Free Love Her Right by Christina Ow

like they wished I was never born.”
    “They weren’t like that all the time. They were good brothers until...well...”
    “The day they did nothing as Dad beat me?”
    “Yeah, then. So why did you call this family reunion?”
    “Because I need to know why they hate me.” Jolie tightened her hold on her brother’s hand. “That scares me too. I don’t think I’m ready to find out what I ruined by being born.”
    He pressed his forehead against hers. “Either way, you have the people who truly love you in your corner. Hold on to that. I think you should ask Mac to stay.”
    She shook her head. “That would be too embarrassing.”
    With a coy smile he said, “But he can break a few heads if you need him to.”
    She chuckled at the memory of Mac pinning her father to the wall. “That was funny to watch.” She stood up, pulling her brother up. “Let’s go face the truth.”
    “I need to ask, how did you explain the baby being inside your belly to Miles?” he asked with a cheeky smile.
    She chuckled. “I told him to ask his daddy. You’ll have to ask Mac how he made it through that mine field.”
    They’d barely gotten halfway down the stairs before they heard the yelling coming from the living room. Jase turned to her with a worried look, probably wondering if the shouting would set Jolie off. That’s what she’d become, someone that needed a warning label—‘ beware, will explode when triggered ’. Jolie lifted her chin and pushed her shoulders back. It was time to show them she was saner than any of them.
    “That’s my girl. Go show them who’s boss,” Jase cheered with a beaming smile.
    It gave her more courage to know that someone always had her back. If she had leaned on him from the start, that thread that tethered her would have held in the face of Mac’s betrayal. She wasn’t super human. She needed support even if it hurt her pride.
    She marched into the living room, her hands resting on her belly because she had no idea what to do with them and stood watching the screaming match between the men in her family and her husband while her mother and son stood to the side watching with wide frightened eyes. With them were three other ladies. Leah, the beautiful redhead, Jase’s girlfriend, she knew and was close to. One of the other two looked like she’d walked out of a society magazine and the other looked more down to earth as she held a little boy to her chest. The boy she recognized from the pictures her mother had sent, but the ladies, though she could guess who they were, she’d had no good pictures of them to recognize.
    “I’m not sure how you run things in your homes, but in mine, guests don’t engage in a shouting match with their hosts,” she spoke directly, her voice loud enough not to be a shout. The room went quiet and they all turned to face her. Jolie smiled at the room, looking each one of the men in the eye. Her confidence almost faltered when Mac quickly looked away, giving her his back.
    “Good, I like silence. It’s calming. Now, why don’t we all take a seat—after proper introductions have been made, of course.”
    The room stayed quiet as everyone stared at her like she’d grown two heads.
    Jase chuckled behind her before stepping forward. “Why don’t I start? Hi, my name is Jase Simmons and I’m a recovering transplant patient and a college graduate.” He signaled to Leah who moved to stand by his side. “This beauty here is my girlfriend Leah O’Connor. She’s a graduate too; aspiring to be an architect like me. She took great care of me and Mom while we were recovering and I love her for that. Leah, say hi to this dysfunctional clan you’ll be joining sometime in the future.”
    Leah’s cheeks were close to the red of her hair as she gave the room a short wave with a shy, “Hi”
    Jolie bit her lips shut to keep from laughing. God, they were such a dysfunctional family.
    Jake cleared his voice, gaining attention of the room before he stretched