Prologue

“How was the test?”

Elise Kennedy looked at her college roommate. They got along just fine, but Sandra was not someone she felt she could get close with. Not someone she’d completely confide in.

Heck, she realized there wasn’t anyone other than her father and brother she could ever feel comfortable enough to confide in.

She put one foot up on the stool, her hands on the mattress, lifted and plopped her ass on the top bunk of her bed. Under it was a desk where she did her schoolwork.

“It was fine,” she said.

“I’ve got that class in two hours,” Sandra said. “Want to give me your notes?”

“Sure,” she said. She didn’t care. It was only a social studies elective. She was a business major. Sandra was an English major and offered to help her with those classes.

Her phone was ringing yet again. Then it stopped after a minute and started to buzz with texts.

“Someone wants to reach you,” Sandra said.

“My mother. She’s being a pain as always.”

There was no lost love between her and her mother. Not when her mother tried to turn her into a girlie girl that she’d rebelled against. 

Nope, she was a Daddy’s girl and liked it that way!

Give her jeans and sneakers, work boots too, and she was happy as a pig rolling in the dirt.

She’d gotten dirty helping her father on the construction site enough as a kid. But that wasn’t what she wanted to do with her life.

Not what her mother wanted either when Becky Kennedy left her father and decided she didn’t want her kids dragging her down.

“Are you going to answer it?” Sandra asked.

“Why not,” she said sarcastically. “Might as well start my weekend off right.”

She was done with classes for the day. She loved her early Fridays, but Sandra had a two o’clock class and would be done by three thirty.

“Can I witness this or do you want me to leave?” Sandra asked, grinning.

“I’m here for the entertainment factor,” she said, shrugging.

Sandra laughed and sat on her bed on the opposite side of their small room to face Elise.

She hit the button to call her mother back. She’d had a peaceful month at college not having to talk to her mother and she knew it wasn’t going to last forever.

“Why don’t you ever answer my calls, Elise?” her mother asked before she even said hello. No surprise there.

“Because I’m in college and busy,” she said. “I know you don’t work, so you don’t understand the rest of us have things going on during the day.”

“Steve is home at night,” her mother said. “I spend time with him.”

Because Becky Kennedy-Vern’s kids always fell at the bottom of the priority list. Her mother couldn’t take ten minutes out of her night to call her kids when they might not be in class if it was an inconvenience to her marriage. Steve would probably welcome the few minutes of solace.

“Good for you,” she said. “What is going on?”

“I can’t call to see how you’re doing in college?”

“I’m doing fine,” she said. “Just like I have for years in high school. You’d know that if you ever reached out. Or reached out at a reasonable time when a kid might be available.”

There was silence on the other end. “You didn’t want to move with me,” her mother snapped.

“You didn’t want me and you know it. You only wanted me because it looked bad that Dad got custody. No way was Dad going to let us be split up and you didn’t want Royce.”

Her mother snorted. “Your brother was better off with your father. He was taking over the business anyway. But you won’t have anything to do with it.”

This was where her mother never listened to her.

Ever.

And just because she was feeling extra ornery, she said, “Mom, if you took the time to talk to me, you’d know I’m going for a business degree and am going to run Kennedy Construction with Dad and Royce.”

Her mother sighed heavily. “I had such high hopes for you. Your father is a horrible example in your life. Maybe I should have fought harder to have you come live with me.”

“You’re only deluding yourself,” she said, almost growling. No one spoke poorly of her father or brother to her. Her mother never would have done what she’d just threatened anyway and Elise would have fought harder than her father would have.

Everything was lip service with her mother.

The only reason she had a normal childhood was because of her father. Never her mother.

“At least tell me you’re wearing more than jeans and sneakers to class.”

She looked at the jeans shorts she had on. She didn’t know if that counted and could have cared less. “It’s too hot for jeans,” she said.

“Shorts aren’t that much better,” her mother said. “I’m not sure why you couldn’t be a little bit more feminine. You’re going to be alone for a long time. No guy wants to be with a woman that acts like a man.”

“That’s your opinion,” she argued.

Though it was the truth since she didn’t date much in high school. Even in college she just kept to herself.

But one month into her freshman year and no guy had talked to her much unless it had to do with a classroom assignment.

Maybe her mother was right.

“You know, Elise. If you weren’t so argumentative and standoffish, that would go a long way too.”

She ground her teeth. She felt she was that way because of her mother. Or she got it from her mother and it wasn’t a good trait.

“Thanks for the motherly advice,” she said. “I’ll take it into consideration when I’m searching for my future husband in his three piece suit in class. Was there anything else you wanted to critique me on?”

“No,” her mother said sarcastically. “It’s not like you ever listen to me anyway.”

“Nope,” she said, matching her mother’s tone. “So if you don’t have anything else to say, I’ve got work to do.”

She hung up after that and wanted to throw her phone across the room.

“That was pretty entertaining,” Sandra said. “Your mother is so loud I could hear everything over on my bunk. Her tone of voice included, which I have to say was pretty sharp and nasty. And I don’t think you dress badly, don’t let it get to you.”

“Thanks,” she said drily.

“I just meant that you don’t dress up. But you’re not a guy or anything. You aren’t trying to look like one. You’ve got long hair. You’ve got a great body and big tits that I wish I had a fraction of.”

She laughed. “You only know they are big because you see me in T-shirts without a sports bra strapping them down.”

Elise hated that her breasts always seemed to get in the way when she was playing sports.

“Can I be honest about something else?” Sandra asked.

“Why not?” she said. “It’s that kind of day.”

“You are argumentative and standoffish to those that don’t know you. I guess I understand more knowing what I do about your mom and witnessing another of those conversations.”

“I’m only standoffish,” she said, “because I’m not into all the petty girl fighting and things.”

“You’ve got a point,” Sandra said. “A really good one. I’ve been dragged into more drama than I want to be. I supposed when we first met it was more guarded, but you loosened up in a day or so.”

“You were a stranger to me. I had no idea how you were going to be at first. I’ve got enough drama with my mother alone,” she said and slid off her bunk. 

Sandra nodded. “Why don’t we go to a party tonight?” Sandra said. “You don’t get out much. I heard there is one a dorm over. We can have fun and put all this crap with your mother behind you.”

“It will never be behind me completely,” she said quietly.

“Then you need to learn to ignore it and what better way than to go out? Come on,” Sandra said. “Be my wingwoman.”

Sandra’s laughter and waving her arms around on the bed were getting to her. “You’re right,” she said. “I think I will.”

“Sweet,” Sandra said, jumping down. “And I’m going to get some lunch and go to class.”

Sandra left after that and Elise went through her drawers looking for something that was a bit more feminine. Maybe she’d do her hair too. Put some makeup on.

Tonight she was going to prove how shallow her mother was.

She was going to look the part her mother always wanted. She was going to drink and act that way too.

She just hoped she didn’t have too many regrets. 

But wasn’t life just full of them anyway?