Page 13 of My Mom's Man
I want to believe her, but I know when she lies. It may be partially true, but there’s more to it, and she doesn’t want to discuss it.
“So,” she continues, poking at her partially eaten burger, “I think I’m going to have to make this a permanent thing for us.”
“I don’t want to go to college,” I mutter, no longer interested in eating. “I’ve told you this before.”
Mom shakes her head, lips thinning out. “And I told you that you have to. I don’t want you to have a life like mine where you have to rely on a man. I’m sorry, but this is non-negotiable for me.”
She’s serious right now.
Unbelievable.
“I can make my own way,” I argue, irritation burning hot through me. “I’ve got this new joband—”
She scoffs at my words. “With that rich couple? Honey, that’s almost worse than having to rely on a man. Those people, once they realize you need their money, will have you doing all sorts of things to make you need them. I swear, people like them get off on that sort of thing.”
Ava was so nice.
Mom is wrong about this like she’s wrong about everything else.
“I have a plan.” My voice slightly shakes, and I swallow down more milkshake to keep myself from crying. “Can’t you just trust me?”
She shakes her head. “I essentially said the same thing to your grandparents after I got pregnant with you. Right after I quit college so I could bartend. I’m not going to let you make the same mistakes as me. College is a must.”
“College that we can’t pay for,” I deadpan. “Makes a lot of sense.”
“Reid told me he’d saved for Brayden to go to college. Now that he’s gone off and ruined his life, Reid has all that money just sitting in a college savings account.”
I gape at her, unsure if I’m even hearing her correctly right now. “What are you even talking about, Mom?”
She tosses her crumpled napkin onto her plate beside her half-eaten burger. “I’m just saying that maybe we make things permanent with him. That’llensure your future. I’ll at least have done something right when it comes to you.”
By using Reid?
I’m disgusted that she thinks I’d be okay with her idea to guilt Reid into giving me Brayden’s college fund. I don’t even want to go to stupid college. And now we’re about to drag Reid into our nonsense.
“No,” I clip out. “I won’t allow you.”
Her eyebrows hike up her forehead and she gapes at me. “Just because you’re eighteen now doesn’t mean I won’t ground you, young lady. You’re being incredibly disrespectful right now.”
“Mom—”
“Emma Renee Abrams, just stop. I’ve made my decision. You may as well quit arguing. All it will do is upset me. I really don’t want to cry in front of all these people.”
It’salwaysabout her.
“Mom…”
She holds up a hand and shakes her head. “I’m going to talk to him tonight. Apologize for being distant and absent. I’ll negotiate with him.”
Why is she treating her relationship like a transaction?
“I’ll tell him I’ll stop working so much if…”
The rest of her words are drowned out by the ringing in my ears. I heard them all right, but they’re not registering in my brain. It can’t be real. Hewouldn’t agree to that. Why would she suggest such a ridiculous thing?
“You could be my maid of honor.”
The smile in her voice sours her words even further.
