A life that included her.
“Now you’re frowning like your whole world just ended. What is going on with you, Mya?”
“Mama just let me walk away.” I hadn’t said much about my trip and Aunt Ciara hadn’t asked. She knew how fickle her sister could be. It was one of the reasons she’d barely visited us when I was younger.
“Because she knows you’ll have a better life, better opportunities out of that place.”
“Yeah, but she’s my mother. I thought she’d at least seem sad.”
“Mya, she loves you something fierce, but she’s also different to you and me. Sofia needs to feel needed. She needs the validation a man’s love gives her. After your daddy left...” Aunt Ciara hesitated.
My father was never around. He left before I was even born. It had taken a while to accept I was never going to know him, but I had made peace with it a long time ago.
“He broke something inside her,” she went on. “Something that Keelan fixed. He might not be who you or I would choose for her, but he’s always provided. He kept a roof over your head and food on the table.”
“I know,” I whispered.
But it came at a price. And that price was her love. He’d demanded it to its fullest. And somewhere along the line, I had to compete for her attention.
Until somewhere along the line, I stopped.
“Now tell me about this Bennet boy.”
“Really?” My face lit up and part of me hated how much I’d already let Asher get under my skin. “You want to know?”
She clucked her tongue. “If it puts a smile on your face, I suppose I can listen for five minutes. But don’t get the wrong idea, Mya. I still think this is a bad idea. This town is more backward than you think. It won’t easily accept one of its football stars going out with one of us.”
“There is no them and us, Auntie.”
Her brows pinched and I knew she saw right through me. Because while I so wanted to believe my own words, part of me knew she was right. But it was too late now. Asher wouldn’t let me run anymore.
And I didn’t want to.
I wanted to do what I did best for something I wanted; for the people I cared about.
Fight.
“Are you going to get Asher a gift?”
Eight little words I never expected to hear. But I should have known Felicity would already be planning our wedding. She hadn’t stopped grinning ever since me and Asher entered her living room together, two days ago. Now it was the day before Christmas Eve and she was asking me about gifts.
“No, I’m not getting him anything. We’re not—”
“Oh my god,” she groaned. “If you say you’re not together one more time, I will explode. Have you seen the two of you? You can barely keep your hands off one another.” A smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth.
“We’re not that bad.”
“Try telling that to someone who’ll listen. You’ve got it bad, girl. Almost as bad as Asher.”
“I just... crap, it wasn’t supposed to happen this fast.”
She was right.
Me and Asher had been inseparable for the last forty-eight hours. It was only when Flick insisted I help her with some last-minute shopping, and Asher’s mom needed his help with preparations for the Christmas Eve party they were hosting, that we’d actually left each other’s sides.
“You should get him something.”
“Don’t you think it’s a little soon for gifts? We’re not even official.”
Flick gave me a pointed a look as she inspected some wallets in the men’s section. “Do you plan on hooking up with other guys?”
“You know I don’t.” I rolled my eyes.
I hadn’t planned on hooking up with any guys when I’d moved in with my aunt. But here I was, Asher Bennet’s unofficial girl.
“Asher made it pretty clear he only has eyes for you.” Felicity cut through my reverie. “So label or no label, you’re together. I don’t know what the big deal is. This is a good thing, Mya. That boy is crazy about you.” She traded one wallet for another. “You’re coming tomorrow, right? To the party at the Bennets’?”
“I don’t know.” Asher had said he wanted me there but after everything he’d told me about his dad, I wasn’t sure it was a good idea.
“You have to come. We’re all going. It would mean a lot to Asher if you were there.”
My heart clenched. I wanted to be there for him, I did. But I didn’t want to make things any worse for him.
“You’re worried his parents won’t approve?” Flick lowered her voice.
“If people can’t accept me because of where I come from or the color of my skin that’s on them,” I replied, the half-truth souring on my tongue. “I just don’t want...” Pressing my lips together, I swallowed Asher’s secret. The one I’d promised not to repeat.
“You’re acting strange.” Felicity frowned at me.
“It’s all right for you,” I deflected. “Jason’s family all love you.”
“And Mr. and Mrs. Bennet will love you too. You just have to give them a chance to see how good you are for their son.”
I pretended to look at some nearby sweaters, letting my fingers run over the soft material.
“We all know something is going on with Asher,” Flick came up behind me. “I know Jason talked to you about being there for him.”
“That’s not what this is,” I rushed out, glancing back at her.
“Mya, I would never think that. All I’m trying to say is, if you ever need to talk, about anything, I’m here.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it.”
She smiled, mischief sparkling in her eyes. “Now about his gift. I have an idea.”
I followed Felicity as she weaved through the racks like a girl on a mission. But we never reached our destination because she stopped in her tracks, anger rolling off her.
My eyes immediately found them; a group of girls from school, talking in hushed whispers, judgmental gazes narrowed in our direction.
“We should probably go,” Flick said, her words clipped, but one of their voices drifted over to me.
“Don’t know what he sees in her. I mean he could do so much better than her.”
The words reverberated inside me, and something snapped. Before I knew what I was doing, I marched over to them. “Do you have a problem?” My brow went up and I folded my arms over my chest. But I was met with a wall of icy resistance.
“So you can say it behind my back,” I scoffed, “but you won’t say it to my face?”
“Mya.” Felicity grabbed my hand. “Come on, they’re not worth it.”
“You’re right, they’re not.” My fists clenched at my sides as I glared at the girl who had spoken loud enough for me to hear. Back in Fallowfield Heights, if someone dissed you like that, you called them out on it, and eight out of ten times it usually ended up getting physical. But this wasn’t my old neighborhood and the last thing I wanted to do was live up to the stereotype they had of me.
It almost killed me to walk away, even if Felicity was right. They weren’t worth it. Vicious gossip was nothing new. I’d been on the receiving end of whispers and disapproving looks since I arrived in Rixon and became a member of the four percent club.