He sighs. “I’m just saying what everything thinks. Drug problems…they run in families. And your mom, she was…she was amess, Paige. You were always getting kicked out of your apartment, you never had clean clothes. All our friends knew it, but nobody ever wanted to say it to your face. She was bound to…”
“She was bound towhat,Blake?” I demand, my voice shaking. “She was bound to overdose? Is that what you were going to say?”
Blake throws his hands in the air, an expression of mock-innocenceon his face. “I wasn’t going to say that! I’m just saying that your brother needs a firm hand, not some therapists telling him that nothing is his fault…”
“That’s not what therapy is, Blake,” I reply. Anger makes my words pointed. “And my mother didn’t overdose because she was amess. She struggled with substance use after she had a traumatic childhood. It doesn’t mean she’s not accountable for her actions, but she deserves empathy and respect. And if she had had the support she needed, maybe she wouldn’t have had to move us around so much. Maybe we could have had clean clothes. Why don’t you think about that? What kind of society blames a mother for a situation like that?”
Blake rolls his eyes and puts his hands up in the air. “There it is again. It’s alwayssociety’sfault.”
“You know what…” I stand up from my chair, clutching my purse to my chest. “I’m not explaining this to you. This is a waste of my time.”
Furious, I start to march out of the café.
“Hey, I’m not finished talking to you!” Blake shouts.
“Well, I’m finished withyou,” I yell, shocked at the words coming out of my mouth. But as soon as I say them, I know that it’s true. Even though he’s never said the words out loud, I’ve always known what Blake thought about my mother. It was in his eye rolls, his condescending expressions, his failure to be empathetic toward her memory, toward my brother, toward everything that I’ve gone through.
“You don’t mean that,” Blake spits.
“Yes, I do,” I snap. “We’re done, Blake. Don’t ever call me again.”
And I turn and march out of the café, feeling a huge weight lift off of my shoulders.
“Andthen,” Chelsie is saying. “She wasjustabout to kiss the vampire, and a whole pack of panther shifters attacked the wedding!”
“No!” Sean gasps. “But…wasn’tshea panther shifter?”
“No, no, she was a wolf shifter. It’s totally different.”
“Hey,” I sigh, taking a seat beside them at the food court. Chelsie is eating a large helping of shanghai noodles, and Sean is sipping a boba.
“How did it go, honey?” Chelsie asks.
Sean frowns at the expression on my face. “Are you all right, Paige?”
I take a deep breath, trying to process what just happened. “I think…I think I just broke up with my boyfriend.”
“Oh no!” they gasp in unison.
“Aw, sweetie,” Chelsie says, reaching out to squeeze my shoulder. “I’m sorry.”
“Paige, we’re here for you,” Sean concurs.
I’m a little surprised by the expressions of genuine concern on their faces. We haven’t known each other for long, but it’s nice to know that they’re both so supportive.
But the more I think about it…the less bad I actually feel. Maybe Miles was right. Maybe I was justcomfortablewith Blake. The whole time we’ve been together, he’s never made me feel special, never appreciated me. He always took me for granted. I thought that relationships were about compromising, about always giving, but…there was never a balance with him.
And after what he said about my mother, I know I made the right decision. I don’t want to be with someone whose values are so different from mine.
I reach out and take both Sean and Chelsie’s hands.
“Thank you, really. But…I think it was for the best.”
“Good for you, girl,” Chelsie says.
“Yeah, you’re a gorgeous badass, and you don’t need anyone,” Sean echoes.
Chelsie winks at me. “Well, except for a rich vampire with a limitless credit card.”
