Page 184 of The Surprise Play
I shake my head, but she can’t see me. All I can manage is a soft sniff as a fresh batch of tears rises up my throat. My eyes burn, and I don’t even bother trying to fight them.
Tears trickle out of my aching, puffy eyes, running down either side of my nose.
“I was… calling to find out how the party went, but it sounds like I just woke you up or something. Sweetie, I’m sorry. I thought you’d definitely be awake by now. I can call you back later. You’re probably in bed with that hunk of a man of yours and?—”
“Mom.” I wail her name, and she immediately stops talking.
Then she hangs up.
Two seconds later, my phone is ringing with a video call.
I close my eyes for a moment, sucking in a breath before answering it.
She takes one look at my face and her eyes glass with instant tears. “What happened? Did you two break up or something?”
I shake my head.
“Oh, thank God.” Mom pats her chest. “He went to so much effort with your party. That boy is so in love with you. It’s the sweetest thing in the world.”
“You knew about the party?”
“Of course I did.” She lets out a watery laugh. “I’ve been fielding text messages and calls from Wily all week. So… what went wrong?”
Biting my lips together, I stare down at her for a long beat, and I’ve got this feeling that she knows what I’m about to say before the words are out of my mouth.
“Jade,” I croak. “Jade Buchanan.”
My mother’s eyebrows buckle. “She wasn’t there, was she?”
I nod, my insides churning.
“How?” Mom bulges her wet eyes at me. “W-when? I mean, you haven’t seen her and those horrible girls since high school! How would they even know? I made sure not to mention a word to any of their parents. You know me, I tend to avoid those couples like the plague. And I wasn’t telling everyone at the diner what was happening. Just a few trusted friends. They—” Her voice cuts off when she takes in my pained, no doubt guilty expression.
And then her lips part and she looks about as heartbroken as I feel.
“What have you not been telling me, Elizabeth?” The words tremble out of her.
My chin shakes, my mouth curling into an ugly frown before I manage to confess, “She goes to Nolan U now.”
Her skin pales to a near-translucent white. “What?”
“I saw her about a week after school started, and I couldn’t believe it. She’s made new friends, and they hate me as much as she does.”
Tears line Mom’s lashes, the buildup about to spill over and down her cheeks. “Have they been harassing you?”
I tip my head to the side but have to nod. “A little. When they see me. I’m perfecting the art of avoiding them, and Nolan U is a much bigger campus than high school, so it’s easier. But then I got together with Wily, and he’s so popular and everybody knows him and…” My voice trails off. I don’t even know what else to say.
“Oh, my sweet Bessie girl.” Mom presses two fingers against her lips, blinking rapidly and unable to speak for a moment.
I cry quietly, waiting her out.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” she eventually asks.
With a little sniff, I shrug. “I didn’t want you to worry. I know how much this kind of thing hurts you.”
“Because we love you, sweetheart. We want you to be happy and safe.” Mom’s voice pitches and she lets out a short, desperate sob before asking, “What did they do to you at your party?”
Closing my eyes, I can’t even face my mother as I blubber out the story, then profusely apologize. “I’m sorry,” I whimper. “All your hard work and it got destroyed, and I couldn’t stop them. I tried to fight, Mom, but they were so strong, and I’m so sorry.”
