Page 64 of P.S. I'm Still Yours
“What? Again?” she blurts out, the wrinkles between her eyebrows deepening as she glares disapproval-laced bullets at me.
“She wasn’t a good match.” I take a bite of my eggs, ignoring her exasperated sigh.
“You’ve said that about every single person your management’s sent. You can’t keep doing this, honey. You need to—”
“What I need is to relax,” I cut her off, leaning back against the wall the large bench is pressed to. “Take some time off. Isn’t that what you wanted? All these people riding my back around the fucking clock aren’t exactly making it easy.”
Her glare intensifies at my cursing, but I don’t think twice about what I say next. “I don’t fucking need them. I’ll figure it out on my own. Plus, you’ve already cleared out every liquor cabinet in the house, so it’s not like I have any other options.”
This will be the second time she’s lectured me in less than an hour. The first was when she guilt-tripped me into letting Hadley stay, and now she’s suffocating me with her motherly concern.
I know she’s just worried, but if there’s one thing she should know about me by now, it’s that telling me not to do something only makes me want to do it more.
She doesn’t say a word, disappointment oozing off her as she pokes at her eggs.
Great.
Now, I feel bad.
“I’m working on it, okay? I promise.”
My mom gives a small nod and clears her throat, changing the topic before it gets awkward. “What are everyone’s plans for today?”
Scar says something about wanting to go surfing. I think? I can’t listen for the life of me, still staring at Hadley.
Mom nods along with a smile before shifting her focus over to Hadley. “What about you, sweetheart?”
Hadley finishes her bite and says, “Oh, um… Jamie got me a job interview at Sandy’s later.”
Jamie.
I haven’t heard that name in a hot minute.
I was never friends with Jamie, but I wonder if her brother’s around for the summer. Couldn’t hurt to catch up.
“What a wonderful idea. I’m sure you’ll get it,” Mom rejoices.
I need her to get it.
And if it’s not at Sandy’s, I need her to get hired somewhere else. It’s the only way I’m going to make it through this summer with Hadley living under my roof.
“Shit,” Drea says just as my mom begins clearing the table.
I glance at her. She’s staring at her phone with an open mouth and shock pasted to her face.
“What?” I ask, and she lowers her phone, nervously chewing on the inside of her cheek.
“Before I tell you, I need you to promise to stay calm. It’s not even confirmed yet. It’s just hearsay.”
My fists clench. “What now?”
She releases a breath. “It’s just… word on the street is… the girl you almost pushed down the stairs that night at the club is thinking of suing.”
It takes me a second to place her.
She’s talking about the nightclub waitress who opened the door leading to the stairs when I was getting into it with Josh. She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
She happened to be standing behind Josh when I decked him in the face. But she didn’t even get hurt. She moved out of the way just in time while Josh tumbled down the cement stairs.