‘She didn’t look well, to be honest. She asked how you were. When was the last time you spoke to her?’
‘It was a while ago. We kind of had a falling out. Well, me and my dad did.’
‘And your mom took his side, like always?’ Kelsey asked with a roll of her eyes.
‘I’m not even sure she knows about it. But, she must know something as we used to speak a couple of times a week. Who knows what my father must have told her? But, I’m done with them, Kels.’
She nodded at me. ‘You deserve to be happy, Alana, and I don’t think you ever really were in New York. Not like you are here. I think your father had a lot to do with that.’
‘What do you mean?’ I asked her. She had never mentioned anything like this to me before.
‘He always had you working for him, covering his ass, or playing some angle so he could score votes. Remember when you had to cancel on our trip to Cabo at the last minute because he had some emergency he needed your help with. Or the time we were supposed to go upstate for Heather Jensen’s bachelorette and he asked you to look after your mother because she was sick and he was going out of town? There were so many times just like that, Alana. He never let you live your life.’
I frowned at her. I’d never really thought about how many times I’d had to cancel plans to help out my parents. But, it happened a lot. ‘I’m sorry, I must have been a crap friend, Kels,’ I said as I felt the tears pricking my eyes.
‘No you weren’t,’ she said as she placed her hand on my arm and gave me a reassuring squeeze. ‘You were always there for me when I really needed you, and I know you always will be.’
‘Always,’ I said as I held up my wine glass. ‘I love you, Kels.’
‘Love you too, honey,’ she smiled as tapped her glass against mine.