“That’s not the point-” I stopped myself mid-sentence and gave her a suspicious look. “How do you know he’s handsome?”
“What?” she said defensively. “I read ZEN Magazine.”
Oh, right. That. I had a copy of the issue with Zayden’s interview under my bed.
“I found it under your bed,” Stacy added. “You’re already kind of sleeping with him.”
“Shut up, Stace! Let’s just eat the pizza, watch some TV, and never speak of this again.”
“Sure, if by never you mean 30 days,” Nick butted in.
“Thanks for the unsolicited opinion, Nicholas,” I said turning up the volume on the TV and getting under a blanket.
They continued to offer what they thought were clever comments, but I tuned them out, focusing instead on the giant bouquet of red roses. Was I in trouble? Would he manage to get what he wanted in 30 days? He couldn’t take what I didn’t want to give. I felt a strange pang in my chest. The problem was, I was not entirely sure I didn’t want to give in. My cell phone rang, breaking the dangerous train of thoughts.
“Hi, Mom! How are you feeling?” I answered the phone.
“Hi, sweetheart. I am doing much better. The doctors said I’ll be running around by the end of the month.”
I smiled. “I am so happy to hear that, Mom.”
“Don’t be, we still have to pay for the stupid surgery. If I hadn’t gotten the damn surgery-”
“If you hadn’t gotten the surgery, I wouldn’t have a mother,” I cut her off. “So you just worry about getting yourself all better, and I’ll worry about the bills.”
“Like you don’t have enough expenses paying your way through college. I’m sorry for being such a lousy mother, baby.”
“Don’t say that!” Tears formed in my eyes, ready to break free. “Having to file for bankruptcy because Dad bailed on you after forcing you to co-sign on his loan does not make you a lousy mother. It makes you a good person who faced terrible consequences for being one. You need to stop blaming yourself. You took care of me all my life, now let me take care of you. It’s going to be okay.”
“But-”
“No but. I’ll figure out a way to pay the hospital bills. You relax and get all pretty. It’s 9 o’clock, John will be over with his daily tea service.”
She chuckled nervously. “What do you mean get pretty? He’s just my neighbor who likes to help out sometimes. And bring me mugs of tea. Just a…friend.”
“Okay Mom, have fun with your neighbor-friend,” I laughed. “I love you.”
“I love you too, sweetheart. Take care of yourself.”
“Mom, I love you, bye!”
I hung up with a smile still on my face and tears in my eyes. I still couldn’t believe what my dad had done to her. I had no idea where he was now, what he was doing, if he ever thought about us. He left us to take care of ourselves and I started working at the age of 14, while my mom tried her best to fend for us, living paycheck to paycheck, while dealing with her heart condition. It all motivated me to work hard and excel in college so I could become a successful loan officer and give my mom all the things she deserved.
This was exactly why I could never let Zayden Sinclair get into my head again. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath with new reserve.
The flowers had to be returned.
---
I walked to the loan officer’s desk feeling nervous. This morning, Stacey had helped me dress up in her black suit, so I looked confident and mature enough to handle the situation. I had hoped the attire would kill the moths in my stomach, but no such luck so far.
“Hi, I am Aria,” I said, offering my right hand.
“Wilson.” His handshake was curt. “Take a seat, Aria. You’re one of the tellers here, correct? I see you whenever I walk in through the front.”
I nodded.
“How long have you been working here?” He was looking at his computer screen.