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“Your old bank? The one that you had the account with Father?”
“Yes.”
The one that I tried to get her to drain but that she refused because she didn’t want to give Father yet another reason to go after her. I couldn’t really blame her for that.
“What did they tell you?” I ask.
“There was a purchase made that they didn’t know if it was legit or not,” she explains.
“What was purchased? Do you think someone stole Father’s card?”
“No, I think your father made the purchase.”
“Purchase of what?” I ask, hating that I have to pull teeth, trying to hide my growing anger. Father’s making a move. I knew it was only a matter of time, but he must’ve spent a lot of coin for the bank to think the transaction wasn’t legit.
“He bought a plane ticket.”
My heart skips a beat, and I swallow hard. “Let me guess, for where you are.”
“Yes.” She utters the word so quietly that I can barely hear her.
“Fuck, Mom.”
“Katie! You were raised better than that! Suck language!”
“Mom, is that really what you want to do? Yell at me to watch my tongue? Father is coming for you! Isn’t that more important right now!”
“Well, yes, but that doesn’t mean you should become a foul-mouthed—”
“Mom, let’s not argue, okay?” I pinch the bridge of my nose and look all around me. Because of chasing after Rob, I’m standing on the grass instead of one of the many sidewalk paths leading here and there across the campus. For the most part, this area is fairly secluded. Not many students are around, but I head toward a more forested area, where I can be alone and talk to my mom in peace.
“Of course I don’t want to argue, but I don’t… I don’t know what to do.”
I furrow my brow. “Mom, it’s well past banking hours here in the US.”
“Yes?”
The more she’s talking, the more I realize that she’s slightly slurring her words.
“Mom, are you drunk?”
“I might have had a few drinks,” she admits.
“Great. You need a level head, and you’ve been drinking. Mom, can’t you do anything right?”
“Can you?” she snaps back at me.
I flinch. “I try.”
“Trying isn’t good enough. Trying isn’t going to get you anywhere in life. Believe me. I know. I tried to make your father happy. I tried for the sake of our marriage. I tried… and I failed. Repeatedly. And now you and Kyle have to deal with the ramifications of that failure.”
I rub my forehead and suppress the urge to rip out my hair. “Let’s just focus on you, okay?”
“I failed you, just like I failed Kyle, and I failed myself,” she wails.
I try to open my mouth to tell her that’s not true.
But I can’t. I won’t lie to her.
