Page 50 of Forgotten Prejudice

By now, we had the attention of half the tables in the restaurant, so I nodded before we fell into an awkward silence, with Mom looking away. I had obviously hurt her, and I hated it, but I also had to stand up for myself.

“Ashton is an adult, Melany,” Soren said, breaking the silence. “It’s his right to make his own decisions.”

Mom’s jaw twitched a second before she reached for her purse. Not bothering to answer back, she got up and walked away from the table. I wanted to go after her when Aiden stopped me, saying he’d take care of it. He then got up himself, said he’d be right back, and went after Mom.

Ashamed of my family’s reaction, I focused on my hands while chewing my lip hard. Instead of being friendly and welcoming, they’d treated Soren like he was this awful man when all he ever did was care for me. Lunch went horribly, and now Mom was pissed. But what was I supposed to do? Reject Soren’s gift because it didn’t suit her? Give up on my relationship so I could catch some waves in Australia? Fuck no.

I am never, ever leaving Soren.

“Everything will be okay, Ashton.” Soren pinched my cheek before getting up. “I believe this lunch is over. I’ll go pay the check.”

I’m so lucky to have him in my life.

While Soren walked away to pay the bill, Aiden returned. He wasn’t as worked up as Mom, but then again, he was always more easygoing with these types of things. Instead of sitting back in his old chair, he took the one beside me and poured us each a glass of water.

“How’s Mom?” I asked while he took a long gulp.

He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, then coughed. “Mel will be okay. She just needs time to process everything you dropped on us, kiddo.”

“I planned on telling you sooner,” I mumbled quietly before grabbing my water glass and taking a small sip. My mouth tasted bitter, and water didn’t seem to help.

“It’s your life, Ash. As long as you’re sure of what you’re doing, your mom and I are happy.”

I side-eyed him, and he laughed.

“Well, maybe it will take Mel a bit more time, but she’ll get there. And speaking of going to places…” Aiden stopped and pulled something out of his jeans pocket, then handed it to me.

“What’s that?” I asked while checking the letter he gave me. There was no stamp or address on the envelope, which looked like it had seen better days with how wrinkled it was, only two words written on the front.

To Ashy.

That was enough to let me know who wrote this letter, and the second the realization struck me, the paper in my hand felt so much heavier.

“He’s in rehab again. This time, he’s trying. Really trying, Chief.”

After the last time we put Kai in rehab, he relapsed again. Sick and tired of this ongoing cycle, I stopped keeping track. But unlike me, Aiden didn’t seem to give up and kept on insisting on helping Kai.

“He’s sad he couldn’t come to see you graduate and asked me to give you this letter.”

I clenched the envelope tighter while looking away from my uncle.

“He also asked for you to come and visit him.”

My jaw twitched, and I closed my eyes. All of a sudden, Kai wanted to see me. Not that it mattered.

“I don’t want to see him.” I placed the envelope back on the table.

“Ash—”

“Is everything alright?” Soren asked as he returned, his eyes moving from me to the envelope and back.

“Yeah, I’m just really tired,” I said and got up.

“We can go.” Soren placed his hand on my lower back, and I nodded.

But before we could leave, Aiden grabbed the letter from the table and put it back in my palm.

“Think about it,” he said, a serious look pulled on his face. A look I’d seen many times before, one that told me he was counting on me.