Getting up from my bed, I hear my mom in the living room, the jangle of her keys as she sets them on the counter. She had to go into work today. It's five, but I didn't think she'd be home yet. I remain in my room, not wanting to talk to her. I'm still too mad at her to even be around her.
"Brook?" She knocks on my door. "Are you in there?"
"Yeah, I'm studying."
"I'm going to take a short nap before I go out tonight. Do you need anything?"
"No, I'm fine."
I hear her go in her room and shut the door. She's going to another fancy event downtown tonight with her rich boyfriend. She used his credit card to buy herself a new dress. I'm so disappointed in her. I really thought she'd changed moving here. She was being more independent, getting more confident in herself, and then she goes out with this guy and goes right back to how she used to be.
I grab my phone and call my sister. She's the only who understands what I'm going through. She knows how controlling Dad is and how Mom can't stand up to him, oranyman. My sister doesn't let it bother her, but she doesn't live here so it doesn't affect her like it does me.
"Hey, Chelsea," I say when she answers. "Can you talk?"
"Only for a few minutes. I'm meeting some friends for drinks but they're not here yet."
I hear the bar noise in the background but it's muffled.
"What's going on?" she asks.
"Nothing. I just wanted to talk. I don't feel like doing homework."
"You're not with Dean?"
"I spent all day with him but I left so he could sleep."
"How's it going with you guys? You think you can stay together?"
Chelsea is the only person in my family who accepts me being with Dean. I've told her all about him, including all the stuff about his dad, and not once has she told me to break up with him. She can tell how happy he makes me, and to her that's all that matters. If only our parents felt the same way.
"We're not breaking up. I don't care if Dad cuts me off financially. I don't need his money. I'll make my own."
"Speaking of breaking up, I think Dad and Madison may be done."
"Wait—what? When did this happen?"
"I don't know if it's true. Dad didn't tell me. I heard it from a friend. Remember Tracy, that girl I knew from college who went to LA to be a casting agent?"
"Yeah. What about her?"
"Madison showed up to one of Tracy's auditions. Tracy said Madison put down a different address on the sheet they make you fill out. And she wasn't wearing her wedding ring."
"She could've just taken her ring off for the audition. That doesn't mean anything. But the different address might."
"I don't think they're living together. I think she moved out."
"But they're still married."
"Well, yeah, but maybe not for long."
"What do you think happened?
"My guess is that when Dad told her he was going to pay for Haverhill and for a house for you and Mom, Madison had a fit and stormed out. You know how she gets when he spends money on us, and spending it on Mom? I can't see her staying with him after that."
"He's not spending money on Mom."
"He's paying for the house you'll be living at. To Madison, that's the same as Dad giving Mom money."
