“If Roger Pearson hadn’t been walking his dog nearby, the two of you would’ve gone under! And let’s not forget the time you shoved your sister out of the way of a moving vehicle!”
“Oh, so you would’ve preferred that I let her get hit!” I shouted back, wondering where the hell all of this was coming from.
“I want—” My dad took a deep breath and when he spoke again, his voice had lowered. “I want my kid to be safe. Don’t get me wrong, Charlotte, I am so proud of who you are. But that doesn’t mean I don’t worry myself sick over what situation you’re going to put yourself into because you’ve got it in your damn head you have to save people.”
“I don’t have that in my head,” I promised. “But I was raised by two people who taught me that you don’t stand idly by when someone needs help.”
My parents were quiet for a moment. Then Mom said, “There’s helping when a situation arises, and then there’s looking for that situation. That’s what being a cop is.”
“No, I disagree. It’s being there to help when a situation arises. It’s who I am.”
“And Jake?” Dad said, his words brittle. “Is he who you are? Because last time I checked, he was a selfish coward who broke my daughter’s heart.”
My defenses rose at his insult. “Don’t talk about him that way,” I said, quiet but stern. “I won’t listen to it.”
“You need to think.” Dad leaned toward the camera, his hazel eyes almost pleading. “Just… promise me you’ll take some time away from him to really think.”
“I don’t need to.”
“Charley—”
“Are you going to support me or not?”
My parents looked at each other, something grim passing between them. Finally, my dad looked at the camera. “I won’t ever have that boy in this house again and we are not done discussing law school.”
I knew that look on my father’s face. I knew it because it was the same look I got when I wouldn’t budge. My chest ached and I felt the stinging burn of tears behind my eyes.
For the first time in my life, my parents had really hurt me.
“You always told me people deserve a second chance.”
“Charley—”
“If I don’t have your support, we have nothing left to talk about.” I snapped the laptop shut, trembling.
There had never been discord between my parents and me. The ugly burden of it rested on my shoulders and I hoped that it wasn’t preparing for a long stay there.
I tightened my grip around my cell as Andie waited on my reply. “Yeah, it didn’t go great, but I’ll tell you what I told them. If you don’t support me, don’t bother calling me.”
“You’re putting him before your family?” Andie’s voice was so quiet with anger, I barely heard her question. My skin prickled with unease. “After everything he did? After all the support Mom and Dad have given you. You’re just spitting in their faces with this… and, although I get that you want to be a cop, you could take their feelings into consideration. At least you shouldn’t have just dropped those two bombs on them at the same time.” She was silent a moment. “When did you get this selfish?”
“Selfish?” I whispered in disbelief that my sister, one of my best friends, was talking to me this way. “Is that what you think?”
“I think yesterday I respected my little sister. I think today I feel disillusioned.”
“Disillusioned?” I guffawed, feeling my blood heat. “I haven’t committed a crime here, Andie. I’m just asking you to trust me.”
“I don’t with this.”
My fingers clenched around the phone. “When did I get so selfish? When did you get so self-righteous? Mom and Dad weren’t thrilled with the idea of Rick at first, remember? The guy is ten years your senior. Did I say anything? No. I supported you.”
“That’s completely different. Rick never broke my heart and left my family to pick up the pieces.”
“You know, you’re the one person I thought I could count on to be there for me through this. It isn’t easy. I’m trying to work things through with Jake, and I’m finally taking the reins of my future despite Mom and Dad’s concerns about it, and I need my big sister.”
“No, you want me to tell you that it’s all right to steamroll your way through life without taking other people’s feelings into consideration.”
“Andie, it’s my life. My heart. My career.”