I sat next to her on the love seat, doing my best to ignore the hideous color scheme in the parlor. She loved the pale-yellow walls and antique floral furniture. I did not and avoided that room at all costs. It was fitting that it was in that space where I was about to tell her I was leaving.
Part of me regretted telling her my news on the day of Allen’s funeral, but it would be a gift, in a way. We could both get some relief and a fresh start. She would no longer be burdened by me, her constant reminder of how much she’d lost.
Better to rip the Band-Aid off. “I’m moving out.”
“Oh?” It was as if she barely registered my news.
That’s it?I’m not even worthy of an ounce of concern, even a question about where I would be living?I didn’t know why I expected anything. “Yes. I have some friends coming over to help me pack. It shouldn’t take more than a few hours.”
I had to stop myself from getting up and just walking out. She was my mom. I owed her compassion even if she didn’t show any toward me. “Will you be all right?”
She rose her haughty blond eyebrows, and I had to fight from rolling my eyes.
“Of course. I don’t need your presence in this house to function. I have Joselyn.”
Her assistant. I wasn’t surprised. “Great. Then I’ll get to it.” I got to my feet as she picked up her coffee, took a sip, then returned her attention to her phone.
As I was leaving the hideous parlor, her faint voice registered: “Be happy, Hailey.” I had to stop, my hand coming in contact with the wall on the other side of the room. I braced myself against the onslaught of emotions from Mom’s parting words. She didn’t show it to my face, but I guess she did care.
Once the majority of my swirling emotions had settled, I pushed off the wall, my steps lighter than they had been in years. Maybe the space would be good for us, and we could salvage some kind of relationship in time.
My phone pinged, pulling me from my thoughts. A glance at the screen told me the message was from Sofia. They had arrived. Rather than bother my mom with the news that my friends were there, I hurried through the house to open the front door for them.
I flung it open just as Summer, El, Emiliana, Lil, and Sofia came up the steps. I leaned into their hugs as they entered the house.
“I would say I’m sorry for your loss,” Sofia said with a straight face, “but I’m not.”
“Because he wanted me dead?” I could laugh about it now.
She tapped the end of her nose. “That’s the main reason. The other is that I never liked him. He was a pompous ass.”
I laughed then looked around quickly, ensuring my mom wasn’t nearby to hear what Sofia had said or my reaction.
“Where’s your room?” El took a few backward steps toward the grand staircase just off the foyer. “Let’s get this party started.”
All the tension from being there and going to the funeral disintegrated. I waved them in the right direction, and we set off for the back stairs, closest to my room, then made our way up and fanned into the space. Summer plopped down on my bed, kicked her feet up, and sighed as she leaned back.
“This baby needs to come out.” She ran a hand over her small baby bump. “I’m constantly hungry and need to go to the bathroom.”
“Soon.” Lil gave her a side hug then sat beside her. “And I can’t wait to hold your baby.”
“What are we packing?” Sofia disappeared into my closet with El hot on her heels.
I didn’t expect to see them anytime soon, not with how Sofia was with clothes. “There are suitcases in the back corner. Just shove whatever looks good in there.” I didn’t care that much, and I trusted Sofia. The only things that mattered to me were my sister’s candles and my pictures.
Emiliana noticed I was wrapping picture frames in soft T-shirts that I wanted to bring from my dresser in the closet. She came over to help. There were a lot of them. I had a box at my feet.
“How was the funeral?” She picked up a picture of Kasey and me and paused to study it before carefully wrapping it and setting it inside the box.
I was grateful she didn’t ask about my sister. For some reason, I didn’t want to talk about family. Allen didn’t count—I’d never considered him to be part of mine. “It was what I expected, dull and way too long.” Justin never showed, which had upset me and shedding a few tears. I didn’t know what was going on with that boy, but we were going to have a come-to-Jesus moment the next time I saw him—and that needed to be soon.
“Is your mom doing okay?”
“Yeah.” I smiled genuinely. “She is.”
Summer moved over so she and Lil could start folding whatever Sofia tossed on the bed before it went into the suitcases. There was a slight crinkling noise, and Summer lifted the pillow just as Trey walked into the room. I ignored what she was doing and went straight into his open arms.
“Hailey,” Summer called out. “There’s an envelope that was under your pillow. It has your name on it.”