Page 105 of Reaching Avery
We entered the auditorium and had to go our separate ways, but not before he kissed my knuckles and said some cheesy, medieval line about us parting. As usual, I rolled my eyes, even though my heart skipped a beat at the action.
I almost broke up with him last night.
It didn’t make sense that I’d almost thrown away the one good thing in my life… but then it kind of did. When you were used to people disappointing you, it was difficult to get attached to anything because it could be gone tomorrow.
However, he wasn’t just a random person. He was Mav.
My Mav.
And eventually, I’d tell him what he wanted to know. But for now? I just wanted to pretend that I wasn’t screwed up.
***
Mom brushed my hair as I sat down in front of her. She’d worked late last night, and even though she slept until noon, she still looked exhausted. Ever since she got herpromotionat work, she seemed to lack her once exuberant personality. As if the life was slowly being drained from her with each night she worked that job.
“Are you okay?” I asked, noticing the bags under her blue eyes. She was in front of me, parting my hair, as we sat at the kitchen table. The ideal place would’ve been the bathroom, but it was too small for two people at once.
For my Loki costume, I didn’t need a wig since my hair was the length and shade of his anyway, but the horned headpiece sat on my head weird, so she was trying to fix my hair to where it wouldn’t move.
“Yeah, bug, I’m fine,” she answered, cupping my cheek. “Why? Do I not look okay?”
“You look beautiful, Mom,” I said as she self-consciously messed with her hair. “I’m just worried about you. I don’t think that promotion is worth it.”
Her face fell. “I just want you and D to have the world, and I can barely give you clothes on your backs. The promotion has helped us.”
“At what cost to you?” I asked, hating the way her eyes clouded when she talked about it. I had a damn good idea of what she was having to do for the extra money, and I’d rather us be struggling than for her to do that another night. “I’m still trying to get a job. Places are just full right now. But I promise that Iwillget one soon. Somehow. I’ll figure something out.”
“You know what I want you to do, bug?” she asked, gently pinching my cheek. “Go out with your boyfriend and have an amazing night tonight. Don’t worry about me or my job. Don’t worry about money. You’re young and you need to enjoy it. Live a little. You’ve had to grow up too fast and be the responsible one, and you don’t know how much it kills me to see you missing out on so much, knowing it’s my fault.”
Her eyes watered, and she looked away, causing a tear to roll down her face. “For one night, I want you to be a kid. Let loose and be a little wild. Maybe make some mistakes. Just don’t worry about anything other than yourself for once.” I went to argue—to tell her I didn’t blame her for anything—but she put her finger to my lips. “Promise me, bug.”
I nodded, unable to get words past the lump in my throat.
When I had officially come out to her and said Maverick was my boyfriend, she’d reacted in the most amazing way, saying she was thrilled I’d found happiness. The fact it was with a boy didn’t matter to her.
“I’m going to get some hairspray,” Mom said before going down the hall to the bathroom.
Declan came into the kitchen, shooting me a weird look. “What the crap are you supposed to be?”
“Loki,” I answered, quickly glancing down at my outfit and fixing the sleeve. “Maverick is going as Thor.”
“You know they’re brothers, right?” he asked, still looking at me like I had two heads. “Kinda makes it gross, ya know? Since he’s your boyfriend and all.”
“Why are you being such an ass?” I snapped, glaring at him. His returning scowl reminded me so much of Dad that my stomach churned a little. Not only in appearance, but attitude as well. “What did I do to make you hate me so much?”
“Don’t be so dramatic,” he said with a scoff. “I don’t hate you. A better question is why the hell do you hate yourself so much?”
Huh?
Declan squared his jaw and his eyes were menacing. “I know about—”
“Okay, bug, let’s see if this works.” Mom came into the kitchen, holding a can of her hairspray and a pick comb.
I exchanged a look with Declan before he stormed off into the other room. Whatever he was going to say, it’d have to wait until later.
Mom fixed my hair to where it was lying flat down and wouldn’t puff up at the top where the headpiece was going to go. It was slicked back to where it’d still look okay if I chose to remove the horns too.
Maverick showed up around seven to pick me up, and when he came into the house, I was dazed for a moment.
