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“Well, adults live on their own,” Mom continues. “So, I don’t care where you go, but neither of us are welcome here any longer.”
I blink at her. “You mean...I can’t come with you?”
My mother laughs coldly. “No,” she replies. “You made your bed, and now you’re going to lie in it.”
I nod numbly. “Okay.” It’s lame, but it’s all I can say. “I understand.”
“You’d better pack,” she adds sarcastically. “I’m sure those vultures can’t wait for us to get out of here.”
As soon as she leaves the room, I feel like I’m going to start crying again. I can’t believe it – I had no idea this would happen. And judging by my mother’s reaction, I can tell that she wasn’t clued in to my father’s activities.
That night, Mara picks me up. I toss my black TUMI duffel into the backseat of her car and climb into the passenger seat.
“Is that all you’re bringing?” Mara squints. “You know you can stay with me for however long you need, until you find a place.”
I grimace. “I was hoping that I could, you know, actually move in and be your roommate. It doesn’t look like my mom wants anything to do with me.”
To my surprise, Mara squeals and throws her arms around me. “Oh, Allie! Really?”
I nod. Her display of emotion has caught me off guard and grateful tears well up in my eyes. I may not have anyone else in the world, but at least I’ll always have Mara.
When Mara pulls away, she gives me a sympathetic smile. “I never thought you’d want to live in a dump like my apartment,” she says. “I know you were used to the high life here.”
I roll my eyes. “So much for that,” I reply. “I’m pretty sure it was all a sham. My father has millions of dollars in debt.”
Mara’s smile fades. “What about your mom?”
It hurts, but I shrug. “She went to live with her cousin Tiffany in New Canaan.”
Mara snorts. “She’ll fit right in.”
I burst into giggles. “Yeah,” I agree. “She will.”
Mara drives us back to her apartment and helps me lug my bag up four flights of stairs. I only took my favorite stuff from my room – a few outfits, including that black silk dress I wore the night Dane popped my cherry. My laptop, my textbooks, and a bag of makeup.
That’s my life now – broken and compact enough to fit in an overpriced duffle bag.
We order pizza for dinner and as we kick back to a marathon of Vanderpump Rules, I can’t shake the feeling that something is missing. I know I should be happy.
I’m finally a normal college girl, sharing an apartment with her best friend and a few roaches.
So why do I feel so empty?
“Has Dane called you?” Mara turns to face me.
“No,” I say sourly. “I thought he would be in touch as soon as my father was arrested.”
Mara pats my shoulder. “You’ll hear from him soon,” she says softly. “I just have a feeling about it.”
“He doesn’t want anything to do with me,” I reply. “He’s made that clear. He just wanted to use me for sex.”
“Allie, he’s a busy guy,” Mara says patiently. “I mean, he can’t just drop everything to call some college girl. This whole thing with your dad’s arrest probably has him working even more than he was before. I heard something like Lockdown has to do two press releases every day now!”
Her words sting, even though I know she meant them to be kind. She’s right, after all. I’m nothing but an ordinary college girl.
And Dane is CEO of one of the wealthiest companies in the world.
“You’re right.” I look down at my hands in my lap, unable to meet Mara’s gaze. “He doesn’t want anything to do with me.”
