Total pages in book: 171
Estimated words: 164459 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 822(@200wpm)___ 658(@250wpm)___ 548(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 164459 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 822(@200wpm)___ 658(@250wpm)___ 548(@300wpm)
I look her over, releasing a sigh before grabbing Drake’s hand and squeezing it. “Just wait in the living room or go to the car if you want. It’s okay.”
He watches me carefully before looking at Mom. Mom looks at the two of us, her eyes slightly narrowed.
“Okay. I’ll be in the living room.” He stands and I smile. I’m glad he’s not trying to be too far away.
I watch him go. He glances over his shoulder once before disappearing. I sit back in my chair and Mom meets my eyes.
“Let’s cut to the chase. We have other things to do besides be here,” I mutter.
She nods. “Okay, I will. But before I do… you and him? How did it happen again?”
“We just hooked back up in the last couple of days. Ran into each other in Vegas. He’s a professional MMA fighter now.”
“Is he really?”
“Yes.”
“Well, that’s great. It’s good to know he made it out of Fox River. His father wasn’t really the encouraging type.”
“It took him walking away from his Dad in order to achieve that. Just like it took me leaving this city to try and find myself.”
Her eyes are wide. She doesn’t dare blink. They begin to water, and I hate that I feel even the slightest bit of sympathy right now. But I do. Because as she sits in that nun getup, knowing that she has to live off of her older brother, it breaks my heart.
This, I believe, is karma at it’s finest. Though I think this is a good form of karma. This is a good lifestyle. Better than what she was living like before.
“So… what happened?” I ask quietly.
“A lot happened,” she laughs dryly. “I’m surprised you didn’t hear about it.”
“How could I? I don’t talk to anyone that still lives here. There was Sue, but you let her go after I left. Now I see that was for obvious reasons.”
She looks away. “I love Sue. But we couldn’t afford her after you left.”
“What do you mean?” I straighten my back. “You guys have all the money in the world—more than enough to pay her for two lifetimes.”
She shakes her head. “Not anymore.”
“I don’t get it. How don’t you? And why aren’t you and Dad together anymore?”
“Because he went bankrupt. Lost pretty much everything. Turns out your father’s accountant was stealing from us. He wasn’t filing the taxes or booking them correctly. That, alone, backfired on us. This is why I told him to go to my accountant. But he didn’t listen.” She focuses on the steamed vegetables on her plate. “We began to argue a lot after that, which resulted in a quiet divorce during the middle of your freshman year. We had to sell the house and with that money, we continued paying what we could for you but not too long after, we ran low on funds and then your father left. He claimed he was going to handle some stuff to rebuild the waffle business but I haven’t heard much from him since he’s left. I don’t think he’s doing well. We had a trust fund that we’d saved for you and your brother, but once that money ran out, we were stuck.”
“Oh my God. Is this why he couldn’t finish paying the tuition?”
She meets my eyes, nodding. “I told him to blame me—to say that I said so because I knew you would believe it. I was willing to take the blame until we got back on our feet. But, unfortunately, we never did.”
“But… why? Why wouldn’t you just tell me the truth?”
“I was too embarrassed and your father was too busy trying to make ways out of no way. That’s why he told you to apply for loans. We knew you would find a way to finish school, even if you had to do it without us. I was looking for jobs—trying to do what I could so I could send it to you, but I never found one. No one here was willing to hire me. It’s like they all turned against me. The people I thought were my friends never were. The day the house went into foreclosure, I called the only family I have left. Ned.”
“And then you became… this?” I ask, studying her attire.
“No. When I first came here, two and a half years ago, I was in total denial. All I wanted was money. I needed money. I wasn’t used to living without. I wasn’t used to struggling, after being pampered and catered to for so long. I stayed here at first, just to have a roof over my head. It was decent enough, so I figured, why not? But your Uncle Ned kept insisting that I come to church. I refused at first, until he gave me an ultimatum.”
“And what was that?”