Page 141 of Stealing for Keeps
“Mooom.” I’m so tired of fighting with her. Why can’t she just accept that this makes me happy?
“Okay. I will lay off. I can tell how much this means to you.”
Surprise shoots through me, and my voice is tentative as I ask, “Really?”
Just like that? I thought for sure she’d still try to talk me into quitting. Maybe not tonight but eventually.
“Yes. Believe it or not, I do want you to be happy.”
That is hard to believe. The past few months have felt like she’s cared less about what I want and more about what she thinks I need.
“I still think you should consider adding some AP classes and focus on bringing up your GPA.”
I groan.
“You have such a big, beautiful future ahead of you.” She reaches forward and tucks my hair behind one ear. “I know that I have been hard on you, but it’s because I believe with enough hard work, you can have all the success you want. Look at how far you got with skating.”
“And for what?” I ask, letting myself feel that familiar burn of disappointment that something I worked so hard for was taken away.
“For what?” She laughs quietly. “Is that really what you think? It’s over so it was worth nothing? Honey.” She reaches over and rests a hand on my knee. “If nothing else, it should have taught you how capable you are. You can do anything if you’re willing to put in the effort.”
I know it wasn’t for nothing, but sometimes the sting of it still catches me off guard. She’s right though. It did teach me a lot.
“I will think about adding in some AP classes next semester.”
Her smile is immediate. She gets up like she wants to flee before I change my mind. Maybe we won’t ever agree on everything, but I can compromise if she can.
“I want to visit some colleges with great art programs,” I say as she reaches the door.
“Does this have anything to do with Austin?” Her gaze drifts to the wall next to where she stands. The first sketch Austin ever drew for me hangs there. The one where I’m skating.
“No.” It doesn’t. Besides joining the cheer squad, it’s the only thing that I’ve found that feels right. Maybe I won’t end up majoring in art and it will be something I just do for fun, but I at least want to explore it.
“It took a lot of nerve for him to show up here tonight.” Her stare doesn’t leave the sketch.
My stomach dips. I don’t know exactly what happened or what he said, but it’s obvious that whatever he did had an impact on her. I still can’t believe they all showed up to watch me cheer. Even if they never come again, I’ll remember tonight for a very long time.
“I’m glad he did.” She finally looks back at me, and her usual no-nonsense mask slips back into place. “He’s still not allowed in here with the door closed.”
Fighting a smile, I nod my agreement. And without saying more, Mom steps into the hallway.
I pull out my phone to say good night to Austin before I go to sleep. A text from him is already waiting.
Austin: Night cheer girl. See you in my dreams.
Epilogue
Claire
Three months later
Austin carefully steps onto the ice. The look of trepidation on his face is adorable.
“Are you sure I’m not going to fall through and get trapped under the ice?”
“The lake is frozen,” I say for what has to be the third time since we parked the car and walked out here.
“Uh-huh.” He doesn’t seem convinced.
