Wild(4)

            “Of course, Mom. I know.”

            A pause fell. “Is this because of Harris? He won’t be here this summer, you know. His mother said he took an internship in Boston.”

            “You spoke with his mother?” I couldn’t help it. My voice escaped in a squeak.

            “I saw her at the store. What was I supposed to do? Ignore her?”

            “Sorry,” I mumbled.

            “We both agree that this is just a phase he’s going through . . . this other girl is just a fling—”

            “Mother! You discussed us . . . her?”

            Her is a girl I’ve never even met, but someone Harris started fooling around with a few weeks before he dumped me. It was such a cliché. But then wasn’t there truth in clichés? That’s why they existed.

            “Don’t get upset. You and Harris will work this out—”

            “I don’t want to work it out with him, Mom. He cheated on me. He broke up with me.”

            “You’re both so young. You don’t understand yet. This will only make your relationship stronger down the road.”

            “Mom, this might be hard to believe, but I don’t want to be with Harris anymore.”

            “Oh, this is so unlike you, Georgia. You’re not the type to hang on to pointless anger.”

            “What do you mean? Why is this so unlike me?” What was I like then? The kind of girl who would let a guy stomp all over her heart and then ask for seconds?

            “You’ve never disappointed me before.”

            And not marrying Harris would disappoint her? Was that her implication?

            She continued, “You always make the right decisions. We raised you to be reliable.”

            Boring. Harris’s word drifted through my mind just then. He’d called me boring when he broke up with me. Oh, there had been other words. Other accusations laid at my feet, but that one stuck in my head the most.

            I sighed and rubbed at my suddenly aching forehead, like that accusation was still lodged in there, an annoying pebble I couldn’t shake loose. “I’ll let you know about the job.”

            “Please do. The position won’t be available forever. Mr. Berenger will hold it as long as he can as a favor to me. I could have expelled his son that time when he stole the test from Mrs. Morris’s desk and sold the answers to everyone, remember? I only gave him on-campus suspension.”

            “Okay, Mom. Tell Dad and Amber hello for me.”

            “Good night, honey.”

            “ ’Night, Mom.”

            Ending the call, I fell back on my bed. Law & Order was starting over again, the familiar theme music racing over the air.

            Restlessness—and a low undercurrent of anger—hummed through me. Mom. Harris. Joshua. Their voices overlapped in my head, making my stomach churn. All three of them thought they knew me so well. Boring. Reliable. Serious.

            All words to describe me. All words I wanted to fling to the floor and stomp on until they were dust beneath me. Holding up my phone again, I scrolled through names, stopping at one at the very bottom. My thumb hovered over the keypad before reaching a decision and typing.

            Me: So what does one wear to a kink club?

            Annie: Something you can easily take off . . .





            Chapter 2