Page 65 of Crazy for this Girl

“She lives in Chicago,” Mom quips, ignoring Dad and handing me back the plate of poultry. “And we thought it’d be a wonderful opportunity for you to go visit her.”

“Why would I want to do that?”

“Yes, Beatrice?” Dad mocks back through tightly clenched brows. “Why would our daughter want to go visit someone she doesn’t remember?”

Mom shifts in her chair and straightens her spine. A go-to when she’s about to say something that’s about to piss me off.

“We thought it’d be nice for you to get to know her and maybe you can go to college—”

“I’m going to college here,” I object through her stupid idea. “So I can stay close to Jonah and Dad.”

I purposely leave her out because I don’t care. She’s always prodding and poking into my life when I don’t ask for her opinion. She’s always up my ass. Shoot, I wouldn’t dare tell her that my debate partner is a dude and we have to practice after school next week. She might pull the banana out again.

Mom doesn’t miss a beat to my comment and glowers rigidly at me. “You can visit. Chicago is a great place to explore and—”

“Chicago is one of the most dangerous cities in the country,” Jonah chimes in, sounding disgusted that Mom would even try to pawn me off to someone I don’t even know. Let’s not even bring up the fact that it’d be awkward.

And since when doesn’t she not want me around?

“Let’s just call this what it is,” Dad grounds out at the head of the table. “You don’t like her spending her free time with Cal. And now that he’s talking about coming up here, you’re getting into your feelings again.”

My blood immediately begins to boil at the mention of my best friend and how she’s really doing what I thought she’d always do.

Tear us apart.

The edge of my fork digs into my palm as I squeeze it for dear life to keep myself calm. “Are you serious, Mom?”

“Sweetheart.” She drops her voice to the honeyed and motherly-like tone that grates at my ever-loving nerves. “He’s a young boy, and he lives half around—”

“He’s moving to North Carolina. He’s going to go to school here.”

She shakes her head as if that’s not good enough for her. “I don’t want you getting attached to someone who can easily uplift himself from his family. And he’s…he’s a bad boy. Do you think a boy like that is going to stay around when he’s used to California life?”

I stare at her before looking over my shoulder to Dad. “Is she serious?”

“Laynee.” My mother loathes when I try to team up with Dad. When I never agree with her stupid comments.

“You don’t have to go,” Dad says plainly. “It’s a dumb idea, and I’d like you to stay home.”

“Me too,” Jonah chimes in, always having my back. “I’m going to need help with school, and I want to beat your GPA.” I smile at him through the tightness of my chest, but it still hurts that Mom wants me so far away from Cal that she’d pawn me off to a strange family member.

“Laynee, he’s going to break your heart when—”

“He’ll move to Chicago if I go,” I reply confidently, steering my attention back to her. “We’re best friends. He gets me, Mom. There’s no hidden agenda on his part. If there was, it would’ve showed.”

“Let’s just drop it,” Dad professes, waving his knife in the air. “She doesn’t want to go, Beatrice. And I don’t want to hear about it again.”

“Ryan, this is serious. You don’t see what I do when she looks at him.”

Damn, am I that obvious that even my mom sees it?

Great.

“Leave her alone. She’s a smart, young lady. Cal is good to her and—”

“He doesn’t have enough time to be mean to her,” Mom snaps back, dropping her fork along her plate. “That boy will destroy her.”

“He’s more committed to her than I ever was at eighteen. Shit, Beatrice, I was fucking the whole cheerleading—”

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