Page 109 of The Daredevil

My phone rang, and I picked up the call. “Hi, Mom.”

“Sweetheart, there’s a banquet we should attend. Celebrities and talent agents will be there. You could land a fabulous job. It’s next week at—”

“No. I have a job I love, and I’m not going anywhere.” I sighed, no longer having the patience for my mom’s inability to listen to my needs. “Are you home?”

“Yes. Why?”

“We can finish this conversation at your place. I’m heading over.”

Forty-five minutes later, I arrived at my mom’s luxurious townhouse and folded myself on her couch. Charles was traveling for work, leaving Mom home alone to spend time at the spas and salons.

“It’s so good to see you, honey.” She placed a glass filled with a green drink on the coffee table. “My fitness trainer told me this celery drink is beneficial to your health.”

I’d tried it once before and didn’t like it. I was done doing things people assumed were good for me. Celery drinks had benefits, but not to me. There were other things I could do to ensure good health.

Ignoring the drink, I faced my mom, who sat beside me. She’d dyed her hair blonde, wore less makeup, looking more beautiful now than I remembered. She’d always taken good care of herself. I had her brown eyes and high cheekbones.

“Mom, I have something to say. You might not like it, but I need you to hear me.”

“Okay, but after that, we can discuss this banquet—”

“No!” I shouted, my arms flying akimbo in the air. “You never listen to my needs. I. Am. Not. Attending. Any. Banquets.” I breathed between each word so she understood this wasn’t some simple statement.

My mom stared at me as though I’d turned into some fantastical creature from another world. I could see the shock and hurt in her eyes.

“I know you love me, and you’ve done your best to raise me. But there are things I’ve been trying to tell you, and you’ve shoved them aside.”

Her lips trembled, and she probably didn’t even know what she’d done wrong.

“I just want the best for you.”

“I know, Mom.” I held her hand and squeezed. “I know you love the pageant world, and you wanted me to shine the wayyouwanted to shine.”

She winced at the statement. “I—”

“It’s okay. You wanted me to have everything you never got to have. I understand that. You did everything you could to give me the best life.” I swallowed as tears filled my vision. “But that life you envisioned suffocated me. The need to be perfect and slim made me ill. I developed an eating disorder, which was a lot worse than you thought. I fell into a severe depression.”

Mom placed a hand over her heart and cried. I reached for the box of tissues and offered her one, then took one for myself.

“I wanted to die that day we went whitewater rafting. When I fell in, I didn’t attempt to get out. The pain was too much, and I wanted it to end.”

She clamped a hand over her mouth, sobbing uncontrollably. I wrapped my arms around her, knowing this truth hurt like hell. But it was necessary for both of us. This was the only way for us to maintain a loving relationship going forward. I didn’t want a wedge between us. She was my mom, my only family.

We cried together for a long moment. Mom pulled back, her mascara all messed up, but she looked more beautiful to me.

“I’m so sorry, honey. I failed you,” she said with trembling lips. “I didn’t know you were in so much pain.” My mom kept pounding on her chest as though punishing herself.

It wrecked me to see her like that.

“Stop it.” I gripped her wrist, pulling her hand to my heart. “It’s in the past. I’m telling you everything now, so you understand why I don’t want to attend those kinds of banquets again. I don’t want you to feel guilty. You didn’t hurt me on purpose.”

“My baby.” She touched my face. “What have I done?”

“You raised a strong woman who knows she’s worth more than any tiara or title could ever make her feel.”

More tears flowed from her eyes as she kissed my forehead.

“This industry can put a glamourous veil over what’s real and what’s not. I survived.”

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