Page 68 of By Rude Strength

“Thank you. I, uh, I really appreciate that.” LA fidgeted. “Art was always an escape for me. I used to be… Well, I was in a bad place for a long time when I was younger. I needed somewhere to put everything I was feeling.”

“Ah, and that’s how you got into painting?”

“Yeah. Most of them are, well…” LA had to abruptly sit up straight as his back twitched. “Shit. Sorry. Can I stretch out?”

“Of course, sweetheart.” Cass scooted to the end of the couch. “Do you want your medicine?”

“Yeah, I got it.” LA leaned forward, hissing in pain as he snatched up the pill. He took it with a big swig of chocolate milk and then lay down, dropping his head into Cass’s lap. He reached up for Cass’s arm, making grabby motions.

Cass smiled as he gently draped his arm over LA’s chest. “Better?”

“Yeah.” LA hugged Cass’s forearm like a teddy bear, grateful for its warmth.

“What were you saying?”

“Hmm?”

“About your paintings. Most of them are what?”

“Self-portraits.” LA looked up at the closest canvas and sighed.

“They’rewhat?” Cass frowned. “All those haunted faces… They’re you?”

“It’s me, how I felt, going through all of that bullshit with that bitch torturing me in school and my family doing fucking nothing. Just leaving me to rot in my own feelings, trapped and fucking helpless.”

“Oh, Elly.” Cass whimpered quietly. “I am so very sorry. That you felt that way, that you hurt so much. People like that girl are the absolute worst kind of human. They’re hollow inside, so they feel the need to belittle others and—”

“And she’s about to be my sister-in-law.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Thanks.” LA sucked the last of the drink down and then slammed the empty glass on the coffee table. “Her and my brother went to the same community college and fell madly in love.” He rolled his eyes. “I begged him not to date her, and hey, it’s not like he didn’t know what she did to me. He just didn’t care.”

Cass curled his tail around LA’s middle and squeezed. “You have every right to be upset. Your family is completely invalidating your experiences and what this girl did to you. Theydon’t get to decide what you should or should not be comfortable with, and you have no obligation to subject yourself to what would obviously be a stressful, if not extremely traumatic situation.”

“Yeah. They’re assholes.” LA closed his eyes. “It’s one of the biggest things my mom has been on me about. She just doesn’t hear me when I try to explain to her how completely fucked it is.”

“So. Stop trying.” Cass nodded firmly. “That needs to be one of the boundaries you set for her. No discussion of the wedding. If she isn’t willing to hear you out and acknowledge your feelings, then you are under no obligation to hear her nonsense.”

“They’re expecting me to show up to the rehearsal,” LA said with a cringe.

“Well, you never agreed to come, did you?”

“No.”

“Then that’s on your mother for spreading false information!” Cass frowned. “Where is your brother in all of this?”

“Haven’t heard a peep.” LA shrugged. “We were never that close anyway, but him dating my fucking bully kinda killed any hopes of a nice, brotherly relationship.”

“And the bully girl?”

“Katie? No.” LA could feel the muscle relaxer kicking in and making his body feel heavy. Either that or he was simply that exhausted. “She tried to message me on some social media stuff a few years back, but I blocked her everywhere I could.”

“A wise decision.”

“Wish it was that easy to block emotions.” LA sighed. “Like, here, no more shitty feelings of obligation. Just click.”

“It will get easier,” Cass promised. “While the weight of such pain may never decrease, you will grow stronger and be able to carry it more easily.”