Page 94 of Wish You Were Mine
“He was in foster care for a little while.” I sat back, dragging a hand across the back of my neck. “Everything was just…chaotic. But once my mom was sentenced, I applied for guardianship.”
“How old were you?”
“Nineteen.”
“Geez.” Her eyebrows lifted. “That’s two years younger than me.”
“I know,” I added with a dry chuckle. “It was insane. But Asher ended up getting a scholarship to Eden Falls Academy—with room and board—which was honestly a lifesaver. I don’t think I could’ve held it all together otherwise. The teachers and staff were incredible. Theo was actually one of the house dads back then. And he kept me in the loop when I couldn’t be there myself.”
Lucy leaned forward slightly. “Do you think that’s why Theo was considering going into family law for a while?”
“I think so,” I said, then smirked. “At least until he realized the big bucks were in corporate law.”
She laughed. “Well, he did have Alisha Vanderbilt to impress.”
Her voice dipped a little at the end, and I caught the subtle flicker of sadness that crossed her face. Alisha, Theo’s late wife. Another loss from a car accident that neither of us wanted to talk about but couldn’t quite forget.
Our eyes met, and for a second, it felt like the room went still.
Then—quietly, deliberately—Lucy reached across the table and covered my hand with hers.
Comfort wasn’t something I was used to receiving. But in that moment, I let myself take it. Let her hand rest over mine, steady and sure.
We sat like that for a beat. Two people who knew what it was like to lose someone in a blink. Who understood the kind of grief that never fully lets go, no matter how much time passes or how well you learn to carry it.
“Anyway…” I cleared my throat, trying to find my footing again. “Sorry for being a total mood killer. This was supposed to be a lighthearted, party-planning dinner.”
“No, it’s…” She smiled gently. “I appreciate you telling me. I’m sure that’s not easy to talk about.”
“It’s not,” I admitted. “But that’s just…life, I guess.”
“That it is,” she murmured, her eyes dropping for a second. And I wondered, briefly, if she had things tucked away, too. Things that hurt too much to say out loud.
She glanced up again. “How long is your mom’s sentence for?”
“Ten years.”
“So…does that mean she’ll be getting out soon?”
“Yeah.” I bit the inside of my cheek. “I got an update recently. Looks like she’ll be released in August.” I exhaled slowly. “And I honestly don’t know what to do with that.”
She stayed quiet, watching me carefully.
“She’s still my mom. And I love her. Sometimes I even missher. But I’ve been angry for so long for what she did. What she took from me and Asher. From Callie and Dad. The birthdays we never had. The memories we never made. There’s just this…ache. And it hasn’t gone away.”
I ran a hand through my hair, suddenly feeling exposed.
I was probably saying too much.
Unloading on Lucy when she hadn’t asked for any of this.
But once I started, I couldn’t seem to stop.
“She’s apologized,” I said, my voice quieter now. “Over and over. Cried. Screamed. Begged. And I know she regrets it—I do. She’s heartbroken, too. She’ll carry the guilt for the rest of her life. But now that I’m finally starting to find my footing again—finally breathing again—I don’t know if I have it in me to help her start over.”
“You shouldn’t have to,” Lucy said, her voice steady.
I looked at her, caught off guard. I hadn’t expected her to say that.
