her chestnut bob. Everything about Kate Mason was severe and angular, and while she could, at times, be as warm as a bonfire, she could also ice someone out with a simple stare. It depended on her mood. And her mood right now sounded positively glacial.
“What’s new?” I asked as I sank onto the side of the bed, trying to sound upbeat and sincere.
“Quite a bit, it would seem. I just got off the phone with Vivian. You do remember Mrs. Follett, don’t you? Macy’s mother? The conversation was…enlightening.”
And here I thought things had already gotten as bad as they could get. What an idiot I was. Of course, I knew that it was a possibility that someone in my sorority would tell their parents about the house drama, but I hadn’t really thought that my name would get back to my mom.
Usually the sisters were good about not snitching on one another, knowing that some of our mothers were part of the Zeta Eta Chi grapevine. But evidently Macy was a narc in sheep’s clothing…or whatever.
“Oh yeah? Did she want to discuss Macy’s botched plastic surgery?” No need to overplay my hand. Maybe she didn’t know what I thought she did. Or maybe I could distract her with juicy gossip of a Mexican boob job gone awry.
“No, she did not. Though that is something I’d like to hear more about.”
Score one for me.
“After we discuss why on earth you’re threatening to run against Aamee for president.”
And tied up again. “I wouldn’t say ‘threatening’ so much as following through.”
Her sigh, which she’d inherited from my grandmother, was deep and long. I always wondered if the women on her side of the family had a higher lung capacity than the average person.
“Do you have any idea how embarrassing it was to hear about this from Vivian? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“First of all, I don’t think Macy should be talking about house business anyway. So the fact that you heard it from her mom is an invasion of my privacy.”
“Is it not public knowledge that you’re running?”
“Well…yeah…I guess.”
“So maybe ‘invasion of privacy’ is a bit overstated. Besides, Macy had no idea how to proceed in a situation like this. She reached out to her mother for help. A novel idea for you, I know.” Her voice was dry and dripping with sarcasm, but I knew it for what it truly was: a mask covering up the hurt.
She felt betrayed that I hadn’t come to her with this, and that made me feel even shittier than having her know in the first place.
“It’s not…I’m sorry…that I didn’t tell you. I wanted to show you I could handle it and not make you worry about me being kicked out of the house.”
“You were kicked out of the house! Sophia Mason, what the hell is going on?”
I cringed. “So I guess Macy left that part out, huh?”
“Start talking.”
So I did. I told her about what had happened with Carter and Aamee’s subsequent punishment. I also threw in all the ways Aamee was a shit president for good measure.
“Are you telling me you’ve been out of the house for weeks? Where have you been staying?” My mom’s voice was bordering on shrill, and part of me warmed at her concern. Not because I didn’t think she worried about me but because it was good to have proof every now and then.
“At Brody’s.”
She was quiet for a moment, probably wondering if she’d heard correctly. “Your brother let you move in with him?” The disbelief in her tone conveyed all that needed to be said about my relationship with my brother.
“Yeah. He even let me have the bedroom.” What the hell. Might as well give the guy some brownie points where I could.
“Oh. That’s…well, that’s very nice.”
“Yeah, he’s been great.” The fact that I was referring to Drew was something I’d keep to myself. What she didn’t—couldn’t—know wouldn’t hurt her. Until a loudmouth sorority mom blabbed to her, anyway. Hopefully that was one secret I’d be more successful in protecting.
“I have to say, I’m not overly pleased with how you’ve gone about dealing with this situation, including your decision to keep it from me. If you’d simply called me, I probably could’ve gotten you back in the house without all this…drama.”
That was probably true, but what would the cost have been? All my sisters thinking the rules didn’t apply to me because my mommy had strings she could pull? No thanks.
“I’m sorry for not telling you,” I