Page 95 of His White Moonlight
“I’ve applied to Coalwell University and received my acceptance.”
Mom looked down at her menu, and I saw how it trembled in her hold.
Dad pressed the button on the table to summon the server, and the other door in the room opened.I focused on relaxing and mentally resetting as Dad ordered steaks for everyone.
“Can you add a grilled cheese to that?A regular one.Nothing fancy,” Bennett said.
I glanced at him in surprise.He held my gaze as he said, “French fries too.Salted.That’s it.”
He handed the menus to the server without looking away from me.
“You didn’t want steak, did you?”he asked once the guy was gone.
“No.”
“What about the grilled cheese?”
The way he was looking at me made me nervous.I knew that if I said I didn’t want it, he’d be pressing that button.Why, though?Why did he care if I was getting what I wanted?Did he think giving me a grilled cheese sandwich would stop me from wanting to go to Coalwell?If so, he was insane.
Without answering him, I looked at Mom.
“My grades were good enough that I was awarded a decent scholarship.”
“Your grades weren’t just good, sweetheart,” Dad said.“They were exceptional and can open better doors than Coalwell’s.Did you apply to Hildcrask or Wellborn?They’re both highly acclaimed schools with diverse programs.Bennett even owns an apartment almost between the two, so you wouldn’t need to commute.”
Why couldn’t they just stop pushing me off on Bennett?
I fisted my hands, despite the ache, determined not to give in to the fear threatening to consume me as I repeated my reason for not wanting either of those schools.
“I thought you hated being away from us,” Mom said.
“I did.Then, I got used to it,” I said.
Mom flinched and looked down at the table.Dad wrapped his arms around her shoulders.
“What if we compromise?”Dad asked.“Attend Hildcrask for the first year; then transfer to Coalwell.You can spend more time with us before you leave again.”
He made it sound so reasonable, but it wasn’t.Not really.It was a way to pull me into their plans and make me forget my own.
“I’d rather not deal with transferring and just go to the school I want from the start.”
Mom and Dad exchanged worried looks.Then Mom glanced at Bennett.I didn’t look.
“I’m going to use the restroom,” I said, standing.
Dad and Bennett both politely stood when I did, but I saw Bennett move to follow me.
“I think I can manage this on my own, don’t you?”
A slow flush crawled up his neck, and his eye twitched.I didn’t know what that meant, but it couldn’t be anything good.I left quickly before I found out.
While I took my time in the posh restroom to regroup, an older woman walked in on the phone.
“Darling, tonight is your night.Bennett Wulf is having dinner at Seventeen-Twenty-one right now.Go change into that lavender sleeve dress, and wear your diamond waterfall necklace.Hurry.His group just placed their order.”She paused to look at herself in the mirror and pulled a tube of lipstick from her purse.“If we time it right, you can bump into him as he’s leaving his room.”
I finished washing my hands and wished luck to whomever the woman was talking to.Charming Bennett was like trying to sweet-talk a volcano into not erupting.
When I returned to our private room, the conversation between Mom, Dad, and Bennett abruptly ended.Bennett looked like he was two seconds from flipping the table, and Mom looked like she was ready to bury her firstborn.Not the best mood to resume our conversation, but I was tired of waiting for what I wanted.
