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It’s not until morning when Skye wakes me with my phone lit up and buzzing in my face with “MOM” written on the screen that I remember why I should have gone home yesterday.
“Shit,” I hiss and sit up to answer the call.
“Where are you?” My mom’s voice cuts my sleepy eardrum.
“Boone’s.”
She sighs heavily. “Will you be home soon?”
“Why?”
She sighs again and my teeth hurt I grind them so hard.
“We still have work to do. The auction house needs a list before we can set a date and send out the ad,” her tone is increasingly impatient.
“I gotta go back to work today.”
Skye tilts her head in question. I shrug.
I should go back to work. My savings is wiped out and some bills need to be paid. We’re done putting up hay for the year. So, other than making sure the animals are fed and in good health, which Maya does most of that, there’s no point in me busting my ass to keep up with everything else. I’ll still do the work. Just no more than is absolutely necessary.
Another sigh in my ear and I swear my teeth creek, ready to crack from the pressure. “Theron, I understand you don’t want to sell the farm but it’s happening and I need your help.”
Laughter bursts from my chest. When I’m able to speak, my voice is high-pitched and loud, “Are you serious?” Skye winces but doesn’t flinch or run away. Though she probably should because this is about to get ugly.
“Theron—.”
For Skye’s sake, I lower my voice. But that only serves to darken my tone. Which probably sounds more threatening than if I’d yelled. “I’ve been begging, for two fucking years, for you to help so we wouldn’t have to sell. Why the fuck should I help you now?”
Mom is quiet. For several seconds. I start to wonder if she hung up on me. As I’m pulling the phone away from my ear to check if the call is still going, she says, “You’re gonna be late for work. We’ll talk about this later.”
I close my eyes, willing myself to stay calm when she ends the call.
“I’m sorry,” Skye says.
I open my eyes to look at her sweet face. How fucking lucky am I to have this sweet girl on my side? “What do you have to be sorry for?” I ask grabbing her around the waist and pulling her to stand between my legs bent over the side of the bed.
“I don’t know. I guess I’m sorry you’re upset. That you’re not getting along with your mom.”
“Do you get along with your parents?”
Skye huffs a laugh through her nose. “I don’t know. Haven’t really spent enough time with them to find out.”
“What do you mean?”
Dropping her gaze to the space between us, Skye explains, barely above a whisper, “I was an accident and my parents didn’t work very hard to hide that they didn’t really want me. I was raised by nannies. And when I did spend time with my parents, they never talked to me. Except to criticize me. My grades. My art. My weight. Nothing I’ve done has been good enough for them. To make me worth my existence.”
My heart breaks for her. I can’t imagine feeling like I wasn’t wanted or loved. As bad as things have gotten with my mom, I’ve always known she loves me. “Shit, city girl. Is it really that bad?” I ask hoping she’s exaggerating. I still blow things out of proportion sometimes but I did it a lot more when I was a teenager. Everything seemed worse then.
My brain screeches to a halt.
Am I making a bigger deal out of this farm situation than I should? Am I being an overdramatic teenager?
I’ll think about that later. Right now, I need to focus on Skye.
“It’s the real reason I’m here,” she says. “College didn’t appeal to me because I knew I wasn’t good enough to get into any art program. Even if I had gotten in, I wouldn’t have been able to handle the competition. They gave me until the end of the summer to find a job and my own place but a part-time income won’t cover the rent on a city apartment. And I didn’t have any friends to share rent with, so…” She shrugs and waves at the room. “Here I am.”
Her parents sound awful and I hate what she’s gone through but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t happy she ended up here. Maybe that’s selfish to think but I’d like to think she feels the same.
