Mom's eyes widen.
The truth rolls out of me. "I watched him. I showed up everywhere he was, both professionally and personally. I pushed. I clung. I refused to take no for an answer because I didn't know how to stop needing someone. And at first, he tried to keep a distance. He tried." A shaky laugh slips out. "But I wouldn't leave him alone."
Mom's expression doesn't change.
My voice cracks, "I broke into his home too. And then...slowly…he fell." I lift my head finally and look at my mother, daring her to cheapen it.
She doesn't.
So I keep going. "He fell in love with me. Not the polished version. The real me. The messy, chaos-filled girl who panics in silence and digs her nails into her skin to stay present. Even through all that, he fell for me."
My mother cries harder. "Blue?—"
"He loves me. And I love him. And I will not let anyone take him away from me. So you and Dad have to choose. It's Red and me, or the four of us are dead to each other."
Mom recoils like she's been slapped.
More determination fills me. "Here's what's going to happen. You're going to go home. You're going to tell Dad I'm not pregnant. You're going to tell him the truth. Everything I just told you."
She nods frantically, tears flying. "Okay—okay?—"
"You're going to tell him Red is off-limits. Now and always."
Her mouth trembles. She swallows and nods.
I vow, "If he ever touches a hair on Red again, I'll never speak to either of you again. So choose. Have me in your life or don't."
Her eyes widen. "No—don't say that?—"
"I mean it.
She goes still, like she finally understands I'm not playing this time.
I continue, "If you don't accept Red, then you will never see me again."
Her breath catches. "Sweetie?—"
"I will cut you off. All of you. I'll quit my job. I'll change my number. I will never come over on holidays. I will never answer your calls. I will move out of this city so you don't even get the chance to run into me," I warn, and then my voice cracks, but I don't stop. "And you will live with that."
She starts sobbing harder. "Please—please don't?—"
"It's your choice. But whatever Dad chooses is also your choice."
The threat hangs between us like a blade.
My mother reaches for me again, slower this time, like she's afraid. "I love you. I love you so much."
I stare at her, and it hurts. It hurts because I believe she does. But love isn't enough right now.
I sit straighter. "I love you too, Mom. But Red is my life. Understand?"
She nods, shaking, wiping her cheeks with trembling fingers. "I'll tell him. I swear. I'll make him understand. I'll?—"
"You can't make him anything. But you can draw a line. You can stop standing behind him."
She nods again, frantic. "I will."
I hold her gaze. "If he touches Red again," I say, voice like ice, "you lose me."
