Page 40 of Lilly

"I don't know why he'd try to hide that. I don't care if he has a girlfriend. But I don't think that's it. If he had a girlfriend, he'd be going out at night instead of hanging out with me. Actually, I wish he did have a girlfriend. I'm not saying I don't like having him around but it'd be nice to have some space now and then."

"What if he's talking to your mom?" I ask, the thought just popping in my head. "What if he knows where she is and he's been talking to her?"

"Why wouldn't he just tell me that?"

"I don't know. It was just a theory." I pause. "Maybe I shouldn't ask this, but do you think she'll ever come back?"

"If she runs out of money, then yeah. She goes wherever the money is and stays with whoever gives it to her."

"So you think she's still with that guy?"

"She may still be dating him but they're not together."

"What do you mean?"

"My uncle looked the guy up in the criminal database. Said he's in jail. He got arrested for selling drugs."

Reed's uncle is on the police force again. He was suspended last year but got his job back a couple weeks ago.

"So your uncle knows where your mom is?"

"He knows where that guy is, but he doesn't know if my mom is there."

"Would you want to go there and find out?" I ask cautiously. This is a sensitive topic. Reed says he wants nothing to do with his mom but I know a small part of him misses her.

"She left. She doesn't want to see me."

"But maybe—"

"Lilly, I don't want to talk about it."

I nod. "Sorry."

He threads his hand with mine. "I'm not mad that you brought it up. I'm mad that my mom has to be this way. After all I've done for her, you'd think she could at least act like she gives a damn about me, but instead she takes off with her boyfriend the second I tell her I'm not giving her money anymore." He sighs. "Now I'm talking about her again. I'm stopping now. So how about you? Any new mom stories to share?"

"She still hasn't called me."

"How long's it been? Since school let out?"

"Before that. It was early May. She wanted me to go to some spring cotillion. I told her no."

"What exactly is a cotillion?"

"It's just a fancy name for a party where people dress up and dance."

"Like a prom for adults?"

I laugh. "Yeah. Kind of. Everyone's cliquey and they stand around gossiping about each other, so yeah, it's just like prom."

His phone rings and he picks it up, checking to see who's calling. "Hey, Dad. What's up?" He listens. "Yeah, okay. See you when I get home. Bye."

"Your dad's not coming?" I ask. Dean was supposed to drive up here tomorrow for the party but it sounds like he's not now.

"He can't make it. He has something to do for work."

"But tomorrow's Sunday. And a holiday."

Reed shrugs. "He said he's busy. It's fine. It's probably better if he's not here. Our dads don't really get along."

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