Pushing Limits Read Online Free PDF Page B

mother.”  Giving me air quotes with more than a slight sarcasm
tone, “So, why don’t you get over this spoiled brat routine?  Give it a rest,
ok?”
    “Now you have a fucking backbone?  Now.  Seriously.  With
me?” I say in disbelief.  “You know I don’t deserve to be shipped off
again.  I did nothing wrong.  Where is that backbone when you deal
with Mom?  She treats you like shit, and you ask for more.   For
once, couldn’t you stand up to her and back me up?”  My body feels jittery
with all my pent up frustration.
    “You know why…Like it or not, she’s your mother.” Her pale green eyes
well with tears.  “When she started making noises about kicking you out, I
couldn’t let her put you in a position like she put me in.  You deserve
better than that.”  A quiet rage settles into her features.  Her sea
green eyes flash as she clenches her fists.  “Your mother took everything
from me.  She worked at getting our mother’s favor…and the
inheritance.  It was an added bonus.  When she called me to ask me to
look into a college for you, I jumped at the opportunity to get you away from
her.”
    “But I am an adult.  Why do I need a guardian?  I’m nineteen
years old…I’m not a child.  Isn’t that against the law since I’m over
eighteen?”  I ask, pleading for some type of help, some way I won’t be
under her thumb.  I sink onto the bed.
    Sitting beside me, she sighs.  Her eyes weary.  “Nothing is
impossible if you have a good lawyer, Amber.” 
    “So she wins again?”  I ask snidely.  “And, you go along with
whatever she asks.”
    Resting her hand on mine to reassure me, she says, “I was trying to
protect you the only way I could think of….I found you a school, one that was
far away from her, with a strong music department.  I offered to take care
of everything.  I still can’t believe your mother agreed to it.” 
Shaking her head in disgust, she narrows her sharp eyes as she says, “But,
that’s your mom!  Why do any of the heavy lifting when you can always hire
someone to do your dirty work, right?” 
    She’s right.  Elise raised me, not her.  She couldn’t be
bothered.
    With a deep breath, she pats my hand, and “Suzy Sunshine” is back. 
“I’m not going to hound your ass like she did.”  Her face lights, her eyes
bright and enthusiastic.   “You can, finally, be a kid.  Do what
you want!  Make sure your grades are acceptable and keep me in the
loop.  That’s all I ask.”
    She seems so sincere.  I am tempted to believe her.  That she
actually cares about me. 
    “I trusted you once, and you told her everything.”  I purse my lips
in an unforgiving glare.  “Do you know what kind of shit storm she rained
down on me after she found out about Angela?”
    “I know I screwed up.  I was chatting with her and before I knew it,
I opened my big mouth.  I was actually happy for you…that you had
someone.  I had no idea your mother was going to react that way.”
    “Have you met my mother?”  I ask sarcastically, my brows pop
up.  She is so naive .
    “I know…I know.  I don’t know what I was thinking.”  Her
exasperated eyes stare back at me.
    I smirk, saying, “What makes you think my mother, of all people, would be
happy her daughter was hanging out with a girl from the projects?”
    “I know it was stupid,” she says with a sad expression.  “I’m so
sorry.” 
    I say nothing and glance around the room, ignoring her apology.
    She grips my hand, her face bright.  “This is a new start for
you.”  My aunt’s impish green eyes sparkle as her mischievous grin breaks
free, like a small child gleefully devising a plan.  “I’ll sell it to your
mother.  The perfect daughter, one who has turned her life around, an
excellent student, is making all the right connections.”  With a broad
smile, she says, “Consider your life, as of today…your own.  A new
beginning!  You are a smart girl.  I know