“Dad? Jesus Christ.” Lee ran into the room and stepped in front of her, blocking her from view. “What’s going on?”
Over his bare shoulder, she watched his stepmother gape at the sight of him in nothing but his pajama shorts. Wren wished she could crawl into a hole. If she could make her legs do something other than knock together at the knees, she would escape to his bedroom. But she felt so naked.
Like they could see everything. Every crack in her heart.
Like no amount of ink could cover her.
Like she was powerless again.
She had to get some clothes on before she freaked out completely. Forcing herself to turn away, Wren broke from the group and aimed for Lee’s bedroom, hearing their words as she retreated.
“Leland, who is that?” his father asked.
“Dad, what are you doing here?”
Wren closed the bedroom door behind her, but their voices seeped underneath it. Wren grabbed her overnight bag and dug in it for her clothes, trying, futilely, not to listen.
“We saw your Jeep and thought we’d stop in.” This was from his stepmother, her words fast and nervous.
“And you didn’t see Wren’s car? She’s parked right beside me.” Irritation sharpened his voice.
“How were we to know?” his father asked, defensive. “We thought it was another one of your acquisitions. Besides, aren’t you getting back together with Marcelle?”
The blood rushing through her ears drowned out the rest of their words.
“Back together with Marcelle?”It couldn’t be true. Itcouldn’tbe true.
Except it could.
The look on their faces had marked genuine shock. Lee’s father and stepmother had no idea he’d been seeing someone else. Mamaw Gigi knew abouthim, but clearly, Lee hadn’t felt it necessary to tell his family abouther.
He’d told Wren he loved her, but if he did, why wouldn’t his family know about them? Every explanation Wren could come up with left a weight in the pit of her stomach. He either wasn’t sure about her, he didn’t think they’d like her…
Or he wasn’t proud to claim her.
And, really, how could he be? The people she’d just met at his front door would probably always look at her the way they had just now. She would never fit in with them.
She would never fit in withhim.
It was time to go.
