My heart sank. “Um, I’m at Megan’s,” I said. “We’re studying, remember? I told you I’d be spending the night here.”
“Don’t you dare lie to me,” Mom said. “Where are you, Kristin?”
A lump formed in my throat and my skin suddenly felt too hot and too tight for my body. I was gripping the phone so tightly that my hand was numb.
“Kristin, if you don’t answer me, I’m calling the police,” Mom snapped. “So you’d better tell me. Now!” She ordered loudly. “Where the hell are you?”
“Um, I’m in Boston,” I squeaked quietly. “With Megan. I’ll be home tomorrow.”
“The hell you will!” Mom yelled. “You’d better walk through this door in one hour or else!”
“I can’t,” I replied
. “Megan won’t leave – Mom, we’ve had a few drinks, it’s not safe if she gets behind the wheel of a car!”
“I don’t give a shit,” My mom snarled. I was taken aback – the few times I’d ever heard her curse, it had never been directed at me.
“Well, Mom, I can’t come home,” I said. “I’ll be home tomorrow, okay?”
“Unless you’re coming to get your things, you’re no longer welcome,” Mom said icily.
“What?” The word came out as a yelp. “What did you just say?”
“If you can’t obey my rules, you’re not welcome in my home,” Mom snapped. “You lied to me and disobeyed me, Kristin. You’re a bad daughter! And since you’ve shown you can’t respect the rules, I’m not going to let you stay here anymore.”
I felt like my world was crashing down around me. Without saying anything else, I hung up the phone and slid it into my pocket. All around me, people buzzed in crowds and groups. They were all happy – laughing, singing, making jokes. I hated them for being so carefree. I bet they don’t know what this feels like, I thought, glaring.
An icy wind whipped over my face and stung my eyes. Finally, I pushed my way back into the restaurant and sat down with a huff at the table.
Megan and Amanda eyed me. “What’s wrong?” Megan asked. “Everything okay?”
I shook my head, feeling numb. “It’s not okay,” I said. “She kicked me out of the house. She found out I lied to her. She told me I can’t come back unless it’s to grab the rest of my stuff.”
Megan and Amanda looked at each other.
“Well, you’re welcome to crash with me for a night or two,” Amanda said slowly. “But my landlord has a really strict policy about no other people staying in the apartment for more than a week.”
I stared at her. “It’s okay,” I said, even though I felt so far from okay that it wasn’t even funny. “I know I’ll have to find somewhere else.”
“You can always move in with me,” Megan said brightly. “Michael’s friend Teddy did that when they were still in pre-med. My parents only charged him three hundred dollars a month for rent, isn’t that good?”
I stated at her dully. “I don’t have a job,” I said. “I have no savings – at least, not savings I can get my hands on. I share a bank account with my mom.”
“Girl,” Amanda said slowly. “You have got to learn how to be more independent.”
That’s when Andrew’s smug, smirking face popped into my mind.
“I think I know someone I can call,” I said slowly. “But it’s gonna be a long shot.”
An hour later, I was waiting nervously for Andrew in the lobby of Amanda’s building. There was a little wine bar, Café Amana, where we’d agreed to meet. I was chilled to the bone and I didn’t feel like drinking, but I knew that I couldn’t just come right out and tell him what had happened over the phone. After all, we’d barely spoken to each other or spent much time together. Andrew was basically a stranger to me.
All we had in common was our parents.
“Kristin?”
I turned around at the sound of my name. Standing in front of me was the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen. His skin was deeply tanned, like he’d just gotten back from Greece, and his dark hair was smoothed into waves that showed off his sculpted face. There was a hint of dark scruff on his chin and jaw, and his sexy dark eyes seemed to penetrate me.
“Hi, Andrew,” I said nervously. God, he’s even more handsome than I remembered! How is that even possible?