Page 23 of Forever Mine
“What?”
There’s a loudslam, then blissful quiet. “The freaking car has a flat tire. Talk to me while I wait for Triple A.”
Thinking she’s broken down on the side of a road in the middle of nowhere, I’m immediately worried for her safety. She’s not supposed to drive up from South Carolina until this weekend.
“Where are you?”
“Target. I came out to find the back tire flat and a nail sticking out of it. I didn’t know nails were that big. The thing is huge. Like a freaking javelin spear.”
Phone to my ear, I pace back and forth along the edge of the pool. “Can your dad come get you?”
“Hold on. It’s flipping hot, and I’m sweating in some uncomfortable places. Thank god for ventilated seats.”
She must be driving Brad’s Tesla.
“Okay, I’m back. Can’t call Dad because he’s out of town on business, and I’d rather skinny dip in a lake of fire ants than call Beverly.”
Just hearing Mom’s name has my jaw clenching. I haven’t seen nor spoken to her since the hotel parking lot confrontation in Charleston when she walked away for good. April doesn’t bring her up at all. Mom ispersona non grata, her name never spoken in my presence. Also, April can’t stand her.
“Speaking of Beverly…” she says.
The first thought that flies to the tip of my tongue comes out. “Are they getting a divorce?”
I’m honestly surprised their marriage has lasted this long seeing as Mom is Brad’s fourth wife. Maybe third. I can’t recall. April says he goes through wives as fast as the seasons change. It’s why she doesn’t bother forming any kind of relationship with her new stepmoms. They’re gone just as quickly as they arrived, so why make the effort? Her words, not mine.
April’s humorless scoff erupts from the speaker. “I wish, but no. I hate to drop this on you, but Dad said Beverly insists on coming with us this weekend. I told him no thank you. His reply was, ‘Tough shit, so suck it up and be nice.’” She releases a long groan. “Why do adults suck?”
“You’re an adult now.”
She mock gasps. “Don’t be mean. I’m a fledgling adult, which means I’m still cool.”
I chuckle even though my stomach has violently plummeted to my feet. But I can’t let seeing Mom for the first time in almost a year prevent me from being there for my stepsister. Mom’s opinion of me—who I choose to love and how I choose to live my life—doesn’t matter. The cruel words she said that have haunted me almost every day since I told her and Dad that I was gay no longer have any hold over me. Fuck her. Harsh, but an accuratesentiment. She may not want a gay son, but I don’t want a mother who’s a bigoted, homophobic bitch.
Determined to still go, I reply, “You wanted me there, so I’m coming.”
April sighs. “I knew you would say that, and I love you for it, but I’m not going to put you through that. I’d tell Dad to go fuck himself, then tell her the same thing, but until I have my own source of income and can pay my own way, I’m kinda stuck between a rock and a pile of shit. Neither option is good.”
“I want to be there for you. Who cares about her? I sure as hell don’t.”
Not anymore. I closed that door for good. No more little boy pining and hoping for the day his mother would love him.
“I’d throw her out the dorm window if she said one condescending, mean thing to you. I don’t think Duke would look too fondly on murder before classes even started. I can’t go to jail, justified as it would be, if I want to become a doctor. Hippocratic oath and all.”
My stepsister is crazy loyal and has the protective streak of a pit bull.
“I don’t want to argue with you about it?—”
“We’re discussing, not arguing. And I still want to see you because I miss you like crazy.”
Completely bummed, I reply, “Miss you, too.”
I hate that I won’t be able to help her move into her dorm. It’s kind of a rite of passage for every freshman. Their first real experience with college. A new beginning. One I got to share with Dad, like the passing of a ceremonial torch from father to son. Doesn’t matter if he never went to college. It’s the symbolism of it, when parents cut that invisible cord and let their kid go off into the great unknown called adulthood.
“How about in two weeks, I come see you. We can go to the beach, hang out for the weekend. Maybe Fallon can come with us.” She makes a dirty hum.
I’m not even going to ask what she’s thinking because it’s more than likely pornographic. April has a huge crush on Fallon. Something about every time she sees him, her ovaries explode. Makes me cringe.
“I’d love that.”
