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Authors: Elizabeth Finn
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He wanted to say something self-chastising about how Joss was only happy because he’d not had a chance to ruin her happiness yet, but he was guessing sharing that self-destructive tidbit would be considered inappropriate with a child. So, he kept nodding slowly. And nodding. And nodding some more.
“Dad, you just missed the driveway.”
Once he regained consciousness, he shook his head and turned around on the shoulder of the road.
Nat laughed at him as he finally pulled into the right driveway. “You do like her. I knew it.” She kept laughing as she said it, and he looked at her, wondering how she could be okay with it. Maybe it was kinda…normal.
Chapter Seven
“So, are you going to tell me why you walked away from Natalie like that?” Joss glanced at Harper. She wasn’t upset, so much as…well, she wasn’t sure what she was. Confused wasn’t the right word. She understood to a degree—hell, she’d even caught the look on Harper’s face as she’d glanced over to Natalie from her group of friends. Harper had felt bad for her, and yet she’d done nothing to include Natalie.
But it really wasn’t confusion. Joss understood. She hated it, but she understood it too. And she almost hated that as much as anything. How was one rather small fourteen-year-old girl supposed to change the course of things for Natalie? It was one thing to be friendly with someone. It was another to stick up for them. And it was yet another altogether to stick up for them in the midst of a group of people.
Joss wanted her daughter to be strong enough to do that, but she also remembered just how hard fourteen could be. One moment you were liked, the next you weren’t. One day could make all the difference in the world between being accepted like Harper and being shunned like Natalie. There was nothing at all shun-worthy about Natalie. She was exceptionally sweet, adorable, kind even though the world was making it difficult, and while Joss had no idea why her mother wasn’t part of her life, she suspected it was something note-worthy. That alone could be a mountainous challenge to face at her young age.
But as much as Joss wanted her daughter to be strong enough to defend those who couldn’t defend themselves, it terrified her to think of Harper suffering the way Nat had or even still was. And all those thoughts left Joss feeling like a piece of shit, because in truth, she wasn’t sure it made her any stronger than her fourteen-year-old daughter. Hell, she knew she wasn’t. She’d already fucked her own life up royally, and hiding it from her daughter to save her own face was the only path Joss knew at this point. But it didn’t stop Joss from wanting something better for Harper.
“I couldn’t be rude to my friends, could I?” Just as Joss had suspected. The masses were certainly an influential bunch. All she had to do was listen to any one of a gazillion bullying stories, hell any one of a gazillion celebrity-turned-train-wreck story, to see just how easily swayed people can be. The path of least resistance often leads to less than desirable outcomes. How was a fourteen-year-old girl supposed to fair against those odds?
“You could have included Natalie. Or, you could have walked over, said a quick hello, then told your friends you were tied up, and returned to us.”
“Get real, Mom.”
“I’m getting very real, Harper. These are the choices you have to make. They’re not fun, they’re not easy, but they’re damn real, and they have very real consequences too.”
“I know!” Harper’s voice was shrill as she threw up her hands in frustration as Joss drove them toward their house.
The first snowflakes of winter were starting to float down, and the wind was howling. It was nearly ominous. Bristol was an icebox in the dead of winter, and she couldn’t say she was looking forward to it—not if her life was going to revolve around penny pinching and fighting her daughter at every turn in hopes of steering
“Dad, you just missed the driveway.”
Once he regained consciousness, he shook his head and turned around on the shoulder of the road.
Nat laughed at him as he finally pulled into the right driveway. “You do like her. I knew it.” She kept laughing as she said it, and he looked at her, wondering how she could be okay with it. Maybe it was kinda…normal.
Chapter Seven
“So, are you going to tell me why you walked away from Natalie like that?” Joss glanced at Harper. She wasn’t upset, so much as…well, she wasn’t sure what she was. Confused wasn’t the right word. She understood to a degree—hell, she’d even caught the look on Harper’s face as she’d glanced over to Natalie from her group of friends. Harper had felt bad for her, and yet she’d done nothing to include Natalie.
But it really wasn’t confusion. Joss understood. She hated it, but she understood it too. And she almost hated that as much as anything. How was one rather small fourteen-year-old girl supposed to change the course of things for Natalie? It was one thing to be friendly with someone. It was another to stick up for them. And it was yet another altogether to stick up for them in the midst of a group of people.
Joss wanted her daughter to be strong enough to do that, but she also remembered just how hard fourteen could be. One moment you were liked, the next you weren’t. One day could make all the difference in the world between being accepted like Harper and being shunned like Natalie. There was nothing at all shun-worthy about Natalie. She was exceptionally sweet, adorable, kind even though the world was making it difficult, and while Joss had no idea why her mother wasn’t part of her life, she suspected it was something note-worthy. That alone could be a mountainous challenge to face at her young age.
But as much as Joss wanted her daughter to be strong enough to defend those who couldn’t defend themselves, it terrified her to think of Harper suffering the way Nat had or even still was. And all those thoughts left Joss feeling like a piece of shit, because in truth, she wasn’t sure it made her any stronger than her fourteen-year-old daughter. Hell, she knew she wasn’t. She’d already fucked her own life up royally, and hiding it from her daughter to save her own face was the only path Joss knew at this point. But it didn’t stop Joss from wanting something better for Harper.
“I couldn’t be rude to my friends, could I?” Just as Joss had suspected. The masses were certainly an influential bunch. All she had to do was listen to any one of a gazillion bullying stories, hell any one of a gazillion celebrity-turned-train-wreck story, to see just how easily swayed people can be. The path of least resistance often leads to less than desirable outcomes. How was a fourteen-year-old girl supposed to fair against those odds?
“You could have included Natalie. Or, you could have walked over, said a quick hello, then told your friends you were tied up, and returned to us.”
“Get real, Mom.”
“I’m getting very real, Harper. These are the choices you have to make. They’re not fun, they’re not easy, but they’re damn real, and they have very real consequences too.”
“I know!” Harper’s voice was shrill as she threw up her hands in frustration as Joss drove them toward their house.
The first snowflakes of winter were starting to float down, and the wind was howling. It was nearly ominous. Bristol was an icebox in the dead of winter, and she couldn’t say she was looking forward to it—not if her life was going to revolve around penny pinching and fighting her daughter at every turn in hopes of steering
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