Page 146 of For the Boys
“To be fair, Berkley, you weren’t exactly doing a lot of compromising either. And don’t even get me started on the fact that you never actually explained why things bothered you. You just assumed telling him something once would yield a different result the next time. But if you never bother to tell him why you have issues with him spending so much money on you, or any of the other things about your relationship I know have got under your skin, you can’t expect him to make the necessary adjustments to make you happy.”
“You can’t be serious, Lex. All I did was compromise.”
“No, you didn’t. Going to hockey games and on dates and telling the internet about your smoking hot boyfriend is not compromising.”
“Fuck you,” Berkley said, the words lacking any actual venom.
“You can’t keep living like this. I can only do so much for you. Amelia, Mitch, Harper, and Reece can only do so much for you. You have to do the rest yourself. You have to decide, here and now, Berkley. You either find a way to trust him and love him the way he deserves, and let him love you in return, or you move on.”
Through the shower curtain, Berkley watched Lexie’s shape as she stood, turned on her heel, and left the room.
“Thank you!” Berkley yelled after her.
“Always!” Lexie yelled back.
Thursday, Berkley had three exams, the final three exams of her academic career. Before, she’d perfunctorily gone through her notes, not retaining any information. She’d stumbled through the tests, eyes glazed over. Lucky for her, she had put in so much time studying in the weeks prior to the breakup that she felt confident she had performed well. Sometime in the early afternoon, she’d stumbled out to her car, returned home, and crawled into bed, sleeping like the dead for twelve hours straight.
When graduation day finally arrived, Berkley still had not made up her mind about Brent. She missed him like she’d miss an arm or a leg, but she wasn’t convinced they were right for each other. She didn’t quite believe they were two puzzle pieces that were meant to fit together.
Her parents arrived early that morning, and as soon as Berkley opened the door and laid eyes on her mother, she burst into tears.
“Baby girl,” her mom cooed, wrapping her arms tight around her. “What’s wrong?”
“Brent and I had a big fight,” she sobbed into her mother’s shoulder. “I don’t think we’re coming back from this one.”
Her mother patted Berkley’s head with one hand and rubbed her back with the other. “Oh, honey, I’m sure whatever happened, you’ll get past it. You just have to talk to each other.”
“I don’t know if I can,” Berkley said, swallowing the last of her tears and wiping her face. “I haven’t spoken to him in two weeks.”
“Well, you’ll figure it out. If you even want to.” She quirked an eyebrow in question.
“I don’t know, Mom. I really don’t.”
“Let’s get through today. Then we can sit down and talk this whole thing out.”
At that moment, Berkley was reminded of a Blake Shelton lyric:Call up Mama when all else fails.
Her mother was her rock, her sounding board, the best place to go to for advice. Berkley felt lighter just having her in the room. She wiped her eyes and gave her mom a watery smile.
“There’s my favorite lawyer!” her dad said, walking through the door carrying a bouquet of sunflowers and a gift bag.
“Hey!” Logan said, following him in. “I thought I was your favorite lawyer?”
Their dad looked between him and Berkley. “No, it’s definitely your sister,” he said.
“She’s not even a lawyer yet!” Logan protested.
“Ahh, but she will be. And I bet she scores higher than you on the Bar.”
“You bet?” Logan said. “Care to put your money where your mouth is, old man?”
“Hundred bucks,” their dad said, extending his hand. Logan shook.
A small smile formed on Berkley’s lips. Her heart might have been broken into a million little pieces, but a few of them fused back together having her family near. They would get her through this.
“I’m so glad you guys are here,” she said, hugging her dad and Logan in turn.
“Me too,” Jessica said, coming down the stairs. She had come to Detroit a few days before, once her own semester was finished, to keep Berkley company. “She’s been awful. I was about to call in reinforcements.”
