Broken Hill Hurt (Broken Hill High 3)

“You’re right,” he says. “I did do that, but surely you must see that no matter how harsh I was, you needed to hear it. Your future is what’s important. Other boys will come.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“Come on, Tora,” he says. “Nathaniel Ryder is not the type of boy you’ll be living your life with. He’s a fling. After college and law school, you can pay a little more attention to your romantic life, but not now. I know you’re probably hurting now, but it will pass soon enough.”

I walk forward and situate myself before him. “Nate wasn’t just a ‘fling’. He was the guy who I fell in love with. He’s always going to be the guy no matter how much you twist the story to make him seem less than. And the fact that you don’t approve, just makes me want to get him back more.”

“I’m not looking for an argument,” he tells me, looking down at me with a heavy disappointment. “I’m trying to apologize. You’re my daughter and I love you, but no matter how much you push the Nate topic, I will never approve. You have been involved in fights and fires since your relationship with him started. Your grades have dropped and your attitude has certainly spiked. This is for the best. You may not see it now, but someday you’ll thank me.”

I stand tall and let him see just how serious I am. “I will never forgive you for this,” I tell him. “And I can honestly say that I will never thank you. Over the past few months, all you’ve managed to do is cause pain. Why don’t you just go back to London?”

He flinches back as mom gasps. “You couldn’t mean that?”

“I do, dad. I’m sorry but you sealed your fate when you decided that you knew what was best for me. You’ve never been so wrong and you’ve cost me the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

With that, I turn and stalk out of the room, far too annoyed and frustrated to even cry.

Twenty minutes later, a knock sounds on my door before mom sticks her head through the small opening. “You hurt your dad’s feelings,” she says.

“Good,” I grunt.

She pushes the door wider and steps inside my room. “I know you didn’t mean it,” she says. “That was a harsh thing to say, especially when he’s just trying to look out for you.”

“He doesn’t know a thing about me,” I tell her. “How could he? He’s never around. Even when he is, he’s always in his office.”

Mom sighs before moving forward and sitting on my bed beside me. She rests her hand on my knee. “I know you’re hurting but you know he loves you and he’s just trying to do what he thinks is right. No matter what you might think now, it’s not easy for a parent to see their child heading down a bad road.”

“Nate wasn’t a bad road.”

Mom squeezes my hand. “He never saw you with Nate. He didn’t see how much you two love and mean to one another.”

“Well, that’s what happens when you’re never around,” I grumble.

“I completely agree,” she tells me. “So, with that in mind, I want you to know that if you want to try and mend your relationship that I support you one hundred percent, but your focus has to be your school work. I know you don’t want to hear it but your dad was right, you can’t throw away your future because you’re too busy swooning over a boy.”

“I’m not,” I groan.

“Sweetie,” she says with a knowing look. “You are and that’s ok, it’s normal to swoon over your first love. I just need you to swoon a little less and stop jumping head first into fights with boys twice your size. If you come home with a gash on your face again, I’ll be forced to upload that picture of you as a baby pooping in the bathtub to my Facebook page.”

My eyes widen at my mother’s sneaky ways. “You wouldn’t?”

“Wouldn’t I?” she grins as she pushes up from my bed and walks back to the door. She turns back around as I gawk after her, completely surprised and honestly, a little terrified. “I know you’re hurting but maybe give it a little time before you speak with Nate. Your heart needs some time to heal before you can risk giving it away again.”

“I guess,” I say, thoughtful.

“Alight, my dear,” she smiles. “I love you, but now I have to go and convince your father that you love him too.” I scoff which has her stopping in the doorway and looking back. “Keep in mind that he’s only here for a short while. He’ll be going back in a few days and I’d really like it if you two could make up before that happens.