I let him go and went to take my seat between Margot and Rule. I tried not to wince when Rule sent a narrow eyed look in my direction, knowing Rome and I had more than likely been whispering about him. I slid into my spot and flashed Dale a smile as he started passing the typically lavish brunch around. I was about to ask Rome what he planned to do with his time off when Margot had me snapping my head around in shock.
“Would it be too much of a stretch to expect you to come to brunch in a shirt that buttons and in a pair of pants that don’t look like they came from the thrift store? I mean your brother has several broken bones and was in a horrific accident and he still manages to look more put together than you, Rule.”
I had to bite my tongue to stop from snapping at her to lay off of him. Mostly because family gatherings were supposed to be informal and fun and I knew good and well if I had showed up in jeans and a t-shirt she wouldn’t even have blinked, but because it was him she viewed it as a direct attack on her.
He picked a couple pieces of bacon off the platter I handed to him and didn’t even bother to respond to her. Instead he turned to Rome and asked what his plans were while he was home. He wanted him to come to the city for a week and spend time with him and Nash. I saw Margot’s mouth tighten at the dismissal and Dale’s eyebrows pull down in a frown. I saw varying degrees of the same look every Sunday we were here. It hurt my chest because even in a rumpled shirt and torn jeans Rule was the kind of guy that owned whatever look he was wearing. It was the same thing with the mass amounts of tattoos that covered him from head to toe and the array of metal that dotted his face here and there. There was no denying Rule was a good looking guy, probably too good looking to be honest, but he was complicated and the beauty he possessed was buried and camouflaged under things it was easy to look past. Of all the brothers he had the clearest, most arctic blue eyes, his hair even when it was decorated with purple or green or blue was still the thickest and the shiniest and even with every color under sun dancing across his skin, of the three of them Rule had always been the one the girls gravitated to. Just like the brunette at Starbucks this afternoon. Her name was Amy Rodgers and I had spent all four years of high school being tormented by her and her cheerleader cronies. She dated jocks and boys that bleed blue, not guys that rocked mohawks and had their eyebrows and lips pierced, but even she couldn’t resist all that was Rule Archer in his magnetic glory.
“And what’s going on with your hair son? A color actually found in nature might be a nice change of pace especially since the whole family is together and we’re all lucky to have your brother home in one piece.”
I groaned inwardly and silently took the bowl of fruit Margot handed me. Now that they had teamed up on him there was no way he was going to stay quiet. Normally he ignored his mom and shot sarcastic one liners at Dale, but being interrupted and attacked from both sides while he was trying to catch up with Rome wasn’t going to fly. Rule had a short fuse on a good day but corner him when he was hung over and being reluctantly civil at best and the fur was no doubt going to fly. I shot Rome a panicked look across the table but before he could interject Rule’s voice snapped out like a verbal back hand across the face.
“Well pops purple is found all throughout nature so I don’t know what you’re talking about and as far as my clothes are concerned I figure we’re all lucky I bothered to even put pants on considering the condition Shaw found me in this morning. Now if you’re both done criticizing every move I make can I continue my conversation with the brother I haven’t seen in over a year that nearly got blow up by a roadside bomb?”
Margot gasped and Dale shoved his chair back from the table. I let my head fall forward and rubbed between my eyes where a headache was starting to throb.
“One afternoon Rule, one freaking afternoon is all we ask of you.” Dale stormed out of the room and Margot wasted no time in bursting into tears. She buried her face in her napkin and I reached over to awkwardly pat her shoulder. I cut a look at Rule but he had climbed to his feet as well and was headed toward the front door. I shot a look at Rome who just shook his head and lumbered to his feet. Margot lifted her head and looked at her oldest with pleading eyes.
“Tell him Rome, you go tell him that this not how you treat your parents. He has no respect.”
She pointed a shaky finger at the door. “You tell him that this is unacceptable.”
Rome looked at me then at his mom. “Sure mom I’ll tell him, but I’m also going to tell you that you had no reason to lay into him like that. Who cares if he wants to wear jeans and have hair like a god damn Smurf? What matters is that he’s here and he made an effort and Shaw took time out of her life, her busy schedule to make that happen for you and dad and you waited exactly three seconds before purposely picking at the scab, both of you.”
Margot gasped but Rome wasn’t done. “You and dad need a wakeup call. I could have just as easily come home in a body bag as a cast. You’ve already lost one son, you need to appreciate the ones you have left regardless if you agree with the choices we’re making or not.”
The tears came harder and she leaned her head on my shoulder. “Shaw loves coming to visit on Sunday; we should just stop asking her to bring Rule because clearly he doesn’t want to be here. I’m done trying to make him be part of this family it just hurts too much.”
Rome shook his head and both of us sighed he followed his brother out of the room as I continued to pat Margot on the shoulder. This woman had been kind to me, treated me as a daughter when my own had no use for me so what I was about to say to her came from a place of refusing to watch another family disintegrate in on its self.
“Margot you and Dale are wonderful people and good parents but you have to stop living in the past. I’m not going to come see you guys on Sunday anymore, not unless you guys figure out how to accept Rule for exactly who he is and love him anyway. I miss Remy and it was tragic how he died, but you are never going to turn Rule into him and I can’t stand by and watch you continue to try. My parents have been forcing me into a mold that doesn’t fit for years and I only wish I had enough will to refuse the way Rule does.”
I climbed to me feet and had to fight back my own tears when she looked at me with shock and dismay marked on her face.
“If Remy was here none of this would be happening. Rule would never have started acting so awful, you and he would still be so happy together and Rome never would have gone off and joined the stupid military.”