Page 97 of On His Schedule
“Lu—”
“I’ll handle it, Bear. Text me later.”
“Okay.” He hangs up.
I sit on the edge of my bed with the phone in my hand. My ears are ringing, my hands are shaking, and I feel like I could burst. I call my mom, but it just rings until it hits the voicemail. I call twenty minutes later, same thing. I close my eyes and shake my head. There’s nothing I can do about this now, but I’m pissed off about it.
I stand up, grab my things, and leave the apartment. I power walk to the library, and when I get there, I sit on the second floor and finish my homework. It’s hard to concentrate, but I manage.
Thirty minutes before my tutoring session with Benson, I call my mom. She picks up on the second ring with the new voice, the bright voice, the voice she has had since Tyr.
“Lucy. Hi, everything okay?”
I put my notebook and pencils in my bag and run out of the library. “Mom. Give me one second,” I say as I exit the doors. I find a bench nearby and set my bag down.
“What’s going on?” she asks.
I huff, out of Camdenth. My pulse is in my fingertips. “Bear called me from the school bathroom this morning to tell me you never paid for the field trip.”
“What?”
“Mom!” I warn, not wanting to deal with her lies. “I gave you the money and extra for lunch. You signed the freaking paper, but you didn’t pay for it?”
She sighs. “Shit. I must’ve forgot.” There’s a long pause. “When was this?”
“Not that long ago, maybe a month. Actually, I have the Venmo payment date.”
She stops using the voice. “God, Lucy. I don’t need you to tell me the fucking date. I clearly forgot about. It must’ve slipped my mind.”
“So, what did you do with the money?”
“Lucy, the way you’re talking to me right now—”
“Mom. I work multiple tutoring jobs to keep food on the table and to be able to afford Bear to go on field trips. Do you understand that? I have been the parent in that house since he was born. I am twenty-one years old and still fucking doing it, and now you arelying to himabout it. I gave you the money! Where is it?”
“Lucy,” she says in a deep voice, dropping her act. “You’re going to be quiet and listen to me. You think you’re all high and mighty because you buy a gallon of milk for the fucking week?Well, I pay rent. So who’s more important here, Lucy? The one who buys the occasional groceries when she’s feeling heroic, or the actual mother who is paying for a roof over his head, water to shower in, and electricity for the boy? Hmm?”
I scoff, swallowing the words down my throat.
“Watch the way you talk to me, Lucy. I’ve been nice these past few weeks, but if you step out of line, I have no fucking problem putting you back in your place.”
“Back in my place?” I tremble. “Back in my place!”
“Yes!” she screams. “You’re the daughter, and I’m the mom! That’s the fucking end of it.”
I stare into the distance, ignoring the people who are staring at me. I’m lost in my own mind. I’m shutting down.
“Look who’s quiet now,” my mom scoffs. “Nothing to say to me, Lucy?”
I swallow. “I can’t believe you right now.”
“It’s one fucking field trip, Lucy. He’ll get over it.”
“Then I want my money back,” I say.
She laughs. “I can give you your money back, no problem.”
“Do it with me right now on the phone.”
