Chapter 16

After Dinner, my parents, Uncle David, and Aunt Mellanie headed over to the living room where desserts were served for them.

For the rest of us, the desserts had been arranged in the den. I had no heart to join the others there but as the host, I was left with no option.

I sat with Elisha on one couch while Sierra and Jace took the other couch. Stefan made himself comfortable on the recliner. The Dessert cart stood by the bookshelf, ready and waiting.

Every muscle in my body ached. My temples throbbed to the point that I thought I could hear the pulsations in my ears. My eyes were heavy, as wave after wave of exhaustion washed me down. The physical exertion in the cafe earlier had been superimposed by the mental fatigue here and now my body was breaking down.

I could not comprehend what was being said around me, but I could feel someone's constant gaze on me.

I shut my eyes tightly and tried to clear my mind and focus. I shook my head a little and opened my eyes.

Focus, Ira, focus.

I tried to tune in to the conversation, though I had no wish to participate because Sierra being involved in any conversation meant that it could be neither productive nor enjoyable.

My eyes subconsciously followed the source of constant gaze on me.

Jace.

Of course.

He saw me looking and immediately averted his gaze. I narrowed my eyes and turned my head away from him.

"Ira, this house has not been renovated since ages. Are you people even planning on changing things around here? Just look at how downtrodden everything looks," said Sierra.

Here it goes again.

I took in a deep breath. "We renovated early last year, Sierra. Fortunately, we don't have wasteful time lying around to renovate every single year."

"A poor man's excuse," said Sierra, smiling in her usual condescending way.

"Desserts anyone?" asked Elisha, standing up. "A mini dessert buffet by Ira has to be the highlight of my day."

"Totally agree," said Stefan. He too stood up to help Elisha serve the desserts.

I was so grateful to them for taking over. They knew I was washed out and I probably looked even more tired. There was no way that I would have been able to play the good host now.

"Cake, brownies, ice cream, pudding, custard and mini pies. Wow, Ira, this is brilliant," said Elisha, her eyes twinkling as she turned around to give me a quick smile.

I smiled back at her. "Hope you like them."

"Sierra, Jace, what will you guys take?" asked Stefan.

Jace.

Wait.

Peanuts.

"There are peanuts in the brownies, in case anyone is allergic," I said.

"Peanuts?" said Sierra, her voice shrill enough that I thought it was capable of stabbing me had it been an arrow. "Jace is allergic to peanuts. Were you trying to kill him? What is wrong with you? You're such a—"

Her intelligence level was commendable.

Note the sarcasm.

I cut her short before she could call me whatever she had thought of. "We were not expecting either you or Jace to be present here today. You arrived unexpectedly, Sierra. Besides, I did not bake keeping your boyfriend in mind. It was your duty to have informed us beforehand about any allergy issues."

Sierra was seething. She opened her mouth to argue but Jace cut in.

"It's perfectly fine. We are the ones at fault. We apologize," said Jace.

I rolled my eyes. "With a girlfriend like that, you should learn to apologize a lot quicker and a lot more. Free advice, take it."

Elisha snorted in an attempt to not laugh, and Stefan was biting his lip to prevent the grin that was spreading across his face.

"You bloody—" Sierra spat but I saw Jace squeezing her hand and she snapped her head towards him. A moment of silent eye contact between them made Sierra purse her lips together and remain quiet.

Surprising.

Very surprising.

This was the first time that I had ever seen Sierra shut up and not shred my dignity apart after I had given her a taste of her own medicine.

Stefan handed Jace a bite sized portion of everything but the brownies and then gave Sierra her own plate of desserts.

Elisha came and sat down next to me.

"Here." She extended my plate towards me.

I chuckled at the way they had placed a little of all desserts on the plate. It was a good idea because this was a genius taste test to decide what we loved the most and wanted to eat a full size of.

"Oh my goodness," said Stefan. "This is amazing. The subtle cinnamon in the vanilla cake is to die for."

I chuckled. "I added it especially for you."

"Everything tastes amazing, Ira," said Jace.

I did not even spare him a glance. "Thanks."

My hand stayed still. The thought of eating anything that was on my plate was nauseating. My appetite had already died at dinner.

Elisha nudged me, prodding me to eat. Begrudgingly, I took a bite of the mango custard. I failed to appreciate any taste and it trailed down my throat with great reluctance.

My eyes strayed to the window. Through the partially drawn curtains, I could see the darkening night.

At least, this ordeal is going to end soon.

***

It was over.

Everybody was gone.

As soon as the door closed behind them, I ran up to my room and crashed on the bed. I was no longer able to understand if I was more tired physically or mentally.

Tears began to soak the pillow and screams erupted at the back of my throat, but I held them in. My fingers gripped the bed cover in tight fists.

"Ira?"

There was a knock on the door.

I fell silent.

"I'm coming in," said Mom.

I hid my face in the pillow, as I heard the door open and then close.

"You haven't switched on the light," she said. "Are you all right?"

I felt her approaching my bed.

"Do you want to talk, Ira?" she asked, sitting down next to me.

I said nothing. But tears streamed down my cheeks once again and I sniffed.

What was I supposed to say? Where was I supposed to start from? There was so much and yet so little to say.

"Don't cry," she said, rubbing my back.

I only cried harder.

"The problem is Jace, isn't it?" she said.

I did not respond.

"Did you know?" she asked.

I stopped crying for a moment and turned my face to see her. I could not make out her expression in the dark, but I could say that she was just as sad and disappointed as me.

"After… after the carnival, on Wednesday, h-he told me," I said, my lower lip trembling.

Mom continued to rub my back. "So, this was why you were cooped up here on Thursday."

"I don't understand, mom," I said, "How is this even real?"

"Unexpected things happen sometimes," she said, "Things we don't have control over. Things we don't understand."

"But he knew everything. How could he do this to me?" My words were a fading whisper.

"I'm afraid that only Jace can answer that." Mom wiped away my tears.

I closed my eyes. "He's not the same Jace I know. He's not."