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I shrug and drop the book to the floor, sliding it under the bed so Emmett doesn’t see I’ve stolen it the next time he comes over. Maybe it’s wrong of me to pry into his family’s life, but he didn’t care to read it. If I can find some glimmer of humanity in who his mom used to be, maybe it would help him feel better about who she has become. To know that once upon a time, his mother was a kind and decent person.
9
Chapter Nine
It’s an especially cold and snowy Saturday evening as I finally park my car in the driveway at home. I can see the freshly shoveled snow piled into the yard and almost feel bad that I wasn’t here to help. It seems unfair that after working such long, hard days all week, Mom and Brendan still have so much housework to tend to.
I want to help more, but they keep insisting I just need to focus on school and track. Part of me wonders if they’re banking on some far-fetched dream of me having a successful athletic career to fund their retirement. I have my own dreams about the same thing, but I try not to get my hopes up. The pressure is too distracting.
“Mom!?” I yell out as I rush inside, desperately needing to warm up.
“Dining room!” she yells back.
I hear a man’s voice and for a brief moment am terrified Theo might be back. But thankfully, it’s just Brendan. They both look exhausted and have a pile of papers spread out in front of them, but they quickly sweep it all up into their arms and stash it away as I come in.
“How was your interview?” my mom’s face brightens.
“Great,” I shrug, half-surprised. “I’ve gone to so many of these by now I barely even get nervous anymore.”
“That’s fantastic, sweetie,” she answers warmly, but there’s a worrying distance in her voice. “There are leftovers in the fridge if you’re hungry.”
“Thanks, but I grabbed something on the way home,” I tell her, already turning for my room.
“Ophelia,” she stops me. “Could you sit down for a minute? We need to talk to you about something.”
“Okay…” I answer slowly, pulling out a chair, feeling afraid of what could possibly be wrong now. No good talks ever start with that tone.
“It’s about college, actually,” she explains. “We wanted to wait until later to bring it up, but…well…now is as good a time as any.”
“What about it?” I blink from the edge of my seat.
They shoot each other a hesitant glance, but finally, Brendan takes a deep breath and starts talking. “We’ve never kept our financial situation secret from you. You know we’ve struggled over the years to make ends meet.”
“Of course,” I nod with wide eyes while I am instantly hit with a heavy feeling of guilt. “But you’ve always taken good care of me. I’ve never really wanted for anything, and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. Really I…”
“Thanks,” he blurts, cutting me off. “You really don’t have to say any of that.”
“It’s our job to take care of you,” my mom smiles, reaching over to squeeze my hand.
I stare blankly ahead, thinking if they don’t get to the point soon, I might have some kind of panic attack.
“But there’s one thing we haven’t been able to do,” he adds.
There’s a heavy silence that makes my heart pound in confusion.
“It’s your college fund,” my mom announces with a heavy sigh. “We had some money saved but moving here to Jameson depleted some of it. And it’s just been one thing after another since then.”
“I’m afraid we don’t have much of anything to give you for college,” Brendan states, looking ashamed and disappointed.
“Phew!” I exhale in laughter, clutching my chest. “Don’t scare me like that! I thought something was really wrong!”
They shoot another concerned look at each other before turning back to me with baffled expressions. “Something is wrong,” my mom urges. “We have no money to give you for college. Do you understand?”
“I don’t need it though,” I insist cheerfully. “Coach is certain I’m going to have plenty of scholarship offers to choose from.”
I feel slightly offended that they’re not more aware of how much of a reality that is. Have they been keeping track of my grades or athletic record at all? Have they even been listening to me? Of course, I’ve got this covered.
“Ophelia, you know Brendan and I plan to stay in Jameson no matter where you go to school,” she explains. “At least for a little while. We can’t afford to move again so soon.” I bite my lip, holding back from spitting out that they’d never want to stay here if they knew the whole truth about this town. “Which means you’ll be doing more than just starting college,” she continues. “You’ll be living on your own. There’s rent and groceries and all your other living expenses that will ha
