Mom let out a short sigh. “It’s not nepotism, per se. It’s just a little help. You deserve it, considering what a major upheaval you’ll be going through.”
“Mom, this is…” I trailed off and shook my head. “I don’t even know what to say. I can’t believe you’re doing this right before the most important year of my life.”
I knew I sounded like a stereotypical angsty teen right now, but holy shit… this was crazy! How could we just up and leave our home city that contained everything and everyone we knew less than two weeks before my senior year of high school began? And why would Mom choose to break the news to me on my goddamned birthday of all days?
“Like I said before, I know it’s a big deal. Ahugedeal. I’m sorry for that, and I’m sorry for springing it on you like this. But I’m ready to make this move. I’m tired of being alone.” Mom paused for a beat and shook her head. “I mean, notalone,because I have you, of course. But it’s been so long since I…”
It was her turn to trail off now. She let out a sigh and looked down, picking at the edge of the white tablecloth with her manicured nails.
A sharp pang of guilt ripped through me. I knew I had a right to be annoyed and scared about Mom unleashing this avalanche of a change on my life, but at the same time, she also had a right to be happy. I couldn’t stand in the way of that happiness. Not after everything she’d sacrificed for me after her relationship with Dad went to shit.
I rubbed my eyes and sighed. Then I leaned forward. “I’m sorry. I guess I was shocked by all of this suddenly getting dumped on me, and it made me panic,” I said softly. “But you deserve to be happy. I’ll try to get used to it, okay?”
Mom raised her eyes to meet mine. “You really mean that?”
“Yes.” I nodded slowly as I considered everything we’d discussed so far. “I can catch a bus back here every few weekends to see my friends. It’s not that far. And I guess you’re right about my job. It’ll be good to have extra time to study. Also, in the grand scheme of things, it’s just a year. So even if I absolutely hate Crown Point, it won’t matter too much, because I’ll be leaving for college after I graduate anyway.”
“Exactly.” Mom’s shoulders sagged with relief as a small smile turned up the corners of her lips. “Thank you so much, Kinsey. I was really worried about how this conversation would go. I honestly thought it would turn into a week-long argument.”
I returned her smile, even though part of me was still mad at her. “As long as you don’t have any other major news to dump on me, I think I’ll cope.”
Her smile faded as guilt flashed in her eyes. My stomach instantly sank.
“Oh, god,” I said with a groan, leaning on my elbows. “There’s more, isn’t there?”
“It’s not a big deal. Not compared to everything else we’ve talked about tonight. I swear,” Mom said hurriedly, forehead crinkling. “It’s just… George has a son. So we’ll be moving in with him as well.”
“Oh. Okay. That’s notthatbad, I guess.” I scratched my chin and frowned. “Uhh… have you met him? Is he a little brat?”
“I’ve met him, yes. And no, he’s not a little brat. Not little at all, in fact. He’s the same age as you. Almost to the day. I think his birthday was yesterday.”
My brows shot up. “You do realize this is the start to basically every Wattpad story, right?”
Mom frowned. “What’s Wattpad?”
“Never mind. What’s his name? And what’s he like?”
“His name is Jackson, but everyone calls him Jax. He’s very nice. Polite and intelligent. I’m sure you two will get along.” Mom lifted one shoulder in a nonchalant shrug. “Who knows? You might even become friends.”
“Uhh… yeah. Maybe,” I said. “I guess it could be good to have some guy friends.”
I was a girl’s girl through and through; had always valued female friendships in my life much more than male ones. I had a few male acquaintances at school, but I never had any deep conversations with them or spent time with them beyond school grounds. It could be nice to develop a friendship with a guy, though. Broaden my horizons a little.
“Don’t worry,” Mom said, incorrectly interpreting my thoughtful expression as concern. “I don’t expect the two of you to become close like siblings. You’re legally adults, and George and I have both decided that we aren’t interested in being married ever again. So you’ll never officially be step-siblings. Just two people who happen to share a house because their parents are partners.”
“Okay, this is still giving major Wattpad vibes,” I said with a wry grin. “But I’m sure we’ll figure out a way to get along. And like I was saying before, it’s just a year, so even if I can’t stand this Jax guy, it won’t matter too much in the end.”
“Yes. Although I do hope you two become friends. It’ll be helpful for you to have some connections at CPA to ease the transition.”
My skin prickled with nerves as I thought about starting over at a new school again. A school like CPA, no less. I assumed the place would be crawling with out-of-touch snobs, but perhaps that was unfair of me.
“Anna? Is that you?”
A shrill feminine voice floated across the restaurant. Mom turned her head to look at a short redheaded woman who’d just stepped through the door. “Oh, hi!” she said, waving a hand. She turned back to me. “That’s Lenora. We used to work together. I should probably go and say a proper hello. I’ll just be a minute.”
I nodded and fished my phone out of my purse as she headed away from the table. The brief interlude from our conversation gave me a chance to check out George’s son.
I opened Instagram and typed in his full name. Only one profile came up in the results, so I figured it had to be the right guy. His handle was JacksonKingsley03, but the name on his profile said ‘King Jax’ in all caps with a crown emoji at the end. My nose wrinkled at the sight of that. It made him seem like an arrogant douche.