Page 27 of Mic Drop

His hands slide to my shoulders as he pulls back. “I talked with your mother when you were in the kitchen. Among other things, she told me she wants to end her time on this earth happy. Not going to doctors all the time.” He pauses. “She’s exercising her free will, Jenna.”

My head shakes. “I don’t like it.”

“I know. But it’s different from how Darren ended his life, with a mistake. Your motherwantsto go out this way.” He kisses my forehead. “You need to let her.”

I step back. “I don’t want to,” I wail. “First my grandmother died when I stopped visiting. Then Darren overdosed. I can’t believe Ma doesn’t have any other options.”

“You have to love your mother enough to let her make her own decisions.”

I have to what?Lovemy mother enough? Who’s he to talk aboutloving their mother? What does he know about how I can take care of her?

The need to lash out is overpowering. “Like you do to your own shrew of a mother?”

Like a cartoon quotation bubble, my harsh statement hangs in the air. His mouth goes into a straight line. If hot air could come out of his ears, I bet it would.

Good. Now he knows what it feels like.

Without saying anything else, Bennett shoves away from the quartz island and storms down the stairs. I don’t hear another sound from him.

I stare at the computer as if I could open it and get a real treatment plan. Why do all the doctors say the same thing?

Shame washes over me at how I treated Bennett. He was only trying to help me come to terms with what’s going on. He wasn’t telling me what to do.

That’s the issue, isn’t it? I want to be the one calling the shots. My own need for control overrides everything and everyoneelse. Including Ma.

I have to love her enough to respect her wishes.

Bennett’s right. She gets to make choices for her life. I can’t make them for her. Doesn’t mean I have to like with them, though.

I slam my fist on the counter. Dammit. Why? I leap from the chair, needing to expend my pent-up energy. My feet take me to the doorway that leads downstairs but I turn away. Bennett deserves a break from me. Hell,Ineed a break from me.

Going in the opposite direction, I end up in the oversized family room. We could fit Ma’s entire house in only this single room. I bounce between the fireplace and furniture, wearing a path into the plush throw rug. Everything about this house screams money, but not in an in-your-face way. “Comfortable opulence” is what Angie and King called it. Fits Secluded Rest to a T.

This place suits Bennett.

Exhausted, I collapse onto the luxurious sofa, my gaze zeroing in on the television remote. For want of something to do, I turn on the TV. Of course, Lissa smiles back at me.

Despite not wanting to, I force myself to watch the segment. On an empirical level, she’s a beautiful woman. Her blonde hair is long and luxurious. Her blue eyes sparkle. Her skin is the perfect golden brown. Her boobs stand at attention.She’s all fake.

The reporter asks her about her relationship with Bennett. For the first time, I sit up and pay close attention to her reply. When I’ve been with Bennett when she’s on a show, he’s exploded within seconds, and I never truly heard her side of the story.

She gleams at the interviewer, her white teeth on full display. “We meant everything to each other in high school, you know. We were inseparable.”

Until you dumped him for his best friend to go to the senior prom.

“I felt like I was the queen of the school, as you can well imagine. Bennett and I were so in love. He used to bring me a flower every day before class.” She giggles. “Seems trite now, but back then, it meant the world to me. Plus, all the other girls were jealous.”

“You two were the couple everyone in the school envied,” the reporter adds.

“Definitely. Everyone tried to get the details about our intimate relationship, as you can imagine.” She bites her lower lip.She’s good. “We refused to kiss and tell. What we had going on was our business, no one else’s.”

The reporter nods. “Good on you. So what happened when it came time for the junior prom?”

“I remember it like it was yesterday. I was so excited to be on his arm, get all the photos taken. I was sure we’d be named the King and Queen of the prom. It was going to be a glorious event. But?—”

She draws out the preposition.

With a sigh, she says, “It wasn’t to be. We weren’t in good financial shape back then, and I couldn’t get enough moneytogether to buy a dress. At that time, Bennett couldn’t loan me any either, so we ended up not going.” Her fake eyelashes flutter. “It wasn’t a total loss, though,” she purrs.

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