Page 9

Present day.

Ellie

Two weeks have gone by since I made a complete fool of myself that night at Jaydon’s house. I haven’t spoken to him or seen him since.

That morning, I was back in my own bed before the sun started to rise. My mom came to pick me up, thankfully, with no questions asked. I’m sure she just assumed I spent the night with some random guy. I don’t even think she even knows it was Jaydon’s house.

That’s always been the narrative, anyway. I’m the wild child, the one that never listened. At least, that’s the title my family has given me.

That night wasn’t one of the best decisions I’ve ever made, and I can admit that, but I’m not the wild one.

No, that’s all my sister.

I’m lying in bed, mindlessly scrolling through social media, when a text pops up from my mom.

Mom : Come have breakfast. Your sister and I need to talk with you.

Great, I can only imagine how fun this will be.

I grab my oversized sweatshirt with a sigh and throw it on over my sports bra and leggings as I walk out the bedroom door.

The smell of bacon sizzling hits my nose before I even step foot in the kitchen, causing my stomach to growl on instinct.

As I round the corner, I find my mom and sister working as a team to prepare breakfast, so fucking weird.

Mom’s at the stove cooking eggs, and Breanne is pouring glasses of orange juice at the island.

Like we're some kind of wholesome family, she’s probably putting poison in mine.

We started drifting apart after I graduated high school.

“Good morning…” I smile politely at my sister. Bitch. I love her, but she’s a backstabbing bitch.

My mom turns around at the same time as I speak.

I eye her curiously. “Hey, good morning. What’s the special occasion?” I slowly make my way towards the island, stopping across from Breanne with my arms folded.

I get a strange feeling in my stomach .

Breanne glances my way as she pours the last bit of juice, and then her eyes quickly bounce over to Mom’s. What the hell is going on?

“Oh, honey,” Mom says, turning back to the pan, “just let me finish up the eggs… then we will sit down and talk.”

“Okay, can I help with anything?”

“Oh, no, honey, you are good. Breanne has already taken care of everything else.” I slide onto one of the stools, side-eying them both, wondering what the hell they are up to.

The tension in the air surrounding us is so thick, and my anxiety starts creeping in.

Once we all sit down, Mom dishes the eggs from the frying pan to our plates, smiling like this whole morning isn’t weird as hell.

“Thanks, Mom,” I say politely. “You always make the best scrambled eggs… maybe one day I will be able to make them like you.” I giggle, knowing I’m a horrible cook.

Somehow, I even manage to mess up scrambled eggs. They are either tough or borderline burnt. I still remember one Mother’s Day when Breanne and I decided to surprise Mom with breakfast in bed. I was in charge of making the eggs, and of course, I messed them up.

Mom smiled while eating them, just to please me and make me feel proud. She later admitted to me that she would like to teach me. She tried, but even to this day, I still cook them too long .

She waves me off with a warm smile, “You do just fine. Just keep practicing, honey. You will get it one day… You will probably want to cook your future husband breakfast someday.” She teases, eyeing me sweetly.

“Ha… he might just have to cook his own breakfast,” I reply with a light laugh, tossing a slice of bacon onto my plate.

With a smug chuckle, Breanne jumps in, tilting her head as she sips her juice. “Oh, Ellie… speaking of husbands… whose house did you stay at the night of Haleigh's wedding?”

She’s patronizing me, baiting me. Always working her fucking angle and I can’t stand it.

I stare her dead in the eyes, keeping my expression neutral. “Well, considering my so-called sister was supposed to pick me up and didn’t… I don’t think that is any of your damn business.” My eyebrows arch, expecting a harsh response from her.

“Oh, cut the shit, Ellie. I think we both know whose house you stayed at that night.”

I roll my eyes at her audacity, opening my mouth to respond, but Mom cuts us both off, throwing her hands up.

“Girls,” she snaps, “can we not just have a peaceful breakfast together? You girls need to get past whatever is going on between the two of you. We have a lot to discuss, so please...” she eyes us both, with a stern look plastered on her face, “Let’s just stop the arguing. We need to stick together.”

My forehead tenses at her words. “Mom, what the hell are you talking about?”

With a defeated sigh, her shoulders sag as she speaks, “Honey, I’m moving to California. Breanne is coming with me, and we would like for you to come as well.”

My heart stops.

There is no way in hell I am moving. When did all this happen? We have lived in this small country town our entire lives. So many memories have been made here in this house, and now I’m just supposed to uproot my life and move?

“What?” My eyebrows shoot up. “What prompted this?” I stare at my mother in disbelief. “Mom, you can’t be serious…”

I can't comprehend this information.

“Honey, it will be okay.” She speaks gently, “I got a job offer in San Diego, and it’s a really big pay increase, and honestly… I don’t think I can pass this offer up.”

“San Diego?” I huff a laugh as my eyes widen. “Mom, that area is crazy expensive. The difference in pay will be eaten up by rent. Why are you rushing this decision?”

“I haven’t rushed anything…” she replies calmly, “your sister and I have been discussing this move for several months. ”

My head snaps to my sister. I glare daggers her way from across the table, my jaw clenched. That bitch fucking knew for months and didn’t tell me.

We used to be close. What the hell happened?

“…and the company is paying for our housing for the first three months to help us settle.” She finishes, like this somehow makes it all better.

I huff in annoyance, folding my arms as I lean back against the chair. “Well, I’m so glad my life was decided for me. Mom, you know I can’t afford to live by myself, just getting my business started here locally…”

Breanne grunts in laughter, mocking me.

My eyes bounce to her, fuming with disgust as I snap. “What the fuck is so funny, Breanne?”

“Your business? Are you fucking kidding me, Ellie? You have no business. ” She smirks.

Fucking bitch. She knows I’ve been working my ass off trying to advertise and get clients introduced to my event-planning business.

You would think my sister would support me, but no, she’s a backstabbing bitch that wants everything to herself, even our mother.

She doesn’t want me to succeed because she has no drive to better herself. I’m so fucking done with her.

Fuck moving. I will be better off on my own.

“Girls, please.” Mom stands up and walks between our seats .

Not wanting to be around my bitch of a sister any longer, I push from the table to stand, “I’m sorry, Mom, I can’t move to California with you, but you know what, Breanne…

” I jab my finger in the air at her, “fuck you for treating me the way that you do! I don’t know who would want a sister if they were anything like you.

” She just sits there with a stupid smirk on her face.

Spinning on my heels, I quickly move to exit the kitchen, but before I can break free. She throws the last dagger.

“Oh, Ells… I’m surprised Jay didn’t tell you we were planning to move.

” She coos, her voice laced with fake sympathy.

“He and I had a long conversation the other night about it.” She pauses briefly, adding to the effect, batting her eyes with satisfaction.

“He said he was going to miss us…” Then her hand goes dramatically to her chest as she says the last part. “So badly.”

I bite my tongue so hard I can taste blood. I keep walking, not wanting to give her any more of my time or attention. Her smug cackling follows me up the stairs to my room. I push open my bedroom door and slam it shut behind me.

I need to get out of this house.

The road is so dark and lonely as I’m driving, making my way to my bestie’s house. I haven’t passed a single car on the road since I left my house. The silence of being alone is killing me. I have nobody to talk to except for Haleigh. My life is depressing right now.

I stayed in my room for a couple of hours, thinking about my current situation and what the next step would be.

My mom stopped by my room to talk with me and let me know we would be leaving in four weeks.

The realtor is supposed to be coming this upcoming week to take pictures and list the house for sale.

Of course, she apologized for Breanne’s rudeness and made excuses for her. It’s what she always does. And maybe that’s part of my sister’s problem.

My sister is just two years older than me, and our father was in and out of the picture for the first two years of her life.

Then, before I was ever born, he disappeared.

Falling victim to heavy drinking and drugs and spending time in jail, I guess it’s better he left.

My mother dealt with verbal abuse from him for years.

She has done fine raising us on her own .

Sure, we’ve had some tough times financially, but we never went without. She has dated on and off, but nothing ever got serious. I’m sure it’s a result of all the mental scars my father left behind.

Maybe that’s where all my man drama stems from.

I’ve never had that male relationship in my life. Not having a father in my life fucked me up; he wasn’t there when I was born and still isn’t to this day.

My mom has told us several stories about our father, and none of them are good. So, I’ve decided it's best if I don't contact him.

Ugh, just four fucking weeks is all I have to get my shit together, to figure out where I’m going to live. Because I sure as hell will not be moving all the way across the country to California.

I tried to call Kevin, but he didn't answer.

I don't quite know what to call our relationship yet—if you can even call it that. I only told Jaydon that he was my boyfriend to fuck with him.

Kevin and I have gone out a few times, and he’s really sweet, but the sad truth is…

we’ve never actually defined what this thing between us is yet.

He's supposed to be out of town all this week for work, and I’m spiraling.

I just need to talk with someone so I can calm down and hopefully figure this shit out.