“How is my big sis these days?” Libby and I have never gotten along very well. My mom said she cried for two weeks straight when I was born a boy and not the girl she wanted. Apparently, she’d had plans to make me into a mini version of herself. I could be an annoying little brother. My pranks started with her. I don’t think she’s ever forgiven me for decapitating her One Direction dolls and dangling them to her ceiling fan. I’d say it was a phase, but I moved on from pranking my sister to pranking Hannah.
“She’s good. She got a promotion at work.”
“Good for her. I’m glad you had a good day, I’m tired, so I’m—”
“No, you don’t, Crawford.” She wraps her long-manicured fingers around my upper arm, not letting me stand up. “We need to talk about you and Hannah and your fan website.”
“The website is stupid,” I say, trying to play it off.
“Jim Clark doesn’t think so. He said someone has been snooping around our house trying to take pictures of you and Hannah.”
I blow out a frustrated breath. “That’s true. They got caught on surveillance last week. I gave Mr. Clark the footage.”
“And the second time?”
“The second time, they must have been wading in the water because the sensors never went off, and there’s no footage.”
“That’s what I thought too. The only way the security cameras wouldn’t have picked them up is if they were in the water,” my mom says.
“You looked at the website?” I groan, raking a hand through my hair.
“Of course I did. You have enough pressure on your back with football and school. The last thing you need is to worry about someone taking photos of you every time you turn around.”
“Yeah,” is all I say because she’s right.
“Jim said he thinks he can at least get the website taken down, even if we don’t know who’s behind it?”
“He talked to Hannah and me tonight about it.”
My mom pats my arm. “Oh, good. Then we just need to discuss you and Hannah. Are you having sex with her?”
“Oh, my gosh. Mom!” I scrub my hands through my hair and down my face.
“You used to talk to me about sex and your relationships. You told me when you lost your virginity. How is this any different?”
How is it different? “I guess because Hannah is different. She’s not like the other girls I’ve been with.”
“You love her.” My mom’s voice is soft and wispy.
“Mom, I love her so much it scares me. Did you see the photos of us on the sofa?” I glance at her to ensure she knows what I’m talking about.
“Yes, I saw them.”
“Yes, we were having sex. Hannah’s mom interrupted us. She called about dinner. Nothing had happened yet. I’d taken my shirt off, and Hannah took her sundress off, but her swimsuit was on underneath.”
“But you’ve been together other times?”
I groan, dropping my head back against the sofa. “I’m not going to give you a play-by-play of my and Hannah’s relationship.”
“That’s fair. Just promise me when you’re together that you use protection.” She doesn’t sound judgmental or angry, just concerned about me. Which I’m grateful for.
“Always mom, I promise.”
My mom wraps her hand around my neck and leans in, kissing me. “Thank you. I’m glad you’ve found someone you want to be with. Just be careful. Sometimes adults have a way of interfering. They don’t do it out of malice. They do it because they’re scared and think they’re helping. Maybe not in the short term, but in the long term.”
I wrap my arms around my mom, hugging her. “Thank you for caring.” Before she can say anything else, I dash upstairs to my room.
I try to sleep, but I can’t get my mom’s words from earlier out of my head about adults interfering. Hannah’s parents have already put restrictions on us. How long before there’s another rule? How long before they tell us we can’t be together? Hannah will be eighteen in November, but age doesn’t matter much since we’re still in high school. I’m eighteen, and my parents are fighting over custody of me. We won’t truly be free to make our own choices until we graduate and start college. I give up on sleep and get up and grab my laptop. It’s time to make some real plans for my future.
