Since the fallout, the quiet, the nightmares, the little bit of normal I thought I’d clawed back for myself.
College had started, my schedule was full, I was surviving, and for the first time in a long while, I felt like I might actually keep my head above water.
Until today.
Until my mom sat me down with that exact look she always gives before she says something that’s going to ruin my life. The one that mixes excitement, guilt, and complete obliviousness to my existence.
“Jamie,” she started, all sweet and cautious, “I need to talk to you about something important.”
I already hated her.
I braced myself, adjusting my backpack on the couch.
“Yeah… okay?”
She sat across from me, hands clasped like I was about to be offered communion or a death sentence. Her eyes softened in a way that made me want to punch something.
“Your father… your dad, he—well, he’s not going to be coming back into the picture. You know that.”
I blinked. My stomach dropped, even though I already knew.
My dad had left long before I could even remember him properly, leaving mymom and me to scrape together some semblance of life. So far, so unsurprising.
She sighed, leaning forward.
“Before I met Graham Rothwell…”
She hesitated, and I felt my chest tighten. My heart always tightened whenever she paused like she was about to drop some emotional landmine.
“…it was just the two of us. Just you and me. But now things are… going to change a little bit.”
Oh. God. Here it comes.
“We’re moving,” she said softly, almost apologetically.
“Graham and I are getting married. And we’ll be moving into his house. Together. As a family. All four of us.”
I laughed. It was bitter and harsh and completely involuntary.
“What the… fuck? Are you serious right now?”
She winced.
“I know, sweetheart, I know it’s drastic. And it’s a big change, and I didn’t—”
I cut her off.
“You didn’twhat, Mom? Think I’d survive this without screaming? You didn’t think I’d have a say? You didn’t think about what this actually means?”
She blinked, flustered, fumbling her hands.
“I thought… I thought you’d be happy, or at least understand. I didn’t want to surprise you, but—”
“Surprise me?” I spat, standing up.
“You’re marrying Graham Rothwell. You’re moving us into the Rothwellmansion. And youforgotto mention that means I’m now officially his son’s stepbrother?”
She froze, and the way her lips pressed together told me she’d forgotten to even consider that part. Typical.
