Page 217 of While You Were Trending

“You’veneverput me first.Ever. I don’t even know what happened to bring you here pretending to be my savior today, but I ampositiveit’s somethingyoudid. Somethingyouarranged. Because you can’t handle not being the center of everything.”

“Virginia May Rhodes, stop this right now.”

My middle name.

Hermiddle name.

Caro’s middle name? Freida.

Ten’s middle name? Wentworth, our mother’s maiden name.

She’s centered herself in every bit of our lives since we were born.

Not because she wanted to raise kids.

Because she wanted to own our lives.

“I’mdonewith you,” I tell her. “Leave.”

My mother draws herself to her full height, glaring at me in a way that used to make me shrink as a child. “After all that I’ve done for you, you’redonewith me? It doesn’t work that way, young lady.”

“Actually, it does. Go fuck yourself, you selfish barnacle.”

Her jaw flaps in the breeze as she gapes at me, but she recovers as quickly as only Freida can.

“Howdare?—”

“Utter one more word andI’llremove you,” a deep voice says behind me.

A deep, comforting, not-supposed-to-be-here voice.

I whip around so fast I lose my balance, but Declan catches me.

Catches me and crushes me to his chest.

“What—what—” I can’t finish the question.

Am I dreaming?

Is this a dream in a nightmare?

“I’ve got you,” Declan murmurs to me. “We’ve got you. Sorry I was late. Just got here. Came through the house.””

“And now you’rehuggingthe man who lied to you about being a mechanic, who’s been secretly filming your life, who destroyed your sister’s privacy?” my mother says.

Declan squeezes me tighter, then releases me and turns toward my mother.

Olivia and Mabel step aside without having to be pushed.

He ambles down the steps.

Heath ducks his head.

Undoubtedly hiding a smirk.

Cricket bounces on her feet beside me, suppressing a smile.

“Do you know what I have that you don’t?” Declan says to my mother.