A Truelove of Turtle Doves

Chpt 28 - Meetings

The ride home was silent.

When I entered the house, it was silent.

When I sat down in the drawing room, it was silent.

A thick, suffocating blanket of silence so heavy that I felt like I was being crushed.

My mother, Mr and Mrs Hardinge, Edward, Michael, Lauren and Josie were all in the room, the three parents sitting opposite me and the other four standing behind them.

My father was nowhere to be seen.

I couldn't tell if I was relieved or if it made me feel more tense.

I felt sick.

Josie and Lauren had attempted to make it over to me as soon I as I entered the room, but Michael had stopped them, muttering something to the both of them that made them shift. I got the distinct feeling that they didn't like being monitored by Michael. Edward had gestured me to sit and then he'd joined them.

The silence filled the room for several minutes.

Josie and Lauren looked incredibly concerned.

Edward was as stoic as always.

Michael was strangely unreadable. He wasn't glaring at me, which was a first.

Mr and Mrs Hardinge looked vaguely apprehensive.

I couldn't read my mother's expression, so I glued my eyes to the floor.

For the first time in my life, I actually wanted to be shouted at.

I wanted anything other than this... nothingness.

It was making me feel like I had rocks in my gut. My stomach was churning.

Someone shifted in their seat.

"How is your shoulder?"

The question was quiet and tender, and it took me off guard.

Mostly because it was my mother who had asked.

I met her eyes briefly, barely taking in her expression that was conflicted between kind and stern, before my stare returned to the floor.

Rolling my shoulder just to check it, I responded with, "Fine. Well, I mean.. A friend of a friend patched it up, so.. it... it's better than it was."

"I see."

The silence returned, but it had more of an... awkward feel to it.

My mother had taken me by surprise. I hadn't expected her to ask that. It wasn't like her to be so caring. To ask how I was. It had been a damned long time since she had.

Mr Hardinge cleared his throat. "We have had a discussion with your father. As I'm sure you noticed, he is not here. He did not wish to be here for this meeting."

I nodded stiffly.

My back was rigid.

"Your father was scolded thoroughly," started my mother, "His behaviour was unacceptable, regardless of whether you pushed him to the edge or not. Overall, the both of you are at fault here, and I wasn't going to save my anger and disappointment at both of your actions for you alone."

Scolded? My father?

That was... another surprise.

I raised my eyes to look at my mother. She seemed about as uncomfortable as I'd imagined her to be in this sort of situation.

A situation that required more compassion than control.

She took a deep breath. "(Y/N), you must stop pushing your father to the brink. It is unhealthy for him, unhealthy for you, and unhealthy for everyone else. Yes, I am aware that you have conflicting views, and yes, I am aware that your father is incredibly vocal about how he sees things, but if you keep this up then he is going to do something much worse than what he did last evening. Do you understand that?"