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“You’re used to her being mad at you all the tih I had any anshen it came to Mom

“I don’t, not unless she forces me You’re the favorite You should be able to tell her what you want”

Her hu as I do everything she wants For my senior prom I told her I preferred a different dress over the one she picked She didn’t talk to me for two months and cancelled all my credit cards”

“What? No way” That wasclear of both Mom and Laura was best for me

“Yes way You were too busy hiding out at school and going straight to your room, so you never noticed”

I sat on the couch beside her “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Her cheeks pinked up “I—I guess I didn’t want you to know” She clasped her hands on her lap “It was always me and Mom, and you and Dad And then once Dad died, it was only Mom, so I felt like I had to keep her happy”

“There is no happy when it comes to her At least not that I’ve ever found”

She made a small sound “You just have to knohat she wants”

“Everyone and everything to be and do exactly what she wants I can’t do that anymore And you shouldn’t either”

“I don’t have a choice” She wrung her hands in her lap and looked around e But coe, this was probably a half step above a homeless shelter in her mind

“Of course you do”

“You’ve always been fine on your own I’d like to actually have my mom like me,” she snapped Then her eyes widened and she shot up “I didn’t mean that, Julia—Jules, I’ht now”

I’d never had the wind knocked out ofinout through my body

“I shouldn’t have co off the couch