Mom bites the inside of her lip, and I can’t help but notice the flicker of nervousness that settles deep in her bright eyes. Erica must notice it too as she excuses herself with some bullshit excuse about getting ready for bed, and I can honestly say that in the thirteen or so years that I’ve known her, she’s never once bothered with a bedtime routine.
“How was your night?” Mom asks, giving me a fake smile that doesn’t reach her eyes. “Did you have a good time? I wasn’t expecting to see you home so soon.”
I shake my head, my eyes narrowing in suspicion. “Don’t even think about it,” I warn her. “What’s going on?”
She presses her lips into a hard line again, and if there’s one thing I know about Cara Ashford, she never hesitates, not unless it’s really fucking bad. The last time she hesitated to tell me something, she told me my brother had enlisted in the marines and was taking off for God knows how long.
“Honey, I …” she pauses, draping her delicate hand over my knee as if to somehow soften the blow for whatever’s about to come flying out of her mouth. “You know I’ve been concerned about the growing violence in our area. Gangs are starting to move in, and the kids are getting out of control.”
“Okaaaay,” I say slowly. This isn’t anything new. It’s been the same old crap for years.
“The attack on that poor girl a few weeks ago has really rattled me,” she continues, the memory of that night coming back to haunt me. “I know you may not understand this, but as a mother, I’m terrified. Do you know how easily that could have been you?”
I go to cut her off, but she beats me to it. “Don’t even try to tell me you weren’t at the party that night. I know you were, and I know you are careful, but it only takes one asshole to slip something into your drink. I just …” She pauses again, her lips pressing into a hard line as she slowly raises her gaze to mine, preparing to hit me with whatever it is she needs to say. “I was speaking with Orlando about it on our date. You know he’s a lawyer and had quite a bit of insight on the issue, and he agrees, this area is too dangerous for us now. What would we do if someone broke into our home? We have nothing to defend ourselves with, no way to protect ourselves. I’m always working, Brielle. You’re here alone far too often, and the idea of something happening to you has been eating at me.”
My brows furrow as I take her in, wishing she would just say whatever it is she’s trying to say. “Just tell me,” I insist, spying Erica at my bedroom door, unable to keep from listening in.
“Orlando has offered to move us into his home in Bradford, with him and his son, and I have accepted.”
I stare at her, my eyes going wide as I replay every word of what she just said inside my head. “Excuse me?” I breathe, hearing her but unable to comprehend what she’s actually saying. “You want us to move into his place?” I ask. “With his pervert son?”
“Oh, stop,” Mom says, immediately jumping to the dude’s defense. “Jensen is not a pervert. He’s perfectly acceptable.”
“Listen to you,” I scoff. “You even sound like a country club wife already. Where has my real mother gone? You and I both know that Jensen is a weirdo. It was no coincidence that he walked in on me in the bathroom at brunch last week.”
Mom flies to her feet, her brows pinched with irritation. “Don’t you speak like that about another human being. Orlando is doing us a huge favor by allowing us to move out of this dangerous area. We should be thankful rather than attacking his son like that. Jensen is … strange, yes, but to make awful assumptions like that is a despicable trait, and I will not tolerate it from my daughter. You know how dangerous words can be, and you will not destroy somebody’s life by being careless with how you speak. Is that understood?”
I let out a heavy sigh and drop my gaze. I can’t stand Jensen. He’s creepy and weird, but she’s right. “I know, I’m sorry,” I murmur, the words tasting like lead on my tongue while also hating how much of a stranger my mother sounds to me right now. “I just … I don’t want to move away, and I sure as hell don’t want to move into a home with a bunch of rich guys that we don’t really know.”
“Honey, I know this is a big change for you, but Orlando and I have been dating for a little while now. I trust him, and I’d like it if you could trust him too, or at the very least, trust my judgment on this.” She takes a breath and moves back toward me, reaching for my hands. “This is the best move for us. With Damien joining the military, he could be gone for any length of time, and I would never forgive myself if I left you in a position where you were unprotected. This area just isn’t safe for us now.”
“But …” I let out a heavy sigh, understanding her point but not liking it one bit. “It already takes me fifteen minutes to get to school. This is going to add …” I pause, trying to do the math. “Another forty minutes minimum, considering there’s no traffic. That’s … THAT’S ALMOST AN HOUR! EVERY MORNING. WHAT? NO. Absolutely not. I’d have to leave at like seven in the morning just to get to my classes on time. It’s my senior year, Mom. That’s not fair. There’s gotta be something else we can do. Moving in with this guy isn’t it.”
“I’m sorry, Brielle,” she tells me, her stare hardening with authority. “That’s the other thing I wanted to discuss with you.”
I shake my head before she has a chance to utter the words I fear the most, and a sense of dread washes over me.
“I’ve enrolled you in Bradford Private. You’ll no longer be attending Hope Falls Public.”
Erica’s shocked gasp sounds from my door as I stare back at my mother, tears threatening to fill my eyes. I stand, shaking my head. “No,” I tell her, gripping her hand tighter. “No. You’re not pulling me out of Hope Falls. All my friends are there, my teachers, my … my …”
“I’m sorry, Brielle. It’s a done deal. Orlando has paid your tuition fees and we’ll be making the move to Bradford first thing in the morning. This isn’t up for discussion.”
Mom gives me one last tight smile before squeezing my hand and turning on her heel. She hightails it out of my bedroom as though she can’t get out of here soon enough, and before she even crosses the threshold, Erica is already barging straight back in, her arms flying around me and holding me tight. “It’s going to be okay,” she tells me. “We’re going to be okay.”
Chapter 3
BRIELLE
Bradford can suck my big-ass metaphorical dick.
I’ve been here for all of thirty seconds. I haven’t even stepped inside the stupid house and I already hate it. Mom and I had brunch here last week, and I didn’t give two shits about the home because there was no way in my wildest imagination that I would ever have to be here again, let alone moving all my worldly possessions into it.
This can’t be happening. It’s just after midday, and it’s as though I’ve been living inside a nightmare all morning, unable to wake myself and make it all go away.