Bad Habit (Bad Love 1)

The moment Asher walks away, my mom barges into my room. I whip around, trying to look casual as I lean an elbow on the windowsill.

“What happened to your hair?” she gasps, pinching the strands between two fingers to inspect it.

“Nice to see you, too, Mom,” I say, leaning in for an obligatory hug. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m sorry. Am I no longer allowed in my own home?” she asks, dramatic as ever.

“You know what I mean,” I say, barely containing my eye roll. Mom sighs, smoothing my hair out of my face.

“You’d know if you ever picked up your phone. Your father is speaking at the Smiles 4 Kids gala tonight.”

My dad may not be up for the father of the year award any time soon, but he still manages to impress me from time to time. I remember hearing about this fundraiser, but I’d forgotten all about it. It’s to raise money for kids, mostly in other countries, whose families can’t afford corrective surgery.

“Oh! Where is he?”

“He had some work to do on the other side of town. We’re only here until morning, so we’re going to stay at the event’s hotel to stay close to the airport,” she says, pulling an envelope out of her purse. “Here are your tickets. It starts at eight. Make sure your brother is…decent.” Decent. In other words, sober. Dash just graduated from college and is about to start law school, but you’d think he was a burnout who dropped out of high school and does nothing but party by the way my parents talk about him.

“Does Dashiell know?”

“I’m sure you can talk him into it,” Mom says, avoiding a straight answer. Which means that’s a negative. “It’ll mean a lot to your father.”

“Fine,” I relent. I feel guilty for ignoring her calls, and she’s only in town for one night, so I’ll play along.

“Perfect. By the way, whose truck is that outside?” She says the word truck like one would say dog shit as she points her manicured finger in the direction of the driveway.

“Oh, uh, one of Dash’s friends.” Not technically a lie. “I’m pretty sure they’re still asleep.”

“Well, you tell him I want this house back to the way I had it.”

“Will do. What’s new with you guys? How is California?”

“Oh, you know. Busy,” she says vaguely. “We’ll talk later. I have a hair appointment to get to.” She kisses my cheek, and I stand to walk her out.

“Oh, and Briar, I almost forgot to tell you. You have a date for tonight.”

Uh, what?

“I’m sorry?”

“You’re seeing that Jackson boy, aren’t you? His mother is also attending, and she said he’d love to escort you.”

“Mom. No.” I shake my head. No way am I going with Jackson. “I am not dating him. In fact, I’m going out of my way to not date him.”

“Oh, don’t be so dramatic. You can’t say no, now.”

“I didn’t say yes to begin with!” I protest, my voice rising in volume.

“Briar Victoria Vale. Two hours is all I’m asking. Two hours out of your life to play nice for your parents that you haven’t seen in weeks. Is that too much to ask?”

If there’s one thing Nora Vale is good at, it’s guilt-tripping. And passive-aggressiveness. And don’t forget manipulating.

“There better be cake,” I say, defeated, plopping back down to my bed.

“I’ll make sure there’s a chocolate one just for you.” She’s joking, but I know it’s her way of playing nice. “Now, go get showered. You smell like bad choices, and that hair is going to take nothing short of a miracle to tame.”

“Goodbye, Mother.” I laugh.

Unfuckingbelievable. I have managed to stay away from Jackson this whole time, and now I’m forced to go on a date with him. This should be tons of fun.