I aborted Cole’s baby because of him.
And now, I must live with this decision for the rest of my life.
All because I carry the Edwards’ name.
TWO
It’s been weeks since the fight with my father.
He’s sitting at the head of the patio table with Mom beside him. They both wait for me to talk since I’d called this meeting after my sisters and their families left.
It’s now or never. I’m carrying the gasoline to throw on the already burning fire between us. I spread my hands out on the table, unable to look at either one of them. A small breath escapes me while I muster the courage to follow through with what I want for my life.
Breathe … one … two … three.
“I’ve decided not to go to college,” I state firmly.
As expected, silence falls between us. I keep my eyes fixed on the centerpiece and avoid looking at my father. If it was possible to smell smoke coming out of someone’s ears, I’m smelling the burning smoke right now and choking on it.
“Alexa,” Mom stammers, “I … I don’t understand where this is coming from?”
“This is coming from someone who doesn’t want to go to college,” I respond matter-of-factly. “Just because my sisters went doesn’t mean I have to.”
Mom stares in confusion. “So, what exactly will you be doing?”
“I’ll be traveling around Europe.”
“Then, when you’re done, say, in a year? You’re going to enroll?” Mom pushes.
In slow motion, I raise my eyes to meet my father’s. The skin around his eyes tightens as his jaw sets. “No.”
More silence, of course. No one defies Lex Edwards, yet here I am …
“You have one year to travel,” he states in an arctic tone, his voice strangled while trying to control his temper. “Then, you will return and enroll in college.”
I stand up in a rush, crossing my arms with a defiant stare. “You don’t get a say in my life anymore. I’m almost eighteen.”
“As long as you live under this roof,” he threatens.
“Well, guess what, Lex …” I drag his name in a condescending tone. “As soon as I graduate, I will no longer be living under this roof. You can control what you want, but you will never control me.”
The anger of this conversation forces me to leave and run inside the house away from him and his empty threats. My steps move fast up the stairs almost tripping halfway up the staircase.
The door to my bedroom slams shut with a loud thud causing the picture frames on the wall to shake from the vibration.
My heart races a million miles, unable to slow down to a normal pace. This decision has been weighing heavily on my mind of late. The more we argued, and he laid down new rules, the more I wanted to defy him.
Slowly, I rest my head against the door while my eyes close to calm myself down. The temperature inside the room is warmer than usual despite my window being open. There’s a soft nightly breeze, but it’s not enough to cool my heated skin.
No one goes against the greatLex Edwards.
I’d seen people attempt, but they never succeeded. There had been times I’d overheard my father talking to Mom about some business conflict. It wasn’t unusual for him to encounter people who made it their mission to destroy the successful billionaire. But, in the end, my father always played his cards right and won.
That was business, and I’m family.
My eyes open wide, staring directly into my bedroom, a haven from all the chaos in my life. The king-sized bed is perfectly made with my favorite ivory bedspread. When it came to aesthetics, my bedroom styling changed as quickly as my mood. Right now, I’m going through my neutral phase, which beats the emo-dark phase I went through in junior high.
The desk sitting opposite my bed is paired with a velvet cream armchair. My MacBook sits on the desk along with some books I need to finish reading. Reading wasn’t my thing until a few months ago when I stumbled on a book that had the worst reviews. Naturally, I wanted to know what all the negative hype was about. It turned out I loved it, then binge-read the whole series. Reading became a sort of escapism, and these books were nothing like the boring novels we were forced to read in school.