Page 107 of Beautifully Broken
Trevor turns his body to me, leaning on one of his elbows. “Hey, at least it’s almost over.”
I nod. “This is true.”
“Sophia!” Mom yells from down below, pulling my attention away from Trevor.
Mom lifts her hand, waving me over to whomever is beside her.
She is ridiculous.
Any time I am near Trevor or even glance towards him, mom does any and everything she can to pull me away.
I give him an apologetic look. “Duty Calls. I’ll talk to you later.”
Leaving Trevor, I head straight to my mom with a fake smile plastered on my face.
***
A few hours later, all the guests have left, vendors have been paid and now it’s just mom and me in our kitchen.
She takes a seat at the island. “Sophia, have a seat. Let’s chat.”
It takes everything in me not to roll my eyes as I grab the stool next to her.
“Let’s discuss yourfriendliness.” The words come out of her, dripping with malice. Like me, being a nice person is an actual issue. Isn’t the first lesson we learn in life is to treat others how we want to be treated?
I frown. “Mom, aren’t you the one who told me it’s important the office feels like a family?”
She rolls her eyes at me. “Yes, but there is a line, Sophia. Flirting is not what I meant.”
I keep quiet at her comment. Is my small crush on Trevor that obvious? This must be why she’s always pulling me away from him. Unfortunately for her, his sweet demeanor, smile, smooth as whiskey voice and captivating eyes always pull me back in. I can’t help how I feel.
She lifts her hand, placing it on my shoulder. “Sophia, I just want the best for you and your future. I want you to have everything you want. You can do better.”
But what about what I want?
It’salwaysbeen about what she thinks is best for me. It’s never about what I want out of life. I used to think it wasn’t worth arguing about with her. She doesn’t listen to me. There’s always something hurtful coming out of her mouth directed at me, and I’m so sick of it.
“I get it, Mom,” I say, hunching my shoulders.
“Good, glad you understand.” She taps the island and gets up, walking away.
Heading straight to my room, I close the door behind me.
Alone at last.
The quiet is a nice reprieve after today. I always enjoy the events. Seeing a vision come together and everyone enjoying my hard work makes the job fun, but after five hours of interacting with people, my social battery is depleted.
After a shower and my nightly routine, I climb into bed with the latest book I’m reading. I’m trying to let my book engross me into another world, but the conversation with my mother keeps creeping into my mind, bringing Trevor to the forefront.
Trading my book for my phone, I bring up my message thread with Trevor.
Sophia: Hey
He messages back right away.
Trevor: Hey you
Sophia: Make it home okay?
