nuts, saying the same things over and over again. She’s convinced you’ve brainwashed me and are trying to lure me over to the dark side. She even tried to get me to do a drug test last time I saw her. I almost gave in just to get her to chill out, but I knew if I did, it would open the door to even more outrageous demands.”
“I’m not going to say anything because that’s your mom, and I know you love her, but you are an adult with your own life and his own goals and dreams. Until she recognizes that, she’s always going to steamroll right over you and declare it’s for your own good. There is absolutely no reason she needs access to my house when you aren’t there. Even if it is to do something nice like stock the fridge or do your laundry. It’d be a different story if she didn’t make it abundantly clear on several occasions that she hates my guts. But considering her animosity toward me, I have to tell you straight up that I don’t trust her.” And, I wasn’t about to let anyone who didn’t respect me, and who purposely tried to trigger me, into my space. I had very clear and defined boundaries I protected with everything I had in me. Because I knew if one of those walls fell down when I wasn’t looking, I’d end up right back where I started, drugged up and strung out. That scenario was not acceptable. I had so much more to lose this time around, and none of it was as superficial as my money or my image.
“Sometimes, I wonder if you just misunderstand her because your mom was never very mom-like. I think the bad blood between the two of you is a holdover from when she was married to your dad and took out all her frustrations with him on you. She’s not a monster. She’s just a little overzealous and wants the best for me. You can’t deny that you were a pretty bad influence back then. No mom wants her kid to go through the things you went through. I would really like for the two of you to make peace someday. You’re both important to me, and I hate feeling like I’m caught between you guys. I’m constantly walking a tight rope because I don’t want to disappoint either of you.”
I inched the car forward a few feet and gave him a look out of the corner of my eye. “You’ll never disappoint me.” It was true. He could steal everything in my house, drain my bank account, crash the Audi, or walk away from our new business venture without a backward glance, and I’d still love him. “If you want to move out, you can. If you want to go to college, you can. If you want to do something totally different from making movies or higher education, I’ll support you in that as well. I just want you to be happy and to live up to your full potential. I’ve got your back through the good, the bad, and the ugly.” The biggest difference between his mom and me was that I wanted him to figure out what made him the happiest on his own terms. I didn’t want him to have to conform to anyone else’s idea of success.
My younger brother snorted and shook his dark head. “I’m frustrated, not stupid. I’d have to be out of my mind to move back home. I’d never get laid again.” We shared a chuckle as Jeno settled back in the leather seat, turning his head slightly to look at me through his mirrored sunglasses. “Speaking of getting laid, you haven’t been home much in the last few weeks. It seems like things are progressing nicely with your dream girl.”
I made a noise and let my shoulder fall in a careless shrug. “She’s a woman, not a girl, but yeah, I guess things are good.” Other than I felt like Maren was ready to drop me like a bad habit any minute. Sure, we had fun when we were together, and she seemed less like she was walking on eggshells around me, but it was very obvious she was treating me as someone temporary in her world. A lot of time had passed since she actually split from her ex to consider myself her rebound fling, but I definitely didn’t feel like she was making any