I felt bad about blowing Bryant off when he wanted to see me, and truthfully, I could have gone to see him—but I was terrified of it. I was scared that I wouldn’t be able to end things like I wanted—scared that I would wind up in his bed again when it was a mistake. I couldn’t shake the feelings that were developing for him, and I hated the thought of ending this after Alexis’ threat. I didn’t want to give her the perceived satisfaction of being responsible for the end of our relationship. It had to end, no matter what—but she wasn’t the reason. I certainly didn’t think Bryant was going to fall for her just because our relationship fell apart.
I drove to my house and was surprised to see my mother’s car in the driveway. It was unusual for her to make it home before I did. I was normally the first one there, followed shortly by Anna if she didn’t have anything going on after school.
“Mom?” I walked into the house and found my mom in the kitchen—with a glass of wine in front of her.
“Hey…” She looked up, and I immediately realized she had been crying.
“What’s wrong!?” I dashed to the table and grabbed her hand as I sat down. “Did something happen!?”
“I…” Her voice was shaky, and I saw more tears begin to stream down her face. “I got fired today.”
“Are you serious?” I blinked in surprise. “Why?”
“My boss wouldn’t tell me…” She reached for her glass of wine and took a sip. “I was walked out by security with no explanation—he said I would be getting a letter from HR.”
“He can’t do that! They have to tell you what you did…” I shook my head back and forth. “You’ve been working there your whole life!”
“I felt like som
e kind of criminal. They wouldn’t even let me get my pictures…” She started breaking down, and her words trailed off. “I have no idea what we’re going to do.”
“We’ll be okay.” I leaned forward and hugged her. “You’ll find something else. I’ll get a job to help if I have to—I’m sure Anna can find something after school, even if it’s part time.”
“No.” She shook her head back and forth. “Please don’t tell Anna—not yet. I don’t want her to worry.”
“She’s going to be walking in the door any second…” I looked over my shoulder nervously.
“I got a message from her earlier. She’s hanging out with friends and won’t be home for dinner,” my mother sighed.
“Oh…” I nodded. “Mom, we really are going to be okay. I know you loved that job, but you’ve always said you could make more at a bigger company…”
“If they’ll hire me… I’ve been sitting here trying to figure out what I could have possibly done wrong, and I have no idea what it could be. The only time I’ve seen someone walked out like that was when they were stealing money from the company—I definitely didn’t do that!” She shook her head, and I could tell she was on the verge of totally losing it.
“I love you.” I leaned over and hugged her. “No matter what…”
I did my best to comfort my mother. All of my problems stopped being important in an instant. It took almost two hours for her to finally calm down and stop crying. She came up with several theories about why she could have been fired, but none of them made sense—and most of them would have been grounds for a lawsuit if it was the real reason her company let her go. Not knowing was the worst part—there was no way that she could figure it out, and I thought the entire situation was bullshit. Being forced to wait on a letter from HR with no real explanation when she was walked out of the building might as well have been torture.
“Do you want me to fix you something to eat?” I put my hand on her arm.
“No, I think I’m just going to go to bed.” She finished her wine and leaned forward.
At least she isn’t crying anymore…
I didn’t have an appetite either, so I decided to hide in my room. If Anna came home, she would see that I was upset and ask questions. I wanted to respect my mother’s wishes and if she wanted to wait, then I would let her tell Anna when the time was right—she wouldn’t be able to hold off very long. Anna would be curious when our mother didn’t go to work the next morning, and she might be able to explain a couple of days away, but eventually it would be too suspicious. I definitely needed to look for a job—there was no way to know how long it would be before my mother was able to find another one.
I won’t be able to support our family on my own, but I can help out. I’m sure Anna will want to do the same thing…
The three of us were forced to cling to each other after my father left—and it felt like we were going to have to do it again. We were too strong to give up, or maybe we were just stubborn. It wasn’t going to be easy to balance work and school, which is why my parents insisted that I wait until after graduation to start working. My parents never had much compared to the wealthy in Carson Cove, but they were good people—they saved every penny they could so that Anna and I could go to college without having to take out student loans.
I waited until Anna was home before I finally went to bed. I was exhausted from worrying all day about Alexis, and the situation with my mother had left me completely drained, but I wanted to know that my sister was safe. I had just closed my eyes and started to doze when I heard my phone buzz on the table beside me.
I don’t recognize this number…
Unknown: Did you enjoy my gift?
Taylor: Who is this?
Unknown: Someone out of your league…