AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"You can’t blame yourself," I told her, mustering up all the compassion I could for this woman. Truth be told, there was a part of me that struggled to believe she had really had no idea what her daughter had been going through, and that part of me wanted to blame her for letting Selina stay a part of that world for so long, but I knew she had no clue how to navigate it. What parent, what person, could possibly prepare for something like that?
"I need to see her," she told me at once, her eyes lifting to meet mine again. My jaw tightened slightly. I knew this would be a possibility, but I had already decided what the answer was going to be. I shook my head.
"She’s still going through a lot," I told her. "And I know she wants to see you, but she needs time to work through everything that happened. All the feelings she has surrounding it. She’s told me how ashamed she is, how much she hates the idea of any of her family knowing what she did—"
"She is?” Elena gasped. "We would never—none of us would ever judge her for that …"
"Be that as it may, that’s not what she thinks," I told her gently. "And I don’t want to risk setting her back in her recovery because it’s too soon. She needs time to get her legs under her again, figure out what she’s going to do."
Elena grabbed a napkin and pressed it against her eyes, but she nodded in agreement.
"You’re right," she muttered. "It’s just … hard for me to hear."
"I can imagine," I replied. "But please trust me when I say that I have her best interests at heart. That’s why I wanted to come here to meet with you today."
"To tell me what she’s been through?" she asked.
"That’s part of it," I replied, and I reached into my pocket and laid out a check on the table in front of her. "And also to give you this."
Her eyes widened as she looked down at it, turning it around to face her so she could make out the dollar amount. It was a good chunk of my savings, the money I’d put away over the years that I’d never imagined I would have much use for. I’d never lived an extravagant life, and I’d managed to put away more than enough to cover the expenses Selina had described to me when she had told me what she had been working for.
"What’s this?" Elena gasped.
"Selina told me how worried she would be once she stopped working," I explained. "That you might struggle for money. I wanted to take that weight off her shoulders, and yours. Cover whatever you might need."
"Oh, my God," Elena murmured, the tears beginning to fall from her eyes again. "We … I don’t know how to thank you enough …"
"You don’t have to thank me," I assured her. "You just have to promise me something."
"What’s that?" she asked, slightly warily.
"That you use some of this money to bring your family down to Bianco to see her when the time is right," I replied. "I don’t know exactly when that will be, but I promise, it’s not going to be long."
She pressed her lips together, and I knew she was struggling with the thought of waiting for it at all. After so long without her daughter, it was only natural that she wanted to see her again as soon as she could. But, after a long pause, she nodded.
"I can do that," she replied. "But don’t make me wait long. I’ve already waited nearly eight years. I don’t want to leave it any longer than I have to."
"You have my word," I replied, planting a hand on my heart like I was swearing a vow.
"Will you promise me something?" Elena asked, and I nodded at once.
"Of course. Anything."
"Please, just … take care of her," she told me, her voice cracking again. "I know I should have been there for her, as her mother, but I … If she can’t handle that now, I have to believe you’re going to do the best by her. Don’t make me regret trusting you with that, okay?"
"I won’t," I replied, and she reached over the table to give my hand a squeeze.
"And thank you," she murmured. "Thank you for rescuing my daughter."
I smiled back at her.
"I appreciate the sentiment," I replied. "But I think you’ll find that she did most of the saving herself."
Chapter Twenty-One – Selina
"And … there we go!” I exclaimed as I tapped the button to accept the offer I had gotten from Bianco College of Medicine. I bit my lip, turning to Paulo with a huge smile on my face.
"I did it," I told him, feeling an excited flush rise to my cheeks as he came over to give me a hug. "I’m actually going to be starting college!"
