Page 40 of Edge of Unbroken

He chuckles. “Let’s just say they put in a very valiant effort to make it all the way to the ball drop.”

“Who succumbed first? Benny?”

“Sam,” he says, laughing.

“I wouldn’t have thought.” I stuff another handful of chips into my mouth. Sheesh, there’s just something about junk food when you’ve had a little too much to drink.

“So who was that I was just speaking with?”

“That was Vada.” I lift my eyes toward her. She’s resting back against the white marble kitchen counter, and a quiet giggle escapes me when her eyes shut. Did she fall asleep standing up? I poke her arm with my index finger. Her eyes don’t exactly fly open, but she blinks at me nonetheless.

“What?” she slurs.

I laugh at her sleepy expression. I’m sure she’d be asleep in t-minus five seconds if she were to be put in a horizontal position right now. “Nothing, it just looked like you were falling asleep.”

She expels this weird sort of snorty huff, then closes her eyes again as if she’s only waiting for me to finish my conversation with my dad.

“Kitty, you guys aren’t drinking, right?” my dad says, his words sounding more like a statement than a question.

I don’t respond.

“Your friend didn’t sound completely sober. I hope you’re more responsible than that. You know what happened in the past when you were—”

“Yes, Dad, I know,” I say, unable to hide the annoyance in my voice. He brings up my misdeeds so much, I sometimes wonder if he enjoys rubbing salt in my wounds.

He huffs into the phone. “I don’t mean to be overbearing, Kitty. But I’m your dad. It’s my responsibility to make sure you’re safe. I don’t fault you for not always making the wisest decisions at your age, but your mom and I are counting on you to discern good situations from bad ones. We’re trusting you again after… after you kind of broke that trust a little bit.”

My heart stings at his words, his reminder of how much my family had to endure after the disaster that was my relationship with Adam. Ididbreak my parents’ trust—I got myself into some truly sticky situations, overstepped my boundaries multiple times, and I didn’t come to seek my parents’ help until it was almost too late. It’s no surprise they no longer trust me to make the right choices.

“Sorry,” I whisper into the phone, ashamed of my earlier reaction.

He exhales noisily as if to clear the thick air that has begun to settle between us. “Alright, I didn’t call you to argue or to make you feel bad. I just… Kitty, I wish for you to be able to leave the heaviness of the past year behind. You’ve been through a lot.A lot,” he repeats with a sigh. “I just need you to promise me you’ll take care of yourself and be smart.”

“Okay, Dad. I will.”

“Alright, I won’t keep you. I just wanted to call and wish you a Happy New Year, Kitty. Have fun with your friends, but remember to makegoodchoices. Don’t let anyone pressure you into anything you shouldn’t be doing at your age, Cat.”

“I will, Dad.”

“I love you, Kitty. I’ll talk to you soon.”

My dad and I end our call.

“That was sweet of your dad to call you on New Year’s,” Vada says, her eyes still closed.

I replace my phone in the back pocket of my jeans with a small grunt. “It was, except for the part where he reminded me of my screwups with my ex last year and then kept telling me I need to remember to make good choices and how I broke my parents’ trust.”

Vada’s eyes open and she studies me with a glossy gaze. “How did you break your parents’ trust? By being sixteen years old and falling for that manipulative shit of a douchebag? That’s hardly your fault.”

I shake my head. “By doing things like getting drunk and…” I trail off, reminding myself that my friends don’t know about the nudes. “And leading a boy on. By allowing him to hurt me and never saying anything to my parents.”

“That wasn’t your fault, Cat. That wasn’t you breaking your parents’ trust. It’s not like you started doing drugs or broke the law or anything.”

I’m actually not so sure I didn’t break the law. I was the one who took pictures of myself; I was the one who sent them to Adam. I’m underage.Technically, I think I did break the law. Ugh, I just want to forget all this ever happened.

“You wanna hear what I think?” Vada asks when I don’t respond.

I shrug at her.

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