Page 60 of True Blue

I start to walk up the drive, remembering the voicemail Axel left me right after I told the guys I loved them and then left. I smile. I know it’s probably him yelling at me for leaving, but I saved it to listen to after dinner when I already know I'll want to hear his voice. Bentley won’t touch down in Switzerland for a few more hours so I’ll text him then to let him know I got home safe and check in with how his flight went.

I stop abruptly in the drive, registering the car parked at the top right in front of the garage. Christopher’s car. My heart plummets.

I look to the front door, not taking another step toward the house. Mom had to invite him, but I don’t know what she thinks him being here will accomplish. Closing my eyes, I breathe in through my nose and out through my mouth a few times, reminding myself that it’s only a few days. Then I will be back at the Coast with Bentley, Axel, and Layla. I can do this.

Shuffling my bags on my shoulders and regripping the straps, I open my eyes and walk toward the door, letting my anger take over with each step. Walking into the house, I drop my bags and take off my shoes, leaving them haphazardly on the rug and hearing Mom in the kitchen.

“Hello?” I call out, starting to walk down the hall toward the low voices.

“Janette? We’re in the kitchen, honey.”

I pause. Mom hasn’t called me honey in five years. The sound of it brings back memories of her helping me with homework at the kitchen table, checking in on me and Layla while we played, kissing me goodnight. The images make my throat clog.

Shaking off the nostalgia, I keep walking, seeing Mom first, standing at the stove, stirring a pot. But Christopher sits at the kitchen island, eyes immediately on me when I walk in.

“Hi, honey. How was your flight?” Mom looks over at me quick, voice sickly sweet, but her eyes are hard, mouth pinched on the sides.

“Fine,” I say, crossing my arms, my anger mounting with her bastardization of my old nickname. “Why is he here?”

“Janette don’t be rude,” Mom admonishes in the same gratingly sweet voice. I look over at Christopher who smirks smarmily at me. “He’s here to have dinner with us. Go set the table.”

“What table?” I ask, looking back at my mother. We’ve never sat down and had a meal together in this house. Ever. I usually eat at the island or in my room and I don’t know when Mom eats. Probably randomly throughout the day whenever she has time.

She looks up at me, rolling her eyes. “The dining room table, obviously. Please go set the table.”

“I do not want to have dinner with him.” I watch Mom, not even looking over at Christopher. I notice his fist clench on the tabletop in front of him in my periphery, though.

“Janette!” Her voice goes back into its usual annoyed tone, slipping from the sweetness she tried to imbue it with previously. She takes a breath, falling back into her practiced persona. “Christopher is staying for dinner. The two of you have things to work out.”

“No, we don’t.” I stand taller, looking her directly in the eye. “We have said all we need to say to each other.”

Mom takes the wooden spoon in her hand out of the sauce and places it on the plate next to her. “Can I speak to you for a minute?”

I nod, turning around and stalking to the foyer. Once I’m around the corner in front of the large staircase, I whirl around, facing my mother who stands two feet in front of me.

“What has gotten into you?” she hisses, speaking low so Christopher won’t overhear. “First you break up with Chris outof nowhere. Then you bring Axel to a campaign event? What were you even thinking? What if the press had been there? And now I set up a chance for you to make up with Chris and you walk into my house acting like an ungrateful brat! I don’t know who you think you are now, but this behavior is unacceptable.”

I step back, arms falling down to my sides as I stare at my mom. Her fiery eyes, the same color as my own, glare at me as she places her hands on her hips, waiting for my response.

I take a breath, looking away for a second before I turn back. “First of all, Mom, I did not break up with Christopher out of nowhere. I never liked Christopher. Not in the wayyouwanted me to. And I was tired of dating him just to make you happy or to keep up the image of me you want to project to the public. And I took Axel to the alumni event because he wanted to come with me since I was nervous about seeing you and the reaction you had when I ended things with Christopher. He came because he wanted to be there for me, like the Clifford's always have.” Mom flinches, but I keep going. “And my behavior, that you think issoungrateful, is just me finally making decisions for myself. I’m sorry if you don’t like them or if they don’t mesh with the preplanned future you mapped out for me, but this is my life. You don’t get a say in who I date.”

Mom closes her eyes, rocking on her heels and pinching the bridge of her nose. “You need to grow up, Janette. You are acting like a child.” She opens her eyes, staring at me incredulously. “Christopher comes from a good family. He is set up to take over his father’s company and inherit millions. You’re not thinking about this clearly. Let’s just go have dinner, you two can talk and?—”

“I’m seeing someone,” I blurt. Mom freezes, staring at me in disbelief. “And I'm in love with them. Which should be the most important thing to you, not how much money they are set to inherit.”

She crosses her arms in front of her. “Who is it? Someone from the Coast? Please tell me it’s not Axel Clifford.”

My heart stutters in my chest. “You don’t care, do you?” I step back again, feeling the need to get away from her. “You don’t care that I’m in love. What happened to you? All you care about now is what other people can do for you…including me.” I shake my head, feeling my eyes start to sting. “Why didn’t you just leave me in Maine with the Clifford’s and all your memories of Dad?”

Mom blanches, mouth opening and arms falling to her sides. I step around her, grabbing my bags and slipping my shoes back on. I open the door, pausing to look back at her still standing in the foyer, staring at me. “Have a great dinner with Christopher. Maybe you can convince him to date you since you’re so concerned with getting his family’s millions.”

I slam the door behind me, tears blurring my vision as I rush down the driveway. Escaping through the front gate, I start walking down the sidewalk. I don’t know where I'm going to go, just needing to get away from the house right now.

My phone buzzes in my pocket after walking for five minutes. I dig it out, stopping at the corner and glancing down at the screen. Axel’s name appears on the message notification, and I open the text.

Axel

You get home okay? The silence is making me nervous.

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