Page 34

Chapter Twenty-One

We’re aboutto clean up after dinner when my cell phone starts to ring.

I look down and see it’s Mom. I cringe a little because I haven’t talked to her at all in nearly two weeks and I know she will not stop calling until I answer.

I accept the call and put it on speaker, placing the phone on the table between us so Skye can talk to her and take some of the heat off me.

“Hi, Mom. How are you?”

“She lives!” Is Mom’s sarcastic reply.

“Sorry, Mom. I’ve been busy. Hey, I have you on speaker. I’m here with Skye, Logan, and Liam. We just finished dinner.”

“Even E.T. found a way to phone home, and he had to use an umbrella. Being that you have a cell phone at your disposal, you’d think it would be easy enough for you,” she says, but there’s no anger in her voice. Mom never gets angry.

I’ve been avoiding calling her since our last talk. Mom always knows when something isn’t right and I really don’t want to get into a Liam discussion with her again.

“I’m really sorry, Mom. Just busy with school and all.”

“You’ve been busy with school for the last three years and that never stopped you.”

“Hi, Mom,” Skye jumps it, trying to deflect Mom’s attention. That never worked. “How’s dad?”

“Skye, I spoke with you this morning already. You know your dad is fine. River, there are only two acceptable reasons for why you haven’t called me all week.”

There’s a pause before she continues.

“One, you’re so sexually frustrated because that boy has not taken you to bed yet, and your hands have been too busy trying to get yourself off for you to reach for your phone, or two, that boy has taken you to bed and you have not left it yet and are too tired to reach for the phone—”

“MOM!” Skye and I say at the same time.

I’m blushing, Skye is blushing. I look over at Logan and Liam and they’re both blushing. Holy shit! How could I have forgotten how my mother gets when she wants to make a point?

She goes on as if we haven’t just called her name.

“So, Liam, which one is it? Frustrated or satisfied?”

Liam’s mouth opens and closes a few times and he looks at me like I can stop my mother.

“I’m sorry?” he finally says.

Thankfully she lets him off the hook. “Well, I just want to make sure everyone is alive. Don’t make me drive all the way over there, River. Call me. Got to go now. Love you all!”

“Okay, bye, Mom.”

“River?”

“Yes, Mom.”

“You should know better than put me on speaker.” And with that she hangs up.

We all look at each other in silence for maybe ten seconds until Logan bursts out laughing and then Liam and Skye. I’m not laughing.

Skye looks at me. “Ah, come on, it’s funny.”

“Holy shit,” Liam says. “Now I know where you get it from.”

I scoff. “And you think I’m inappropriate? Try growing up with her.”