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“Yeah, it’s kinda new.”
“It doesn’t look new.” Her steely voice and unimpressed glare have my gaze dropping to the concrete. “Does he have anything to do with your abhorrent behavior last night?”
I flush, biting my lips together and giving her an ambiguous shoulder hitch. Of course Aimee called her daddy, no doubt ranting about my rudely worded exit from the sorority house, and of course my mother found out and jumped in his chauffeur-driven car to come and “talk some sense into me.”
“You signed a contract.” Her French-manicured nails click together when she holds her thumb and fingers up like she’s pinching thin air. “Does that mean nothing to you? You told me you were trying. You said you were giving it your best.”
I tip to the edges of my sneakers, not sure when to jump in with my myriad of justifications. She must be pretty damn pissed if she drove all the way out here. Obviously, this kind of tongue-lashing can’t be done over the phone. Bummer for me.
I wrinkle my nose, trying to figure out where to start. “So, yeah, I, uh… I don’t belong in that place, and they were asking too much.”
“Not too much.” She spits out the words. “Loyalty. Commitment. Getting your priorities straight! They welcomed you in, and you walked out the door. You didn’t even try!”
“I did.” I throw my hands wide. “I learned all the sorority history, I sang their stupid song, I cleaned toilets with a toothbrush, I made breakfast for everybody. There was only one thing I wasn’t willing to do, and I?—”
“Do you have any idea howhumiliatedI am right now?” Her blue eyes glisten, her voice breaking with emotion. “Jarrod is furious. I can’t believe you told his daughter to go…screw herself.”
“I actually told her to—doesn’t matter.” I shake my head. “In fairness to me, she was being a bit?—”
“Don’t you dare try and justify your shameful behavior.” She wags her finger at me. Her painted lips dip into a disgusted frown before she starts blinking at tears. “No matter how hard I try, I just can’t help you. You won’t let me.”
“Help me?”
“You’re just like him, you know.” Her disappointment and repulsion make my head jolt back. “Your father was always so stubborn and set in his ways. He didn’t care what anyone else thought. He just did what he wanted.” Her hand flicks in the air, light glinting off the mammoth rock adorning her fourth finger. “And I tried. I didn’t want you turning out like him, but you justrefuseto bend. No matter what I do. No matter what I give.”
I cross my arms, anger coursing through me. “I’m an adult now. You don’t have totryanymore.”
“Oh really? So you have the money to attend this prestigious school, do you?”
Her mockery deflates me, and I curl in on myself, crossing my arms and pinching my sweaty biceps.
“I didn’t think so.” Her voice stops quaking, replaced with a steely edge that makes me squirm. “You need me. You need Jarrod.”
I grit my teeth.
“So, you will apologize to him, then to Aimee. You will grovel, and you will do whatever it takes to get back into that Sig Be house.” She glances over my shoulder, her eyes narrowing with disgust at the Hockey House guys. “Whateverit takes.”
I’m already shaking my head.
“Yes. Yes, you will. Because you have embarrassed me for the last time. Jarrod very generously offered to fund your education and all he asked—allweasked—in return, is that you followed a few small conditions that would be helpful to you.”
Helpful, my ass!
My nostrils flare and I open my mouth to protest, but she keeps ranting before I can.
“And you signed that contract. That was your choice, Mikayla. And right now, you are in breach. You need to fix this. If you don’t, you won’t be getting one more dime from Jarrod. Is that clear?”
I work my jaw to the side.
“Is that clear, Mikayla?” Mom practically shouts the question.
I sniff and look away from her, my insides writhing. “It’s clear. It’sfucking bullshit, but it’s clear!”
“Don’t you use that language with me. You’re lucky he’s even willing to give you a second chance after the way you treated Aimee.”
“It’s not fair,” I bite back. “Does no one care how she treated me?”
Mom rolls her eyes. “I’m sure she wasn’t that bad.”
