“No.”
“What did she do then?” I had seen the trap from the beginning and had to smile at my mom’s obvious attempt to make a point.
“She thought it was cool, and told me I shouldn’t let it ruin my life anymore.”
“I like this Wyn more and more. Maybe she will help me to get you out of those hoodies.”
“Don’t start, Mom,” I pleaded.
“Well, I’ve got to try. We do have that shopping date on Saturday. You would look so nice in that brand new, red shirt.”
“Okay, I’ll make you a deal.” An idea had come to me out of nowhere, although I knew it might not work, it was worth a try.
“Now, I am worried.”
“I won’t wear a hoodie, no hoodie all day on Saturday, if you let me hang out with Ry that night and watch a movie.”
“Joclyn, we talked about this.” She was stern.
Stupid Ryland, having to take off his shirt! I don’t think my mom would have ever started to take this stance if he had kept his shirt on. Oh, and if he hadn’t tried to kiss me in the kitchen… I stifled a sigh at the memory before rebutting.
“I know we did, but I can’t just walk away from him, Mom. He’s my best friend, and he’s leaving for Oxford in a few months and then he won’t be my friend anymore, anyway. He will have other friends, and girlfriends, and a fiancée, and run a huge company. He won’t just be Ry anymore. He will be Ryland LaRue, heir to a fortune.” I spoke very fast. Even though it hurt to say it, I knew it was true. No matter how many fantasies had entered my mind, it could never happen.
“He already is that.”
“I know,” I whispered. It took me a moment to find my voice again. My heart thudded around my chest in a desperate plea not to make this compromise with my mom. “Mom, can I just have him as a friend for a little while longer? Then I will leave him alone forever. I’ll have no other choice.”
“It’s not just that, Joclyn.” She sighed again, frustrated.
“Then, what is it?” I held my own though, my eyes digging into hers.
“Okay,” she conceded, “you know how Timothy is always warning me to keep you two apart?”
“Yeah.” I was hesitant; I didn’t like where this was going.
“Well, it used to be a half-hearted warning. Now, it feels almost… dangerous.” She looked away from me, the subject making her uncomfortable.
“Dangerous? Like ‘Keep her away from him or else’?”
“It’s more than that. Timothy made mention of your safety and how dangerous ovens are. I don’t know. It just made me uncomfortable.”
Edmund had said something similar in the hall a few days ago. It was such an odd thing for him to say that I had just dismissed it, but hearing it again from my mom was weird. Forget corporate drama, this bordered on super-villain.
“Anyway, I’ve started looking for a new job.”
“What?” Panic, sheer panic, gripped me. I felt my chest get tight and uncomfortable. Not only was change not good for me, she was ripping my best friend away from me. “Mom! You can’t.”
“I have to, Joclyn. I have to keep you safe. You are my number one priority.”
“Then, you have to let me go on Saturday, if you are going to take him away from me anyway,” I pleaded with her, trying to ignore the earth-shattering pain that centralized in my chest.
“I don’t know, Joclyn. A movie?”
“We’ve watched plenty of movies before.” I was begging; I had to go now.
“Yeah, but alone, in his room.”
“Done that, too.” We had even watched a movie with the lights off, but it still wasn’t as much of a scandal as my mom made it out to be.
“Yeah, but never with overactive, crazed, teenage hormones trying to stick you two together like magnets.”
I paused. She had a point.
“Don’t worry, Mom. Nothing will happen. I can’t let it. I just want to enjoy the last little bit of time I have left with my friend.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Okay, but just remember, if I can’t go to the movie, I am wearing the biggest hoodie I own. If you let me go, I will leave the hoodie at home, and I might even wear the skirt. Well, not the skirt; I’d look like a moron.”
Seven