Page 104 of All I Ask
Chastity snorts. “That’s not what Everly said.”
“What does that mean?”
As much as I’d like to avoid this discussion right now, it’s clear Chastity is intent on keeping it going.
She slams her hand down on the table. “It means that I went from being made fun of for the way I looked, dressed, that my father didn’t want me and my mother was supposedly a whore, to now being the girl whose mom is going after a man who just lost his wife!” The anger in her eyes roots me to my chair. “I hate this town! I’ve always hated it, but you always made it better. Now, you’re making it worse!”
I sit here, unsure of what just happened.
“What are they saying?”
“Oh, nothing other than my slut mother has to go after a man whose wife died not even six months ago. That you couldn’t help yourself because no one in this town who knows you would want to date you so you went after a guy who hasn’t seen you in years.”
“Now that’s just absurd!” My mother huffs. “These girls are being ridiculous. No one says that.”
“No, Mom, that’s what many people in this town say.” I turn to Chastity. “I’m sorry that you feel this way, but I’m not going to live my life based on what other people say.”
“Not even if you’re ruining my life?”
I fight back the urge to roll my eyes because she’s thirteen and everything is the end of the world at that age. “I’m living my life, Chas, not ruining yours.”
“Yes you are!” Chastity gets to her feet and rushes out of the room.
My mother touches my hand. “She’ll calm down, Teagan.”
My heart breaks because I’m hurting the one person who matters most. The thing that I was most afraid of is coming to fruition. My relationship with Derek is ruining the closeness I have with Chastity, and that can’t ever happen.
I won’t allow any man—or any person, for that matter—to be the source of her pain. And it’s clear that is exactly what’s happening.
“I have to end this.” I choke on the words as my chest tightens.
“End it? Because your daughter doesn’t want you to date someone?”
I look up and nod. “She’s my world, Mom. She needs to know I have her back even when no one else does. I’m not going to be the cause of her anguish.”
I never want to hurt her.
“You’re going to walk away from a man that you’ve had feelings for because his daughter is making things difficult for Chastity? Of course she is. She’s angry, hurting, and mourning the loss of her mother. That doesn’t mean she has the right to dictate how her father lives his life. I know you think I don’t love you.” She shakes her head a bit. “I know I’m not the mother you wish I could be. There are many mistakes I’ve made, but neither of those kids know what it’s like to raise a child. If you make this choice, no matter what the reason, what does it accomplish?”
I don’t know, but I can’t let her think I don’t care. “I need to talk to her.”
My mom nods with her lips in a thin line. “Talk to Derek too. I would bet he’s not willing to walk away from you over two kids in middle school.”
Maybe not, but that doesn’t mean it’s not the right choice.
I rush out the door and find Chastity sitting on the step. “Hey.”
“Hey,” she says with zero enthusiasm.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
She and I sat on this very step many times when she was an infant. It was my way out of that house where I felt like I was suffocating. Now, it seems she’s found the same purpose for it.
“I didn’t think it bothered me until today.”
“That she was making fun of you?”
Chastity shrugs. “I like Dr. Hartz and you dating him, butGodshe makes it hard for me. It’s bad enough that I have to be around Everly at school and whenever she is at the clinic, but having her talk about you like that…I hate it.”
