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Shaking my head, I pushed the phone away.
“That could be anyone’s car,” I said. “Not some stranger’s. Iknowthe guy.”
“Hm.” Vivian raised her eyebrows, looking back down at her phone. A smirk played on her lips. “Apparently, so does yourmother. And she’s not happy about it.”
What was she talking about?
I pulled out my phone and froze. There were ten missed calls, a dozen texts—all from my mom.
“Oh my God,” I murmured, turning away from Vivian as her two sidekicks began giggling. “Shit. Shit. Shit.Shit.”
My mom might not have known about how Elliot and his gang had treated me the past four years, but she sure as hell knew who they were—if anyone, she knew who Elliot was, and his family.Everyonein our town did. If it was any other prick bullying me, I would’ve brought it up to her in a heartbeat.
But with him, things were… complicated.
“Anyway,” Vivian sighed, “your mom didn’t seem to like the fact that you just got into a car owned by herex.” She put a hand to her mouth, just as Tara had done, as if also to say,Oopsie. “Sorry, ex-husband.”
The air left my lungs. Stepping back, putting my hand against the door handle.
“What do you mean?” I breathed, heat crawling up to my temples. “What are you talking about?”
I backed myself up against the door, feeling my knees buckle under me. My head was starting to spin. I could only hear her voice—that stupid, shrill voice—echoing around me.
Husband.
Ex-husband.
“Oh, yes,” Vivian said. “According to her, he was, and I quote, ‘an emotionally abusive wreck who cheated and stole thousands from my savings.’”
She looked up at me as if she’d just finished reading a passage in a textbook, as if she didn’t see the tears welling in my eyes.
“She…” I gulped, “my mom said that to you?”
Nodding, Vivian pressed her lips into a pitying grin. “Apparently, you’re not the only one in your family who has issues.”
“What thefuckare you talking about?” I shrieked, lunging for her phone. She simply stepped aside. I collapsed against her desk, already dizzy to begin with. This felt all too familiar. “How dare you talk about my mom like that,” I muttered, glaring at her. “Why do you even care?”
She simply shrugged. Not even a hint of remorse.
I couldn’t take it anymore.
Gritting my teeth, I forced myself back upright, pulled the door open, and dashed back out into the hallway, letting the door slam closed behind me. I sunk down against the wall and buried my face into my knees. Hot tears streamed down my cheeks.
None of this made sense.
Ex-husband?
My mom never talked about anyone besides my dad. He may have beenskeevy, but he was anything but a bloodthirsty Lancaster.
Taking in a deep breath, I looked at my phone, and found my mom’s contact. My finger hovered over her number for a few long seconds before I pressed down on it and brought the phone to my ear.
She picked up immediately.
“Hey,” I whispered, pushing myself up to my feet. “Mom, I—”
“You’re coming home.”
Her voice was cold. Colder than it’d ever been before. I could tell she was trying not to raise her voice, not to shriek into the phone. I didn’t know what to say. I was confused. I didn’t know how much she knew, how much Vivian knew, and how much she’d told.
