Chapter2
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He’d offered to fly me out there tons of times before. Always bragging about how many private drivers his company had, how they could take me wherever I wanted. Like that would impress someone like me.
“It won’t be that bad, Emily. I don’t get why you’re being so negative about this. You barely know your father and his family. This’ll be good for you. Trust me.” Mom was pushing hard for this trip, and I couldn’t figure out why.
“My birthday’s coming up in a few months, and I won’t get to spend it with you.”
“Is that really what’s bugging you?” Mom asked, turning to look at me as she parked.
No, that wasn’t all. I was worried about her being alone through all this medical stuff. Worried something awful might happen while I was gone. But mostly, I was terrified of losing my mom without getting to say goodbye.
I let out a sigh. “I don’t know. Just feels like I’m making a huge mistake.”
“Well, you’re not.” Mom’s tone caught me off guard. “You need to do this.”
No point fighting her on it. She had a point, sort of. I needed to stop fighting this whole thing with my father. Maybe spending time with him wouldn’t be the worst. At least if he messed up, I’d have a real reason to hate him.
My father was this big mystery. Started with nothing and somehow became one of the richest guys in the country, owning these huge companies on the West Coast that nobody knew how he got his hands on.
Beyond that little bit? Total blank.
Walking into the airport with Mom, I couldn’t shake this awful feeling in my
gut.
Something felt off about all this, and every time I looked at Mom, I wanted to bail. My eyes started welling up just thinking about leaving her.
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“I’m gonna miss you,” I said softly, which got her crying too.
“Oh, honey.” She pulled me into a hug. “I’m gonna miss you too, but you know what… this adventure’s gonna be amazing. I can feel it.”
Saying goodbye hit harder than I expected.
–
Walking down the terminal and getting on the plane, I let the tears fall, feeling kind of numb. Had to keep it together though if I really let loose, I’d probably bolt off this plane and refuse to go.
Dropping into my seat, I couldn’t help thinking how much everything was changing. No more safety net at Mom’s house, no more comfort of my hometown. Instead, I was heading to a place where I’d never been welcome, about as far from home as you could get.
Trading tank tops and sunshine for heavy coats and snow.
I groaned to myself as this super peppy blonde bounced down the aisle, checking seat numbers. “This is me!” she chirped, and I had to stop myself from groaning out loud. Great, stuck sitting next to someone.
While she got settled, I watched her trying to tetris all her stuff into the tiny
space.