Page 112 of Wild About You
Stephanie sits tall. “Everly and I had a long talk last night. She filled me in on some of the things that have happened since she’s been here. Honestly, I’m surprised you haven’t sent her back yet. It’s clear that you’re in no position to take care of her. I mean, honestly, living with a bunch of hockey players?”
I can tell her words cut Tyler to the quick. It’s the very thing he worries about constantly. It’s impacted every decision he’s made since she arrived. And it pisses me off.
“Ty has been great, Mom,” Everly says.
“You said that on the phone, but I think we can all agree that this setup is less than ideal. He isn’t even here half the time.”
“I’m fine, Mom. Piper stays with me.”
I try to smile but I’m not sure I nail it.
Stephanie barely gives me a second glance before saying, “It’s time for you to come home.”
“She’s just starting to settle in here. She has friends and extracurricular activities.” His voice raises with each word. “She’s applying to colleges nearby.”
“College?” Her head whirls to her daughter. “You never had any interest in college. You hate school. You’re barely going to graduate high school.”
Everly shrinks beside her and twists her hands in her lap. “It’s not so bad. I was thinking about going to Whittaker.”
Sometimes I forget that Everly is so young. She’s so mature and confident in so many ways, but in minutes her mother has reduced her to a shadow of the young woman she is, and I’m struggling to stay silent beside Tyler.
“Let’s just focus on finishing high school for now. This summer maybe we can talk about taking classes part-time once you get a job. We’ll talk about it on the way home. Go grab your stuff, Ev.”
Everly gets to her feet reluctantly. Ty jumps up. “No.”
“This is crazy. The first month that she was here, you begged me to come get her and now you’re putting up a fight. Why?”
Everly’s eyes widen with hurt and betrayal with this new knowledge.
“Because she’s my sister. I’d do anything for her. Can you say the same?”
Stephanie’s mouth puckers. “Then you should be able to see that this is not the best place for her. I mean really, living with a bunch of older guys who are drinking and partying every night. I’m not even going to mention the incident with River that happened while you were supposed to be looking after her.”
Tyler is vibrating with anger and hurt. His hands ball into fists at his side. “Ev, can you give me and Mom a minute?”
“Go grab your stuff, honey. If we head out soon, we can still make it back tonight.”
“No, don’t pack anything,” Tyler snaps, then softens his tone when Everly shrinks even further. “I’ll be up in a minute.”
She rushes off like she’s happy to get away from us. Quietly, I follow her, but pause at the stairway when Tyler speaks again.
“Why are you doing this?” he asks.
“Because I am her mother and I say it’s time for her to come home.”
“She has less than two months until graduation. She can finish her senior year here.”
“I talked to the principal at her old school, and he said she can transfer back and still graduate on time.”
“And if she doesn’t want to do that?” Tyler’s voice has an edge that slices my heart.
It’s a beat before she responds. “Then you tell her it’s the only option.”
“You want me to kick out my own sister? No way. Everly is always welcome with me.”
“It’s what’s best for her,” she insists. “I’ll be waiting outside.”
“Don’t make her leave like this. At least let me talk to her. You owe me that.”
