have a word?”
I nod and follow her away from Brett as she leads me out into the hallway.
“Who is that young man?”
“Brett Sanderson. He goes to school with me.”
“And you invited him here?”
I don’t want to sell Brett out because I honestly wouldn’t put it past her to tell him to leave.
I sigh. “He’s been helping me study, helping me get my grades up so I can graduate.”
To anyone else’s mother, this would be an admirable thing to do, but my mom doesn’t think my education is important. “So he thinks that gives him the right to show up here? He obviously thinks he’s welcome.”
“He’s interested in law. He wants to meet dad.”
She doesn’t even bat an eye at that piece of information. “I don’t like the way he’s looking at you.”
“What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean.”
Brett’s looking at me?
“Mom, stop.”
“Where’s he from? Who are his parents?”
“Mom, seriously, can you not? He’s the smartest kid in our school. He has a full ride to Harvard because he’s so smart.”
She doesn’t look even the slightest bit impressed.
“Where does he live?”
I’m tempted not to tell her, not wanting to fuel what I know will be her prejudices.
“Abigail?”
“His family lives near Hammerton.”
She scoffs just like I knew she would, her blatant and complete snobbery coming out in full force at the mention of the part of town that is considered much rougher than ours.
“His family is really nice, actually,” I bite out. “His mom is really friendly.”
“You’ve been going over to his house?!”
Well that was a mistake.
“What does his mom do?”
I bite my lip. I don’t give a damn that she cleans houses, but I’m not about to tell my mom that because I can’t stand the thought of what her reaction would be.
“You’re not going to tell me?” She places her hands on her hips, and I can’t even begin to handle her when she’s like this.
Luckily, Ellie comes down the stairs, looking between us warily, clearly sensing the tension. “What are you doing? Where’s Brett?”
I nod toward the kitchen and turn away from my mom and the look on her face as I follow Ellie back in, where she immediately walks up to Brett to ask him about his plans after graduation and where he’s going to college. I stand a couple of yards away, grateful that she’s making up for my mom’s lack of manners but undoubtedly nervous about how my dad’s going to be with Brett here.
It could go one of two ways. He could be in full-on schmoozing mode, polite and interesting and charismatic, or he could be rude, hostile, and downright terrifying.
The problem is that I never know which way it’s going to go.
My mom starts making a racket in the kitchen, banging pots and pans around as she drains some spaghetti and pulls some garlic bread out of the oven. Since Dad is home, it’s one of the few times she cooks.
It’s hard not to see that she’s being openly rude, and I see Brett watching her before his eyes dart to mine, looking confused. I don’t blame him. I’m sure his parents wouldn’t dream of making someone feel unwelcome in their home.
Oh god, I wish he weren’t here.
I wish he didn’t have to see what it can actually be like here.
“Mom, shall I call Dad?” Ellie asks, moving toward the door. My dad’s been locked up in his study since he got back this afternoon. I saw him briefly in the kitchen to say hi before he disappeared again for the rest of the day. “Is it almost ready?”
She nods as she places the Bolognese into a serving bowl then picks up a salad bowl and exits the kitchen, walking past our perfectly adequate kitchen table and instead going into the formal dining room and placing the food bowls in there.
It’s just a show so Brett can be more impressed with the house and the formality. She’s probably hoping he’ll realize he’s out of his league here—whatever that means.
I hate her so much right now.
I turn to Brett, who’s already watching me. “Are you okay?”
I nod, forcing a smile. “Yeah, come on. Let’s go eat.”
I lead him through to the dining room and nod to indicate the chair he should take, and we all sit down as Ellie enters, followed by my dad.
His eyes immediately find Brett, and a smile breaks out across his face. Ellie nods at me and I heave a sigh of relief, because I know she’s pre-warned Dad that