“Baby, this is the miracle we have always dreamed of, and you don’t look one bit happy about it. Please talk to me.”
I bite my lower lip, unwilling to be the one raining on her parade, but I’m still incapable of keeping my trap shut.
“Don’t you find it odd that our family has become Richfield Foundation’s top priority all of a sudden? That they know of our existence and want to help us, just out of the blue?”
“No, not really,” she retorts with her brows drawn together. “I just assumed your boyfriend was behind this generosity.”
“Finn’s not my boyfriend,” I clip, pulling away from her touch, upset that I just uttered the name that has been haunting me for the last few weeks.
“Are you sure? Because the boy sure is acting like one. I mean, a man who tries to improve every part of a woman’s life in any way he can, must be looking for more than friendship. Love can be his only incentive, sweetheart. Don’t you think?”
“Or he’s motivated by guilt.”
“What do you mean? Did that boy hurt you, baby?”
Did Finn hurt me?
He ruined me. I gave him my heart, and he stole my future in an effort to keep it.
Hurt doesn’t even measure up to what Finn did to me. Obviously, I can’t explain that to my mother as it will only worry her. Since we got word that all her medical expenses, as well as my father’s legal fees, were going to be handled by the Richfield Foundation from now on, she’s been in high spirits—and not the manic ones that I’ve grown accustomed to.
“No, Momma. I’m hard as a rock, remember? No one can hurt me.” I try to play off with a wink, but the worried glare in her eyes shows me that I’m doing a piss-poor job at easing her concern.
“Stone? Just tell me what’s wrong. Please.”
I let out another exaggerated sigh and confess, “I didn’t get the New York job that I wanted. That’s what I’m upset about.”
“Oh, is that all?” She smiles, her shoulders visibly relaxing at my admission.
“Is that all?! Momma, are you serious? That job would have opened a million doors for me. It would have enabled me financially to stay in New York and take that partial scholarship at Columbia. This means, without that job, there’s no Ivy League school either. So, excuse me if I’m a little upset about it,” I explain, the wave of rage and resentment hitting me hard.
I try to swallow down the bitter taste of my anger and disappointment, but as I watch my mother look even more cheery-eyed than she was a minute ago, my wrath plummets over. I’m on the verge of calling my mom out for being so apathetic to my pain, but she holds her hand up, stopping my wicked tongue from lashing out.
“I know how much you wanted that job, baby girl. I understand your frustration, but I can’t say I’m unhappy that you won’t be moving states away from me, to a place where I wouldn’t be able to see you so often. And anyway, it’s not like Columbia was your only option. Richfield University is an amazing school, one that has already offered you a full ride. Therefore, I never understood why you wanted to leave your whole life behind to go up North in the first place.”
“Maybe I wanted a new start, Momma. Go to a place where people don’t see me as Southside trash.”
“Oh, Stone. People will always see you in the way they want, and there isn’t anything you can do about it. A new location won’t change that. You can move to the other side of the world, and people will still have their opinions and prejudices. Your daddy and I raised you to be stronger than that. Or at least I thought we did.”
“You did, Momma. I don’t care what anybody thinks of me.”
“If that’s true, then what’s all this talk about a new start in a different city?”
“I just wanted a better life, Momma. Can’t you understand that?” I spew in frustration, only to have my mother’s eyes soften.
“Asheville is your home, baby. You want a better life? Then work to get one right here in your home town. Dreams are nothing if you don’t work hard to achieve them. You know that, as well as I do. But the wonderful thing about a dream is that it can change,