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“Hello, dear,” my father calls, his voice getting closer. “We had dinner with the McMahons last night. Justin was there, asking about you.”
I let out a chuckle laced with frustration. “I’m sure he was.”
Justin has been promised by my father I’m only going through a “dating phase” before I’m ready to settle down—which they all presume I’ll do with him. Why? I have no idea. I’ve shown zero interest in the guy since I was a child.
“They’ve also been asking about you at the club, my lovely.” Mom has so much pride in her voice. “They don’t ask nearly as much about Guinevere’s daughter.”
“That’s because Guinevere’s daughter ran off with that biker,” my father supplies, the disdain heavy in his tone. “She can’t hold a flame to our Charlotte.”
“How is the dentist?” Mom says the last word through her teeth. “Have you mentioned a surgical residency to him? Oral surgery is such an outstanding field.”
“I haven’t, because he doesn’t want to be an oral surgeon, Mother. Archer is perfectly happy with his chosen profession.” I try to keep the eye roll out of my voice, but I doubt it works. So much of our conversations consist of what we’re not saying, and it’s honestly exhausting.
“Nonsense,” Father says. “I’ll discuss it with him, make him understand how important it is to take both of your futures into consideration. Put Archer on the phone.”
I can hear in his voice, he’s getting ready to scare my boyfriend away, so I’m a little too quick to say, “He’s in Detroit, so it’s not possible.”
“Detroit? Why?”
“He’s working at a free clinic—”
“And he just left you all alone in Pittsburgh?” Mom asks. “After you moved there to be with him, he would just abandon you like that?”
“He didn’t abandon me in Pittsburgh, Mother,” I snap. “What he’s doing is incredible, and he’s helping so many people.”
“And what about you?” she fires back. “What is he doing for you, other than putting strangers in front of your wellbeing? Do you even have a security system at your apartment? What if someone broke in?”
“I’m not—”
I close my eyes and inhale deeply, stopping myself from blurting out I’m not even in Pittsburgh. That I’m at Archer’s brother’s house in Philadelphia. Something tells me that would not go over any better than the current conversation.
Instead, I slowly gather myself, refusing to let them get to me. “I’m safe,” I tell them. “I know you’re just worried about me, but I’m fine. I love that Archer wants to help people, and most importantly, I’m not one of those people. I am perfectly capable of caring for myself, you know.”
Silence fills the line, and I brace myself, preparing to tell them about Ecuador, but when I open my mouth, my father says, “Well, dear, we need to get going for a dinner reservation.”
I let out a relieved breath and all but trip over myself telling them goodbye. When they hang up, I lower the phone and sit there for a long time, thinking over how to tell them. How to say I’m going to Ecuador and convince them it’s what I want. Is it what I want?
Just as the air starts to feel too thin, my phone goes off again.
I glance down and am surprised to see Cys’s name. We traded numbers last night, but I didn’t think I’d hear from her so soon after bombarding her with questions and all out fangirling over her work.
* * *
Hey girl. Up to hang tonight?
* * *
I look at my closed bedroom door. Jordan’s gone to Easton campus for the weekend with Callie. Benji would have already left for his show tonight. Without another word to me.
* * *
I shoot back, Absolutely. Where am I going?
The Forest Nymphs’ apartment is everything I pictured it would be and more. Sexy, ripped tops of all different colors litter the floor along with skirts, dresses, and combat boots. They have a makeup station setup in one corner of the living room on the floor, meditation pillows in place of a couch, and pop punk blares from their pieced together sound system.
“Want a drink?” Cys all but shouts to me.
I nod, my attention half on her and half on Bianca and Jaelyn, sprawled out on the floor. Bianca’s trying to glue a neon orange lash onto Jaelyn’s eyelid, both of them belting out the lyrics to the song playing.
