Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 46875 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 234(@200wpm)___ 188(@250wpm)___ 156(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46875 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 234(@200wpm)___ 188(@250wpm)___ 156(@300wpm)
As much as working with Zak is a great opportunity for us to mix business and pleasure, I know my mom isn’t going to see it that way.
She still treats me like I’m Joey’s age most of the time.
But tonight, I feel like I’ve dodged that bullet until the living room light flicks on as I’m trying to get from the front door to my room without making a sound.
“Ten o’clock, huh?” I hear my mom ask. Her voice sounds more tired than angry.
“Mom,” I growl, hating it when anyone sneaks up on me or surprises me like this.
Especially when my heart’s already in my throat every time I think about Zak.
“You’ve been sitting in the dark waiting for me?” I ask her accusingly, even though I’m not totally surprised.
“I know. I know,” she retorts, already knowing what I’m about to say.
“You’re a grown-up now, and you can come and go as you please. But honey, I’m still your mom, and I worry about you,” she says, taking the wind out of my defense.
“Am I still grounded?” I ask her hotly, not meaning to but sounding sort of bratty.
It’s just that after the most incredible night of my life, coming home to this is the last thing I wanted.
“Oh, you’re grounded,” Mom clips defiantly. “I only let you go out tonight to save face in front of that software guy…” she says, trailing off once she notices my face shift at the mention of Zak.
“Well, what happened?” she asks, changing her tone to try and sound less annoyed with me.
“I got the job,” I murmur, feeling like what should be great news is only going to cause more friction in the house than there’s already been of late.
“Zak wants me to start straight away,” I tell her confidently.
Already prepared in my mind to do whatever it takes to be with him.
“Oh, honey. That’s great news!” Mom exclaims, changing her tune in a heartbeat. “And it’s with computers, which is what you’ve always wanted,” trying her best to sound like she knows anything about what it is I even do.
Still, it’s better to have some support than none at all, and mom has been on my case a lot lately to find some real work.
Babysitting Joey isn’t exactly a career, and the few dollars here and there aren’t really contributing much to the household budget.
“When do you start?” she asks, already sounding like she’s changed her tune about me being late and still grounded.
“Uh…tomorrow. Today, I mean,” I stammer, noticing the actual time on the mantle clock.
Already counting the minutes before I see Zak again.
“Tomorrow!?” Mom cries out, rolling her eyes and throwing her hands up in the air. “Which part of ‘you’re grounded don’t you understand, Jade? Job or no job, you need to run these things past me. You can’t just come home late and spring this on me,” she groans.
I can only shrug and give a meek smile, noticing too the second she realizes I’m not wearing the clothes I left in.
“Where are your clothes?” she asks abruptly, jumping from my new job announcement to my newest and most treasured outfit.
The one Zak gave me.
My clothes? They’re bunched up on a bathroom floor, covered in so much of Zak’s bodily fluids that I don’t think a year of dry cleaning would even get it out.
But I’m not about to tell my mom that.
“This is just some promo gear for the software company,” I explained quickly, holding up my bag.
“Zak even gave me a set for Joey,” I explain, but my mom’s knotted brow and her suspicious gaze as she waits for an actual answer to her question throws me.
I thought she was tired? So what’s with the third degree as soon as I walk in?
Probably because you can’t pull the wool over my mom’s eyes, and as soon as she took one look at me, she knew something was up.
“That doesn’t tell me where your clothes you left in went,” she observes, but it makes me wish I’d stayed with Zak.
Coming home after just a few hours away with him makes me see the kind of life I have at home, which until today, I thought wasn’t so bad.
“Can we not argue, Mom?” I ask, lowering my voice. Already worn out from her questions and know I’m not going to sleep a wink as it is.
But I don’t want to spend all night explaining myself to my mom either.
Crimping her mouth in an effort not to say more, I can tell she’s got plenty more questions for me. If not tonight, then tomorrow, and the day after that.
Every day after that, until she learns the truth, which I’m already dreading.
My sudden change in outfit was the least of my worries when she produced my phone from the couch.
“And you left this behind,” she clips, narrowing her eyes on mine. I can feel the guilty look I know I’m broadcasting flooding my features.