Brielle
By the time I got home, Mom was already at the door. The look on her face told me she knew everything. All she said was, “Mrs. Templeton called.”
Oh yeah. That. I’d skipped Lit—and any other classes—I hadn’t paid attention. There was no way I could face Brooks. I’d spent all day avoiding him. Not only was I mortified, but I was afraid he’d be furious with me. I was mad at myself.
I retreated to my bedroom and was getting ready to call Lia when Mom knocked on my door. She poked her head in. I was grateful she didn’t seem madat me, but I think the whole disappointed look mingling with concern for me look was worse.
“Are you all right?” She stepped into the room.
I shrugged, sinking onto my bed. I picked up my stuffed monkey that I’d had since I was two. He was stained, worn,and floppy, but he was safe. I tucked him under my chin.
Mom leaned against the door jam. “Why?” she asked. “Why would you and Brooks pretend and lead everyone on like that?”
I could tell it didn’t make sense to her. In a way, it didn’t even make sense to me. I shrugged again. “I don’t know.”
“What do you mean, you don’t know? Brielle, you led the entire school to believe you were dating the popular new guy. You led Dad and me to believe it. Reece.”
Well, not Reece—he knew—but I wasn’t going to get him in trouble along with me.
“What parts of itweretrue?” Mom asked.
That was a loaded question I was afraid to ask myself. Because I wanted it all to be true. I wanted it all to be a real experience. What had started out as a sort of brilliant ploy to get people off our backs so we could focus on what we liked to do had quickly turned into me finding someone that I actually cared for. That Iwantedto date. Someone who I wished actuallydidhave feelings for me.
“I don’t know,” I whispered. Tears in my throat pretty much stole my voice.
“You don’t know?” Mom repeated. “Or you don’t want to say?”
“I don’t know,” I answered. Lifting my eyes, I met her gaze, tears spilling over onto my cheeks and dripping on my monkey’s head. “In the end, all of it is real even though none of it—”
“Oh, baby girl,” Mom sighed. There was a lot of empathy in those three words. I knew in an instant Mom understood my feelings, even though she didn’t understand the details. She came over and sat beside me on my bed. “This is tough,” was all she said.
“I hate social media,” I sobbed. “I hate people nosing into my life. I wish the aunts didn’t think it was so important to constantly hound me about havinga boyfriend. And my friends? They all thought I was boring. That my books and-and baseball—that they weren’t enough.”
“So the AI boyfriend part was true?” Mom bit back a smile.
I looked at her in disbelief. This wasn’t funny, but I nodded.
“You actually created a fake AI boyfriend to get Elle and Tracy and the twins off your back?”
I nodded again, then gulped. “And Jenessa and Claire.”
Mom struggled to keep her smile subdued, but I could see a little bit of admiration in her eyes. She studied me for a moment, then said, “Listen. This is a mess. And I don’t like that you deceived us. Not about this. We want to be able to trust you. But . . . I will admit. The whole culture that puts so much emphasis on you having to be in a relationship as a teenager is frustrating.”
“But—” I bit my tongue. It had started out that way, sure, but now Ididwant to be in a relationship. With Brooks. Only I wasn’t. I never really had been.
“You have feelings for him?” Mom asked outright.
Man, I thought talking to Dad was hard. Mom’s whole understanding bit made me feel even worse, because she was asking the hard questions. Dad would address my lying and faking things. But Mom? She was getting to the root of my feelings.
I nodded. I was done pretending.
She gave me a soft smile and reached out to pat my monkey’s head. “He needs a bath,” she said.
I looked at her.
Mom looked at me.
She didn’t need to say anything else. She’d heard me. She’d listened to my heart.
