AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I nodded, heat flashing through me.
“I’m sorry my mom is such a bitch. She wasn’t always like this.” Becca dropped her head, and I stalked forward, kicking the door shut behind me.
“She’ll come around.” I hoped.
It was ironic really. I had a mother who didn’t care enough, and Becca had one who cared too much.
“Come here.” My hand reached for her, and Becca came willingly. I tugged her up and said, “I want to know everything about you, Becca. The girl you were before you came here. What your hopes and dreams are. What you want from life. This, us, is a big deal to me. You know I have a hard time letting people in, but not with you. Never with you.”
“Evan, I—”
My lips slanted over hers. We could talk later or tomorrow or the next day. Right now, I needed something else from her.
Becca murmured against my mouth, trying to wriggle out of my grasp.
“Everything. I want to know everything,” I whispered. “But right now, I really need to kiss you.”
CHAPTER29
BECCA
“Where were you?”
“I already told you, Mom. We fell asleep.”
“And that’s supposed to make everything okay? You spent the night at that boy’s house.”
“That boy has a name. He’s a good person, Mom. You saw how he was with Eli.”
Her lip twitched. “About that. Does that happen often? He’s just a child. He needs adult supervision. I’m not sure I want you around that, Becca. It’s too much responsibility. It’s your senior year. You need to focus on classes and college.”
I squeezed my eyes tight, breathing through the anger rising in me. When I met her gaze again, I said, “Evan is one of the most selfless people I know. You don’t know anything about him because you didn’t ask.”
“Becca, I…”
“No, Mom. This is our life now here in Credence. Did you know that most of my friends live in a trailer park? A trailer park, Mom. Does Montecito even have a trailer park? Kids don’t dream of going to college or getting out of here, they dream of getting a minimum wage job to help support their families. Look around you, Mom. Open your eyes. This is our life now.”
My chest heaved, and a tear slipped from my eye. Mom’s face was pale and she looked nauseous.
“I’m sorry, okay. I get it. I screwed up. I ruined everything. But you can’t keep punishing me, Mom. I am trying, really trying to make things work.”
“You think I’m punishing you?” Her voice was so quiet it hurt.
“Aren’t you? Kane Larson was a mistake. A big, ugly, twisted mistake. But I was seventeen, Mom. I was young and stupid, and I’ve learned my lesson. Evan respects me. He’s patient and kind, and he would never hurt me. Why can’t you see that?”
For a second, I thought I had her. I thought she was about to apologize and declare her support for Evan and me. But then her mask snapped back into place.
“Your father and I didn’t give up everything so you could throw your life away for someone like Evan.”
Her words were like a slap in the face.
Someone like Evan?
“You might be eighteen, but while you live under my roof, I will do everything in my power to protect you, even if you don’t like it. You need time, Becca. You need to come to terms with everything and find yourself again. This”—she swished her hand through the air—“is not you. You’re confused and scared, and you aren’t thinking straight. I want you to cool things off with him and give yourself some time to grow and settle. You might hate me now, but it’s for the best, and one day you’ll see that.”
My mouth hung open, unable to form words. Defeated, I turned and went to my room. She called me back, but I ignored her. When we’d first moved to Credence, Mom had been so positive, as if a new town held the answers to our problems. I knew she and Dad were disappointed in me when they found out the truth about Kane; what parent wouldn’t be? I’d let myself believe that in time she would forgive me because they loved me unconditionally. And she did love me—I didn’t doubt that—but it was clear she didn’t trust me to make better decisions.
Maybe she never would.
