“No? You’re going to sit there like a little whore and take my money—money that’s meant for your education—and you’re going to use it to shack up with the—”
“Did you just call your own daughter a whore?”
“Enough,” my mother tries to interject but it’s no use. Even she knows there’s no stopping the two of us when it gets this way. One thing I got from my father is my headstrong personality. Unfortunately.
“If she’s acting like a whore, I’m going to call it like I see it.”
“Who said I’m acting like a whore?”
“Living with a man out of wedlock is hardly saintly.”
“And since when are you qualified to give advice about being saintly?”
Kevin’s hand balls into a fist and I look at my mother whose eyes are full of tears. I need to take myself out of this situation before something happens that we all regret.
Getting up from the table, I wordlessly take my half finished plate to the kitchen and then head upstairs to sit in my childhood bed until I leave in two days. In hindsight, I don’t know how I’m supposed to last the rest of this time. I was hoping Arden and Margot would be here with me but they aren't. And it doesn’t seem like I’ll get any kind of reprieve until I get back to campus.
I should just leave. I should book a flight and go back to campus. I’d rather be there than here. Even if I was alone there. I wish I could go to Connecticut and see the whole gang but I’m not exactly welcome there at the minute.
And the real truth is, no matter how terrible this situation is here with my parents, the overwhelming feeling I have right now is that I miss Arden. I miss him so fucking much and I just want to talk to him.
I fall asleep—suddenly bone tired from the events of the day and the alcohol I drank—and I dream of veins, tissues and deep green eyes.
Chapter Forty-Three
Arden
“Fortherecord,Iam glad you came.”
I sigh. “For the record, I’m not sure I am.”
When Margot called me about Thanksgiving in Connecticut, my initial reaction was a big fat no. Not only would that mean being away from Danika for the holidays, it would mean not going back to South Carolina at all. While I love the fall vibes in the Northeast, I miss my sweet tea and porch swing.
However, after that fight with Danika, I needed to get away and Connecticut seemed as good a place as any. Plus, the only way for Dad and Memaw to get to Connecticut was for me to fly down and drive them there and back so I’ll get my Southern fix when I drop them back off. Besides, spending time with my family is special no matter where we are. I’m just shocked that Margot got Memaw to even leave the state.
“Too many people in the North,” she always says. We’ve always placated her when she says that but honestly, she’s not wrong. And the fact that there’s so many people in the North and I still can’t stop thinking about one particular girl is mind boggling.
Margot and I are sitting on the deck overlooking the lake, our Thanksgiving meal long over and most of the grown-ups have gone to sleep. Alex joins us outside with two beers for him and me and a glass of wine for Margot. His little brother, Drew, trails behind.
Drew looks at the bottle in my hand. “Hey, can I have a—”
“No,” we all say in unison to Alex’s sixteen-year-old brother, who pouts but accepts our decision.
We sip our drinks and stare at the dark sky for a while, gazing at the stars. I wonder if Danika is looking at the same stars right now.
“Okay, Arden. I’m sorry but I need to tell you something,” Margot blurts out. But until now she hasn’t made it seem like she was keeping something from me but I don’t know if that’s because she’s a really good liar or if I’m just insanely unobservant.
“What is it?”
Margot opens her mouth but her boyfriend, Alex interrupts her. “Drewster, let’s go in. I want some more pie.”
Drew protests but Alex pulls him up by the scruff of his hair. He yelps and follows Alex, who’s placed a kiss on my sister’s forehead, inside the house.
“Margot.”
Margot squeezes her eyes shut. “I told Danika that you’re in therapy.”
For the first time in my life, I’m speechless.