Page 7 of The Bridges I've Burned

“Oh. Okay.”

The tone of her voice told me everything. They were not coming. It didn’t surprise me. She’d used her grief as a weapon against Marin for years, just like she’d used me against my father.

“How is my father?” I asked, hoping to change the subject.

“He is well,” she simply said. Nothing more.

This was how it always went when we spoke. Since Daniel had died, she dropped any pretenses that she loved me, and both of them had moved back to Texas. She’d lost her only child.

I was just the unpleasant reminder of my father’s sin against their marriage.

“Okay, well, I just wanted you to know where I’d be for the next three weeks. You know, in case.”

“In case of what?”

“Nothing. Just never mind,” I said, realizing this was a waste of time. “I guess I’ll talk?—”

“Three weeks?” She seemed appalled by the idea of it. “Are you sure that’s wise to take that much time off?”

Those were the most words I’d heard her utter in months. And of course, it’d be over concern for my job.

It was the only time she ever showed interest in my life—when it affected hers.

She might hate me, but to the outside world, I was still her daughter, and I would not sully the family name.

“I have over three months of vacation saved up,” I said through gritted teeth.

“Okay, well, it just sounds sort of frivolous to me.”

My eyes rolled. Frivolous. That was what she’d said about dance lessons and football games. Senior prom. Fucking frivolous.

“Tell Dad hi for me,” I said, just to piss her off.

“Good-bye, Elena.”

The line went silent, and I was left alone once more, curled into my office chair, wondering why I even bothered—with any of it.

The phone calls, the visits, the constant worry over what she thought of me.

I knew I was never going to be good enough.

So, why the fuck did I try?

I’d worked my ass off for years. I’d fallen asleep at my desk more nights than I could count, seen the inside of a courtroom more than my own bedroom, and yet I was frivolous.

Well, fuck that.

It was time to go have some fun with my best friend.

No shitty dates, no parents, and absolutely no drama.

Paradise, here I come.

CHAPTER TWO

“You know, I’ve heard if you stare at something long enough, it will spontaneously combust.”

I tore my eyes away from the wedding invitation and scowled at my best friend. “Fuck off, Hendrix.”

---