Second Chances by Ellie Danes

Author:Ellie Danes [Danes, Ellie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-06-01T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

Brittany

I didn’t get a chance to see Dalton before heading to class this morning, which I had come to expect whenever I studied in the courtyard before school. I had abandoned studying beforehand in coffee shops because I found the sight of Dalton in the courtyard woke me up much better. His scent alone was much more invigorating than caffeine. Yet today, I couldn’t find him busy at work like I normally could. Even worse, today was the dreaded day my father had scheduled for me to meet his candidate to be my perfect suitor—Reginald, the ‘not quite a doctor yet.’

I went through my Dalton-less day replaying our date in my head. I had stayed up an extra hour that night, praying that Dalton would break through my bedroom wall, unable to control himself, and pounce on me. While I waited to fall asleep and entertained this fantasy, I absentmindedly put paint to canvas. I hadn’t been focusing on what I was painting, but when I did turn my focus to my work, I was shocked at how good I still was even though I hadn’t painted in months. I’m damn good at this, I thought to myself, and I couldn’t wait to show Dalton. I knew he would love it.

I would show him tonight, after enduring the awful dinner my father had planned.

After class, I met up with my mother so we could catch up before heading to the restaurant my father had reserved to brief me on dinner with Reginald. The first restaurant was only for the three of us, and my father had reserved seats at an entirely different second restaurant for after he had explained everything to me and we were ready to meet the man he had handpicked. The first of my many stops for the night was a bar near the first restaurant where I found my mother sipping on wine and glancing about the room as if ready to flee at any moment. When she caught sight of me, her expression didn’t change much and she stiffly received my hug without putting an effort in to reciprocate the embrace. I knew she cared; she just couldn’t show it very well.

“I was beginning to worry you weren’t going to come,” Mother said, looking into her wine glass as she poured more across her tongue.

“Why would you say that? Of course I came, this is what my father wants.”

“Which is exactly why I thought you wouldn’t come.” She raised a conspiratorial eyebrow at me. I took a step back, hit with a wave of empathy emanating from my mother. It took me by surprise, and my mom took notice. “I know how your father can get. Hell, I married and divorced him so I should know, and he only wants what is best for you. I understand how that sometimes can directly contradict your own desires.”

She ordered me my own glass of wine, and suddenly my mental floodgates opened up and I found myself spilling my guts out to my mom.

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