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“Really? Because I happened to run into Mattie’s mom the other day.” And now my heart is slamming against my ribs in a painful way. “And she asked me how my daughter was doing. That’s you,” she points at me. “She said she hasn’t seen you almost since you and Mattie came home for your break.”
“Mom,” I try, but she puts her hand up to stop me from uttering another word.
“I just need to know that you’re safe.” I nod instinctively, giving myself away in the process. “Who is he? And please don’t tell me it’s the troll boy. Your father’s going to drop dead if you bring him home again.”
“Mom,” I laugh, “we were in seventh grade. He misunderstood the conversation.”
“Either way,” she waves me off. “Your dad would drop dead either way, and I can’t afford my lifestyle without him, so please…”
“It’s not the troll boy, Mom,” I assure her. “It’s still new. And I want to make sure we’re serious enough before I introduce him to the family. Especially to you and Dad.”
“What about school?” The way she is looking at me now is making me nervous. She seems to be more easy-going than Dad, but my mother is always on the money with her thoughts. “You have one more week before you have to go back.”
“I was thinking that I could start them online, see how that goes…”
“Hunter,” and now I feel guilty. I hate hearing disappointment in my mom’s voice. She’s always been so supportive of me going to school in New York, and I know it cost her and my dad a pretty penny for that to happen. “You can’t be throwing all your hard work away over a boy you just met.”
“He is not a boy, Mom, he is…”
“It was just a figure of speech, baby. And I know you’re an adult now. But I worry. You wanted a career, and I don’t want you to not have what you’ve worked so hard for because you just met someone new.” She says it all without taking a break, like she is worried that if she doesn’t get it out, she’ll never be able to say it to me again.
“Mom, I really like him. I want to see where it goes. He is so amazing, he…”
“Hunter,” Mom snaps. My mouth closes and I get teary eyed. “You need to finish school. Get a good start in life. What are you doing right now with him?”
“He is not ruining my life, Mom. I am in love with him,” I plead with her. And as soon as those words are out of my mouth, I realize that I really am in love with Zach. Is it too soon?
“How can you be in love with him, Hunter?” Eva Montgomery is in battle mode right now. Her hands are on her hips and she looks at me with analytical eyes. “It’s been less than a month. This is just an infatuation you’re having. And when you wake up to reality, you’ll realize that you made a mistake. And then what?”
“Mom, you don’t understand,” I try again, but she is done with the topic.
“I don’t want to hear it, Hunter. You’re going back to school, and that’s the end of it. I have not been paying an arm and a leg for you to go to NYU, just so you can blow it right at the end. That’s just ridiculous.” She rests her hands on the kitchen counter and leans down to stare at it.
After a few more minutes of silence during which she refuses to look at me, I finally stand up to go up to my room.
“Hunter,” she calls after me, and I hate the way her voice breaks, but I don’t stop. I run up the stairs and don’t stop until I am safely inside of my childhood bedroom.
I look around, unsure of what I should do next. I need to talk with Zach, I decide. I’ll tell him that I love him. He’ll tell me that he loves me back, and we will figure things out together.
I am about to dial his number on my cell phone when another thought slams into me, taking my breath away.
What if I tell Zach that I love him, but he doesn’t say anything back? Or, worse yet, because it could be worse, he just breaks up with me because I am too much? Too clingy? Too… everything?
I stick my hands in my hair and start pacing. I don’t know what to do. There was a reason I kept Zach separate from my parents. I haven’t been ready for him to meet them because I was scared they’d judge him. I was scared of the exact scenario that just happened downstairs, but, in my head, it was happening with Zach as a witness.
I’ve been a mess and a ball of nerves thinking that Zach would end up hating me because my parents would judge us. Judge him.
And now, in spite of my best efforts, my two worlds are colliding.
A light knock on my door makes me spin around to face it. I don’t say anything, just stare at it like I’m scared of it.
“Can I come in?” my dad’s voice comes through from the other side.
“Y-yes,” I stutter, then hurry up to smooth my hair down so that I don’t look as crazy as I feel.
Dad walks into my room, looking as imposing as ever. His hands are in the pockets of his pants, the casual sweater he’s wearing up top complementing his eyes perfectly. My parents, especially my dad, always looked younger than they were, and all my friends were always hot for my dad.
“I just talked to your mother,” he gets straight to business, not one to drag things on. “She told me what happened.”
