AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I sat, and my dad took the seat across from me. It was them on one side of the table and me on the other, alone.
“Lily, I wish I didn’t have to say anything like this, but I don’t think we’ve been fair to you,” he started.
I blinked at him, surprised by his opening words.
“We might have been full of cautionary tales and determined to make sure you understood what to prioritize, but we never wanted to make you feel like that was the only way to be. We never meant to make you feel like you ruined our lives or that now we’re desperately trying to get them back, through you.”
I shifted awkwardly. Hearing the words I’d harbored in the darkest places of my heart for so long was unsettling.
“We had you young, yes, it’s true,” Mom said. “We had to give certain things up, yes, but we gotyouout of it. You might not believe me, and if you don’t, that’s my fault, but I wouldn’t change that. Our lives worked out, including you, Lily…I’m just always scared because our situation isn’t the norm. It’s rare for people to win, even if they’ve messed up like we did. It’s rare for people to have a daughter like you. My perfect girl.”
I risked a look at my mom.
She was smiling now. She reached out and took my hand. “You’re always brilliant and you always would have been, even without all your accomplishments. Just being you makes you wonderful.”
She took a deep breath. “And if you really want to go to California, we’ll make it work. It’s your life, Lil, and your dream…I’m sorry if you thought we didn’t care about that. Weonlycare about that.”
Lily
I feltlike I skipped into school on Monday morning. I was lighter than I’d ever been and I couldn’t keep the smile off my face.
Eve bounced along beside me. “And that’s it? They’re cool with it?”
“They’re cool with it,” I confirmed, heading for our lockers.
Eve considered my words, tapping her lips before giving me a wicked smile. “In that case, just ask them to be cool with going to HHU and staying on campus…after the threat of California, it’ll feel like winning.”
I laughed at her enthusiasm as I grabbed my books from my bag and stowed them in my locker. For the first time in a week, there was nothing mean scribbled on the metal. Things were blowing over, finally.
“I’m not sure they’ll see it quite that way, but I can’t lie, it feels good to be more honest with them.”
Eve fell into step beside me as we headed for class. “I mean, I could say I told you so, but there’s no point. We both know it.”
“I feel like you just said it,” I pointed out.
She laughed. “Well, okay, but I’ll only do it once.” She gave me a sideways look. “What about Cayden? How are things between you?”
I couldn’t bring myself to confess my lapse in self-control the other night in Beckett’s pool house. I’d been emotional, a live wire of tension, and he’d been there. That had been the only reason it had happened. Why he wanted to be there, I had no clue and I wasn’t about to start reading into it. Guys like Cayden West didn’t end up with girls like me, that was obvious. Besides, I was going away for college, and if he got his wish, he’d be here, at HHU, and then, off playing somewhere for the NHL. Our lives were going in opposite directions, and there wasn’t any point clinging on to the remnants of the weird, unexplainable attraction between us.
“We are back to the natural order of things. Mutual hatred and icy disinterest. It’s the only normal thing between us really, when you think about it.”
We reached the door of our art class, and I peered inside. Cayden was already in his seat, just behind mine, and when I walked in, his eyes immediately lifted and pinned me with his gaze.
“Hmm, I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Eve whispered to me. “That look isn’t icy disdain in my book.”
“What do you know? You date less than me,” I whispered back as we entered the room.
Eve nodded. “Fair enough, you have a point there, my friend. Just picture the two of us at HHU, finally free to date and flirt and live free of scrutiny and uptight authoritarians.”
“Your mom lets you do whatever you want.”
“I was talking about my brother.” Eve sighed.
We split up, and I went to my seat. I was horribly aware of Cayden sitting just behind me. Thoughts of the other night in the pool house pushed into my head and wouldn’t leave. I felt like my face was on fire.
Class passed in a blur, and I was barely able to concentrate. As soon as the bell rang, Cayden and the Ice Gods headed out, and I lingered, packing my things slowly. My art teacher, Ms. Sophie, came to stand near me, looking down at my sketch for the day.
“This is excellent, Lily. Remember if you decide that microbiology isn’t your thing, you could have a very promising career in art.”
