Page 73 of Lilly

"She did?" I sit up, folding my legs in front of me.

"Yeah. Right before you called."

"Reed, that's major news. I can't believe you didn't start with that."

"Why would I? It's not like I'm happy about it."

"I thought you wanted to talk to her."

"Yeah, if she's sober and ready to be a mom again. But she's not. She sounded drunk and high on something."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It was bad. I almost hung up on her but then I started feeling sorry for her and...I should've just hung up. I can't let her manipulate me like she used to. I don't want to go back to that."

"So what did she say?"

"That she's still in Texas and her boyfriend is in jail. She's living in his trailer. She called to ask if I'd come pick her up and bring her back here. And of course she expects me to find her a place to stay, meaning get her an apartment again and pay for it."

"What did you tell her?"

"That I'm not doing it. She got really pissed and started yelling at me, telling me I'm spoiled now that I live with my dad and that I don't deserve any of the things he gives me."

"Reed, I'm sorry."

"It's okay. She always says stuff like that when she's drunk. Then she made all these comments about my dad, saying he's an ass and that I shouldn't be living with him. She said she saw him on some Hollywood show."

"Your dad was on TV?"

"Yeah, but only in the background. He was at a party with a lot of celebrities and one of those entertainment news shows was there and got him on camera when they were interviewing some actress. So now my mom thinks my dad's all rich and famous and she's jealous. Not just of him, but of me. She's pissed that my dad has money and I'm benefitting from it."

"That should make her happy."

"It doesn't. She's selfish. Everything's about her. She doesn't want other people having stuff when she doesn't. But she also doesn't want to work for anything."

"How did the call end?"

"She said she'd have to hitchhike to get out here, trying to guilt me into going there to get her. When I told her I wouldn't, she hung up on me. I don't want to talk about it. It pisses me off."

"Then talk about something else." I lie down on my bed, getting comfortable because I don't plan to hang up anytime soon.

"There was this awesome public art display downtown today," he says, his voice sounding much happier than it did just moments ago. "I wish you could've been here to see it."

"Tell me about it."

He does, and we stay on the phone until midnight.

The next morning, I head to the kitchen for breakfast but stop when I hear my parents talking in a hushed tone.

"She won't answer my calls," my dad says. "Katherine always does this when she knows she's in trouble."

So this is about my mom. She did something to anger my dad. That's why he's been in a bad mood. I wonder what she did.

"Even if you were able to talk to her," Rachel says, "she wouldn't admit to it."

"She might, simply to rub it in my face that she did all this behind my back."

"Have you heard anything from William?" Rachel asks.

---