Page 99 of Finish Line

“Is everything all right?” I question, concerned something is wrong.

“Oh, yeah.” He blushes and waves his hand in front of himself, dispelling my worry. “I asked Amber to marry me over Christmas.”

I gasp. “Did she say yes?”

He laughs. “Of course, she did. I’m a catch.”

We congratulate him.

“We’re planning to get married next year,” he tells us.

We talk more about they’re plans, and they stay a couple of hours before leaving, but only after making me promise to keep in touch with them.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

SHELBY

I’m outside the next day, exercising, when Mom comes out. She stands with her hands on her hips, glaring at me.

Out of breath, I stop doing sit-ups. “Do you need something?”

“I’ve been watching you work out and wondering how you could be my child,” she sneers.

My eyebrows shoot up. “I’m not sure what you want me to say.”

“I’m not surprised. You only think of yourself.” She purses her lips. “Spending Christmas together this year was important to me.”

Silently, I fold my arms on top of my raised knees to listen.

She stands over me, her face twisted with disgust. “After your racing accident, I picked you up and brought you here like I was supposed to. I’ve been patient and dealt with your attitude toward me, but I’m not sure why I bothered when you don’t want to act like a good daughter.”

“You can’t force it, Mom.” I scrape back my sweaty hair. “Years of bad things have happened between us. And then you showed up, acting like the perfect mother, but that doesn’t change what happened in the past. You can’t just sweep everything under the rug.”

I blow out a long breath, trying to stifle the rising anger. “Our talks were moving us in the right direction, but when I returned after Roger kidnapped me, all you wanted was the perfect family Christmas. I was hurting, and you didn’t listen or care about what I needed.”

She picks at her nails. “There was a reason.”

I stand so she no longer towers over me. “Then why didn’t you tell me the reason?”

“I shouldn’t have to explain why being together as a family is important,” she huffs. “After all that I’ve been through, I deserve happiness. Who knows how long I have left on this planet? I wanted you to move on and be better.”

Frustrated, I run my hand down my face. “I understand you were trying to help, but I can’t just move on from what happened to me. Your time in NA should have taught you that it’s not that easy.”

“So instead, you ran off to Hawaii with your boyfriends and friends. You could be better for them, but not for your own mother?” She taps her chest.

“You’re pissed off that they helped me, and you couldn’t? They weren’t with me the whole time. Cam showed up a couple of weeks after I left, and the rest joined us for spring break.”

“I’m your mom! It should’ve been me you came to!” She pounds her fist against her chest with each word. “You let people you barely know help you, but not me. And you won’t tell me what happened! I deserve to know!”

“You want to know what happened to me, Mom?” I glare at her as I step closer. “I was sexually abused and almost raped. Are you happy now?”

Her hand flies to her mouth. “Oh my God, Shelby. I…didn’t.”

“You wouldn’t listen to a damn thing I said before I left,” I argue. “And since I’ve been back, all you do is criticize me for everything.”

“You didn’t try hard enough.” She sniffs.

This isn’t going anywhere other than around in circles. “What do you want me to say, Mom?”

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