Chad slowly backs away, a smirk on his face. "You really think anyone would believe you? Nobody believes you, Brook. Everyone thinks you're a drama queen, always overreacting and making a big deal out of nothing. Even Jane thinks that. She said she hasn't called you because she's tired of all your drama."
"She didn't say that." I go around him to the living room.
"Yeah, actually she did." He turns to face me. "She said all you do when you call is talk about your problems with your parents and whatever drama is going on at your school. She doesn't want to listen to that. Nobody does."
But that's what friends do. They listen. They help you get through stuff. Eve is always there to listen, and I'm there for her. She's never said I'm being overdramatic or acted like what I'm going through is trivial. Now that I think about it, I could see Jane saying all that to Chad, and probably to everyone else at Haverhill. Why was I ever friends with someone like that?
"What else are people saying about me?" I ask, wanting to know before I get there.
"Not much. Most people forgot about you after you left. They didn't care. I'm the only reason you're still relevant." He walks up to me. "It's like I said before, you're nothing without me. You need me, just like your mom needed your dad. Now he's gone and look what happened." He glances around the apartment. "She's stuck living in this dump and having to go to a job every day."
"My dad's gone because he cheated, and we're living here because he took all his money when he left."
"Exactly what I'm saying. Your mom needed your dad to survive. Without him, she's nothing, and the same is true for you."
"You seriously think that?" I let out a humorless laugh. "I'm smarter than you, Chad. I get better grades. And I'm going to law school, just like you. I don't need you, or anyone else, to support me."
"Is that why you keep begging your dad to pay for college?"
"I'm not begging him. I don't care anymore. I'm prepared to pay for it on my own."
"Yeah, right. You really think I believe you want to keep living without money? You've only done this a few months. You wouldn't survive a whole year living this way. You'd see a pair of shoes you want and go crawling back to Daddy for money, just like your mom did, and still does."
"My mom doesn't ask my dad for money. She has a job and she works her ass off to pay the bills."
"And she's sick of it. That's why she made that deal with your dad."
"What deal?"
"Making you go back to Haverhill. If she made you go, your dad agreed to not only pay for the house he's renting but also the country club membership your mom desperately wants so she can go back and hang out with her rich friends. And she made him agree to buy you a car so she doesn't have to drive you around."
"How do you know she did that?"
"He told me. It's like he's always done. He gives her stuff and she does whatever she tells him. Women like to say they make their own decisions but it's always men who are pulling the strings. Women just don't want to admit it."
I huff. "I can't believe you really think that way."
"Why wouldn't I? It's the truth." He steps closer to me. "Remember how you always wore that red dress? The short one with the tiny straps?"
"Yeah, what about it?"
"You hated that dress. But you wore it because I told you how much I liked it. You weren't making the decision to wear it.Iwas. It's true for all your decisions. You just don't realize it. That's what I mean when I say you need me." He grips my arms and pulls me toward him. "Now show me how much you've missed me."
"Chad, stop it!" I yell, struggling against him. "Let me go!"
I turn my head as he leans down to kiss me.
"Get your hands off my daughter!"
Chad and I look over and see my mom standing a few feet away. I thought she was asleep. I didn't hear her door open.
"Ms. Turner," Chad says, giving her a huge smile as he steps away from me. "I didn't know you were home."
"Obviously," she says, her lips pursed, arms crossed, glaring at Chad. "If you knew, I doubt you would've attacked my daughter like that."
"You misunderstood," he says with a nervous laugh. "We were just talking."
"You forced yourself on her. Just like you did last time you were here." She hurries over to me and yanks me into her arms. "Honey, I'm sorry I didn't believe you. I never in a million years thought he would do something like that to you."
