Page 56 of Make Me Swoon

I inhale all of my food and I’m grateful when the dancing starts and I can make my way over to the snack tables set up in the corner of the ballroom.

“You’re acting like a pig. Control yourself,” my mother hisses at me out of the corner of her mouth.

“I’m hungry. I haven’t eaten all day.”

“And whose fault is that?” she asks me.

“Yours,” I snap back and I think that shocks both of us.

I blame it on the lack of food and the hunger headache mixed with having to fake a smile for the last ten hours. It feels good though. Standing up to her and finally telling her how I think and feel about her.

“Excuse me, young lady?”

“I said it was your fault. You made me run around with Ruby and help all of the other girls. There was no time to eat.”

“You don’t talk to me like that,” she says with a glare. “I’m your mother.”

“No, you’re not,” I tell her flatly. “You’re just some bitch that I have the misfortune of sharing blood with.”

She glares at me and I glare back.

“I know that you want to ask me to leave, but you can’t. Wouldn’t want to cause a scene at your precious princess’s wedding.”

She stomps off and I grab another plateful of food and head outside to call a ride back to her place. It’s time that I got out of here and forgot all about these people.

I lean back against the building, staring up at the dark night sky and I frown, feeling sad when I realize that I can’t see the stars like I could in Destiny Falls.

My phone buzzes in my hand as I pull up the app to call a car and I smile when I see that it’s a picture from Iris. It’s of the three girls, crowded around Madelyn’s kitchen island with margaritas in their hands.

Iris:Wish that you were here!

Lyla: Me too!

I wantto tell her that I’ll be back soon, but I want it to be a surprise. My phone buzzes again and I expect it to be a response from Iris but instead it’s a call from Hudson.

It’s late, close to eleven, and I wonder why he isn’t at work. I stare at the screen, wondering if I should answer it or not when my mom comes out.

“Get inside,” she says firmly and I look up.

Her eyes flash down to my screen and her eyebrows lift when she sees Hudson’s name and the picture of the two of us that I made as his contact photo on the screen.

“You know Hudson Hayes? You should get him to cater Holly’s wedding. You know that she and Samuel are going to be engaged by the end of the year,” she brags, and I stare at her like she’s an idiot.

“I’m not going to ask him that.”

“Why not? Obviously, you two seem close.”

“We’re not. Things ended… weird.”

“What did you do?” she demands.

“I came here.”

“That couldn’t have been it. What? Did he wake up and realize that he could do so much better than you?” she asks with a humorless laugh.

I stare at her, refusing to answer that.

I don’t like how close she is to the truth. She must be able to see it on my face though.

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