Chapter32

#Chapter32

The thing I found most unbearable was how normal things seemed. Small talk and chatter passed its way around the table, filling the air in what an outsider may have considered to be a homey atmosphere.

But I wasn't an outsider and each breath I took made it feel like my chest was caving in. My eyes barely left my plate; my fork had impaled the same lone piece of broccoli over and over again, riddling it in tiny holes. Once it was well and truly murdered, I attempted to hide its body beneath the untouched splatter of cottage pie.

One of Joel's hands rested on my leg. It squeezed it in comfort every now and again but for the most part, just his touch alone kept me from fleeing the table and breaking down in the bathtub.

I risked a glance up.

I wished that I hadn't.