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After he’s sound asleep, I creep out of his bed and slip from the room, closing the door behind me. I haven’t been around much at the chapter house since Killian got hurt.
Shannon texted me an hour ago to let me know she was waiting for me in my bedroom. This is the perfect opportunity to make the call I’ve been delaying. When I told Shannon I was considering a major change right before graduation, she didn’t think I was crazy. In fact, she supported me, which is the reason I need her with me.
Watching as Killian fumbles through life, his dreams crushed by the massive change, made me realize I have to stand up for myself and go after what I want, starting with my father. I power walk across campus to Greek Row and rush up to my bedroom where Shannon’s waiting for me on my bed.
She leans back against my headboard with her arms folded behind her head. “Might as well get it over with now,” she says. “He’s not going to like it whether you tell him today or next week.”
“You’re right.” Phone in hand, I take my place next to her and dial my father’s number, holding the phone up to my ear.
“Jade,” he says on the third ring. “It’s not Tuesday. Is everything okay?”
I talk to him for ten minutes every Tuesday to give him the usual updates, no more and no less. He’s so busy with work he can only carve out a small block of his precious time each week for his only child. How sweet of him? He’s such a charmer.
“I want to be a nurse,” I announce, bracing myself for his reaction. “That’s what I wanted to tell you. It couldn’t wait until next week.”
He laughs into the speaker. “Be serious, Jade. No daughter of mine is going to clean up after people.”
“Would you listen to yourself? Nurses do more than clean up after patients. They help people. That’s what I want to do. I want to make a difference in someone’s life.”
“You can make a difference by coming to work for me,” he growls. “We have an opening you can fill in the New York office. Everyone needs money. Think of all the good you can do helping people get loans.”
“So, you can collect interest and make money off them,” I snap. “I don’t want someone to hand me a job. Plus, banking is your thing. It’s not mine. I have no interest in working with you.”
“Where are you getting this mouth from? Since when are you so insubordinate? Do they teach you this defiance at that school? Maybe I should call the dean and find out what’s going on there. See, this is exactly why I should have forced you to attend Columbia. That school is no good for you. You belong here in New York. With me.”
“Why? Because I finally found something I like and want to go after it? Because I don’t want you to dictate every aspect of my life anymore. You can’t control everything I do, Daddy. I have to live my own life, and I want to go to nursing school after I graduate.”
“How about you meet me in the middle and apply for medical school?”
“I don’t want to be a doctor. I want to be a nurse. Are you even listening to me?”
“Yes, I’m listening, but I don’t like your tone or your decision. And I’m not paying for nursing school.”
“Fine, then I’ll take it from my trust fund.”
“I control that money,” he challenges. “You won’t get a cent if you choose to pursue this.”
“Then, I’ll get student loans like everyone else.”
He blows air into the phone, clearly annoyed with me. But I’m even angrier with him. How can he treat his only child this way? His parents didn’t hold him back from what he wanted, though he did follow in my grandfather’s footsteps and lived up to the Westbrook name. I, on the other hand, am now a massive disappointment in his eyes.
“Your mother is going to have a stroke when you tell her.” He adds, “I’m not breaking the news.”
“I don’t care what she thinks. It’s not like she’s ever done anything with her life. I might’ve made a decision sooner if I had learned anything of any value from her other than how to apply makeup and mix a martini.
“Don’t speak about your mother that way,” he shouts. “I don’t like the tone you’re using, Jade. Do I need to have Alexander collect you from that campus and bring you home?”
“No, don’t you even think about sending your driver because I won’t go with him.”
He lets out another deep breath. “I’ll pretend we never had this conversation. You have until next week to change your mind.”
“I won’t,” I yell so loud I don’t even recognize my own voice. “A few more days won’t make me do what you want.”
