Page 119 of We Met Like This
“You’re right. I’m a horrible person.”
She sighed. “You’re not a horrible person, but your boss, Maggie? My ex? You’re on a path of self-destruction.”
“Not just a path, Audrey. I’ve completed the goal. Run face-first into it.” With those words I walked past her to see if there were other relationships in the backyard I could blow up. Apparently, I was on a roll.
“I don’t want you dating him,” she called to my back.
I lifted my hand in the air, turned, and said, “Don’t worry. If you’ve had him, I don’t want him.” I knew that was mean, hurtful, even. But she hadn’t thought about my feelings once in anything she’d said. It was time to stand up for myself.
“Youalwayswant what I have.”
I took two steps closer to her. “What?” I may have been jealous of my sister at times, but I didn’t want what she had. I looked around, looked her up and down, then said, “There is nothing about this life I want.”
“What is happening over here?” Mom asked, joining us. “What happened with your boss?”
“He left,” I said. If she was asking, maybe she hadn’t heard my shouting match in the front yard.
“She was sleeping with him,” Audrey spit out. “That’s why he won’t hire her back.”
I sucked in some air and shot my sister a look. Obviously, my comments had hurt her and she was lashing out.
“Margot, is that true?” Mom asked.
“It’s not her business, and I love you, Mom, but it’s not yours either.” I’d never said anything like that to my mom before, and it made my shoulders tighten with tension that spread all the way up my neck.
“If you’re going to ask me for money to fund your life, I think it is my business to know why you’re in this situation.”
“You asked Mom for money?” Audrey said. “Nice.”
“A loan. I asked for a loan. But I’m fine. It would’ve been helpful, but I can live without it.”
Audrey, her arms crossed over her chest in a defensive manner, said, “I might’ve been able to help, but there’s nothing in my life that you want. Except my ex-boyfriend, apparently.”
“When did you become such a judgmental bitch?” I asked.
Mom gasped.
“I’m going,” I said. Halfway to the back door, I remembered again that I didn’t have a car. I pulled up a ride app on my phone only to see that it would be more than a hundred dollars for the hour-long drive home. My parents lived two miles away. Inside, I grabbed my overpriced fruit tray and my suitcase and started down the sidewalk for the twenty-minute walk to my childhood home.
CHAPTER 35
For several hours, I’d been sitting in the dark in my old room (that was now a workout room turned craft room turned office) crying. My parents didn’t know I was here. They’d gotten home about an hour ago. I could hear them downstairs shuffling around. I was sure they assumed I’d gone back to my house.
They lived exclusively on the first floor. It had everything they needed—all the main living areas plus the primary bedroom and the laundry room. Upstairs just had two bedrooms and a loft area where Audrey and I used to watch movies and play games with our friends.
I hugged a pillow to my chest, my tears finally drying up. I wasn’t sure how to fix all the ways my life had gone wrong today. I wasn’t apologizing to my sister this time. She couldn’t sling hate every time she got mad. I couldn’t forgive Oliver. He knew the past and still slept with me. I deserved to know too, so I could make an informed decision. Maybe I would’ve chosen him if he had given me the opportunity.
I thought about him with my sister, about the fact that if he had ever loved her, he could not possibly be compatible with me.
No, I wouldn’t have chosen him. And that went double now.
As for my career, there was nothing left to do there. I couldn’t change the fact that for the next few months I was going to get used over and over again to help authors get the agent they really wanted.
Sloane was still out of town and hadn’t answered myyou around to chattext. I figured she wouldn’t. Tonight was the big awards show at the festival and I hoped she was living it up in that fancy dress she had bought.
I felt fifteen and helpless all over again, everything out of my control.
“You’re not fifteen, Margot, and you’re not helpless,” I muttered, frustrated with myself. I sat up and went to my backpack, where I freed my laptop. There was one thing I had control over right now: my work with Kari.
