Dad wasn’t listening.
He was staring at me.
“You think that was funny?”
I finally stood up.
For once, I didn’t feel like the awkward younger version of myself waiting to be mocked.
I felt calm.
Steady.
“I didn’t make anyone look bad,” I said.
“You humiliated this family.”
I tilted my head slightly.
“No. You did that yourselves.”
Dad’s jaw tightened.
“I just pressed play.”
The room went silent.
Even the servers had stopped moving.
Dad stepped closer.
“You’ve always been like this. Bitter. Petty. Blaming everybody else because you’re unhappy with your own life.”
I interrupted him.
“Because that’s what I’ve always been to you, right?”
He stopped.
“A disappointment.”
For once, Dad had nothing ready.
I looked around the room.
“At least now everyone else has seen it too.”
Mom stared at me.
I continued.
“Not the holiday-card version. Not the smiling family photos. What it actually looked like.”
Behind me, Elise spoke.
“You ruined everything.”
I turned.
She stood there clutching her bouquet so tightly the flowers were bent.
Her makeup was streaked.
Her dress was wrinkled from running outside.
For once, she didn’t look like the golden child.
She just looked exposed.
“You did that yourself,” I said.
Her face twisted.
“I trusted you.”
“No. You used me.”
She stared at me.
“You asked me to make a video because you assumed I’d do whatever you wanted, like always. You just never thought I’d have anything worth showing.”
Before she could respond, the side door opened.
Carson walked back in.
His tie was loosened.
