Page 10 of Drown in You

My heart stops in my chest. What the hell is he talking about? Who’s Deb? “What?”

“I’m sure your mom already told you all the details about the wedding, but I can text you the address so you have it. Don’t worry about a dress—it’ll be very casual. Just a few guests.”

“What wedding?”

Juliet plops down onto my bed and mouths, what the fuck?

The enthusiasm dips in his tone. “Your mom didn’t tell you?”

My bedroom door creaks open, and Mom shuffles in with a basket full of clean laundry. Something’s going on. Mom never does my laundry unless she has bad news.

Her brown hair, the same shade as mine, is unbrushed and wavy from where she slept on it while it was damp. Her shirt has a mysterious stain on the shoulder, and she’s in the stretched-out, faded jeans that she only wears around the apartment. She’s been just as stressed as me since the incident with Marcus, and it shows in every line on her face.

She takes one look at Juliet’s best but failed attempt to cover the bruise on my face and sighs, setting the basket on my bed. “I was just about to tell her, Mike.”

“Right.” He clears his throat. “I’ll let you two catch up. Give me a call back.”

I hang up, hand trembling.

Wedding. Coming to stay with us. Mom can’t seriously be shipping me off to visit the estranged father I haven’t seen in a decade. She wouldn’t accept an invitation to his wedding on my behalf, let alone behind my back.

“The sperm donor’s getting married?” Juliet blurts.

“This Friday,” Mom confirms, her voice just as exhausted as the rest of her.

My heart breaks for her. Since the divorce, Mom has bounced from guy to guy. Though she’s never said it, I think she’s been searching for my father’s replacement, and she’s never found him. She must be gutted knowing he’s moving on with someone else.

“I don’t get why I have to be there. He wasn’t at my prom or my high school graduation. Why should I be at his wedding?”

“Preach,” Juliet calls.

Mom bites her lip. “I told him you need somewhere to stay.”

My heart drops to my feet. “Like to live?”

She can’t seriously expect me to move in with the father I haven’t seen since I was a kid and his new wife I’ve never met.

“Yes. For now.” The lines around her eyes and between her brows have deepened in the months since the incident. “You need a safe place to stay, and Wakefield isn’t it. Your father said you’re welcome to come live with them and transfer to Diamond University. They’ll help you move into your dorm after the wedding. He’ll be on his honeymoon, but he won’t be gone long and you’ll be on campus surrounded by security guards. And his fiancé has a son at Diamond, so there will be someone there if you need anything.”

In silence, Juliet and I exchange a wide-eyed glance. I can’t believe Mom just dropped a major bombshell on me in a voice that someone would use to report bad weather. Like we won’t be living hours apart for the first time in my life. Like I’ll somehow be safer and happier living with total strangers.

“You can’t be serious.”

She sighs, knowing this is exactly how I would take the news. That’s why she arranged everything behind my back. “Your safety is my number one concern. You aren’t safe here anymore, Sienna.”

“She’s not wrong.” Juliet squeezes my hand, a rare display of physical affection. She’s worried about me too.

I want to keep fighting Mom on it, but she’s right. I’m not safe here. Even though the prospect of leaving makes my stomach twist, part of me desperately wants to get the hell out of Wakefield and away from the football team that’s put a target on my back.

My father has been trying to mend our relationship, and even if it’s awkward as hell, I’ll be spending most of my time on campus. Maybe it won’t be so bad.

“So...when am I going? It’ll take at least a few weeks to transfer to a different college.” Who knows what will happen to me in that time.

“I sent in your application over a month ago.” Mom’s grip drops from the laundry basket, brushing her hair behind her ears with both hands. Her nervous habit. “I just...couldn’t bring myself to tell you. I still wasn’t sure I could bear letting you go. But I shouldn’t have let this continue as long as it has. Last night could’ve ended so much worse.”

Her hands are shaking now, lip quivering with them, and Juliet’s blue eyes are wide when she nudges me to hug her.

I wrap my arms around my mom and she sniffles into my shoulder. We’ve been the same height since I turned fifteen, and since then, she’s felt more like a sister than a mom. She’s so busy trying to keep a roof over our heads that she forgets things like grocery shopping and turning off the oven and locking the door before bed. If I’m living with my father, who will take care of my mom?

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