Page 72 of The Wallflower

She nods wearily, and I almost feel guilty, but not enough to take it back. She’s all I have. Once the doctor leaves, I sit in the chair again and try not to let the panic I'm feeling seep into my voice.

"Don't worry, Mom, I'll take care of you, of this. We'll beat it together."

She turns in the bed, careful not to catch her IV tubing. "How are you getting this money? And tell me the truth, because sick or not, you’re not too old to get a spanking."

"Tutoring, as usual. I'll just raise my fees, you know, for inflation. No one will think anything of it.”

Her gaze has so much trust as she looks at me, and I will not balk from it. She's given me everything my entire life, raised me as a single mother and worked numerous jobs just to provide me with the things I needed. I can do this for her.

My phone vibrates in my bag, and I already know who is trying to get ahold of me. He can wait. Every person except my mother can wait. I settle into the chair and avert my gaze to the TV, enjoying this single moment with my mother for what it is.

CHAPTER 25

DREW

What I hate morethan anything is being ignored. Now do I know with one-hundred percent certainty that she’s ignoring me? No. What I do know is that she isn’t replying, and to me, that’s the same fucking thing. It’s been a few days since she agreed to tutor me, and one more since she set this appointment, all via text. But now, she’s no longer responding.

I'm barely keeping myself from going to hunt her down as I sit alone in the library, thirty minutes past when she said she'd be here. I grab my phone off the table next to my textbook and send her yet another message, this time, filled with more expletives than the others.

When she hadn't messaged me back for our last meeting, I checked the devices of hers I'd cloned from that time Jackie allowed me access to in her room. She went to see her mother in the hospital. That's the only reason I didn't press her.

But today, I know she's not at the hospital, so she has no fucking excuse to leave me sitting here waiting on her ass. Not when there are five hundred other things I could be doing. Like trying to figure out how to get my father back out of my business. Or figure out what the fuck is going on with Sebastian.

One of the football players walks by the table and nods, extends his hand for a fist bump, then keeps moving through the library. What is it about this place? It doesn’t matter what day I come into this place. There is never any level of privacy. Why does my little wallflower like it here so much? I know she studies here often, even when she's not tutoring. I decide I'll ask her once I've punished her for keeping me waiting. Ten minutes later, she finally shows up. She slings her bag to the floor beside the cubicle I know she prefers, and then she claps her books onto the table, and a hard crack resonates through the room.

“Wallflower?"

She turns to glare at me but then sits with a huff and begins to dig into her bag.

I lean in and lower my voice. "What the fuck is your problem? You are the one who canceled on me, after taking my money up front for that matter, and then you have the nerve to leave me sitting here waiting, and once you finally deign to show your face, you give me an attitude. Start talking."

She sits up straight, and I have to pull back so my face doesn’t smack against her shoulder.

"What do you want from me? I'm here, aren't I? Now, are we studying or not?"

I pull the edge of my book and let it slap against the table, not even looking at it, just keeping eye contact with her. "I've been here and ready to study, but you've been absent. I didn't realize I needed to fit into your calendar now that I'm yourclient. And Ibetterbe your only fucking client, or that money I gave you is going to disappear pretty fucking fast."

Something like panic enters her eyes now. "No, you're right. I'm sorry. I'm just having a bad couple of days, okay? Let's just get to work, and I'll stay here with you as long as you want me to."

I slam the book shut again and lean toward her. "Excuse me?"

Her forehead crinkles as she meets my eyes. "What? I said I'll stay as long as you want me to." Her voice is gentle, placating, and it only pisses me off more.

I grit my teeth and continue to keep my voice low. "You fucking show up here and act like this, and what? You think I'm just going to roll over and lick your hand in thanks?"

Her eyes go wide, and realization seeps into her features. "Oh, look, this has nothing to do with you." Her attitude comes back in full force. "Not everything is about you, oh mighty football god."

"And now you're going to sass me. What the fuck, Maybel?" I hiss.

Her eyes go wide at my use of her full name. "What do you want, then?"

"An explanation, not half-assed excuses." Of course I know about her mother already, but I want to hear it from her. I want her to give me the truth, so I don't have to take it.

"I mean...I was busy."

"Busy?"

Her eyes narrow into slits, and she leans in so close we could almost kiss. "Yes, busy. Is that a vocabulary word we need to go over?"

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