Eva followed Reese into the house. “Where have you been, young lady? I’ve been worried out of my mind. Do you know what time it is? And why are you walking home alone in the dark?”
“It’s not dark anymore,” Reese said. “The sun is coming up. And Shannon just lives around the block.”
“Around the block, a mile away,” Eva said.
“Whatever. At least I made it home in time.” Reese headed for the stairs. “I’ll take a quick shower, and we can pack the car.”
Eva ran after Reese and grabbed her by the arm, preventing her from mounting the stairs. “I can smell alcohol on your breath,” she said, sniffing near her daughter’s mouth. “And your eyes are bloodshot. Have you been smoking marijuana?”
Reese glared at her with pure hatred in her eyes. “We go through this every single night, Mom. I’ve told you a million times, I don’t drink and I don’t smoke weed. My eyes are bloodshot because I just woke up. I fell asleep on Shannon’s couch.”
“And who were you sleeping with on Shannon’s couch? Are you having sex?”
“I don’t have to listen to this.” Jerking her arm free, Reese dashed up the stairs.
“I’m warning you,” Eva screamed. “If you get pregnant, don’t come crying to me. I’m done raising children.”
Reese
Ten Years Ago
* * *
The more Eva gushed over her new roommate, the more the walls of her dorm room caved in on Reese. Mary Beth was her mother’s dream daughter—blonde, beautiful, and undoubtedly popular with her peers. The musical was Grease, and Mary Beth was in the lead as Sandy. Which was fine by Reese. Olivia Newton John was boring. But Stockard Channing was badass.
Reese had played the supporting role of Betty Rizzo in a high school production of Grease her freshman year. Eva had missed opening night. Missed all the other nights of all her other performances throughout high school as well. Eva was more interested in seeing Reese on the athletic fields than on stage. Unfortunately for her, Reese sucked at sports. Reese was done with acting, anyway. She’d chosen Erie State College for their contemporary music program.
“Are these originals?” Eva asked Mary Beth about her black-and-white posters of iconic movie stars like Audrey Hepburn and James Dean.
Mary Beth looked at Eva as though she was the dumbest person on the planet. “Um . . . No . . . They’re copies.”
Reese took her mother by the arm. “Time for you to leave now, Mom,” she said, dragging her to the door.
Eva protested, “But we just got here. I want to help you set up your dorm room.”
“I’ll send you a pic.” Her eyes pleaded with her father for help.
“We should probably hit the road,” he said to Eva, and to Reese, ”Walk us to the car?”
“Fine.” Reese stomped off down the hall ahead of them. When she reached her father’s ancient Land Cruiser in the parking lot, she turned to face her parents. “It’s been real. Have a nice life.”
“Please, sweetheart,” Eva said. “Can we not argue? I’m so excited for you. You’re off to a great start with your roommate. Mary Beth seems like a nice girl.”
Reese brushed her mother’s hand away. “Oh really? How can you tell? You’ve known her for what, five minutes?”
Eva smiled. “I can just tell. She comes from good breeding.”
Reese felt like smacking some sense into her mother. “Contrary to what you believe, Mom, plenty of good people come from bad breeding.”
“If you’re talking about Shannon, you’re mistaken,” Eva said. “She comes from bad breeding, but she’s not a good person.”
“You don’t even know her.” Reese didn’t like Shannon either. She used the situation to piss her mother off.
Mother and daughter glared at each other with two identical pairs of gray eyes, the only feature they shared in common. Eva was fair skinned and petite with pointy features while Reese was darker skinned like her father and bigger boned. Bigger everything, actually.
“Shannon is beneath you,” Eva continued, because she never knew when to stop. “I’ve warned you time and again, people will judge you by the company you keep.” She lifted Reese’s chin. “Listen to me, sweetheart. You have a chance to reinvent yourself here, to be whoever you want to be. To associate with the right kind of people. Take advantage of that opportunity.”
“You’re the only one who doesn’t like me the way I am. I’m really not such a bad person, Mom. I’m just not the person you want me to be.” Fighting back tears, Reese stared up at the cobalt sky. “You’re such a hypocrite. Take a look in the mirror. You’re not so perfect either. All the things you’ve been accusing me of—drinking and doing drugs and having se—”
“Don’t talk to your mother that way,” her father snapped. He almost always took Eva’s side. If only he knew the truth about his wife.
Reese swiped at the tears spilling from her eyelids. “God! I’m sick of the arguing. Whatever. I need to go unpack. Enjoy your empty nest.” Turning her back on them, she walked away from her old life and into her new, feeling lighter with each step toward her dorm.
In the room, she found Mary Beth strumming Reese’s guitar. She took the guitar away and laid it on her bed. “Sorry about my mom. She can be over the top sometimes.”
“No worries. I think she’s kinda cute.” Mary Beth gave her the once-over, as if to say, What happened to you?
Silence fell over the room. She had nothing in common with her new roommate. That they would never be friends was mutually agreed upon, no discussion necessary.
That afternoon was busy with orientation meetings. When dinnertime rolled around, the roommates walked to the cafeteria together, parting inside the door—Mary Beth heading off to the salad bar and Reese joining the other students waiting for a hot meal. By the time Reese exited the line with her tray, Mary Beth was already seated at a table with other freshman students. Mary Beth had not saved a chair for Reese, but Reese didn’t care. She was used to being invisible. Locating a vacant table by the window, she moved her headphones from around her neck to her ears and ate her dinner in the company of the Rolling Stones.
Reese loved the Erie State campus with its impressive stone buildings, lily ponds, and green common areas, but the academics were harder than she’d anticipated. While she’d gotten Bs in high school without having to study, she’d come to college prepared to work hard in order to excel. But she was finding that difficult to do, even though she spent every free minute of her time in the library.
At the end of September, she received her first opportunity to perform in her Introduction to Vocal Studies class. Professor Hunter—wavy dark hair, scruffy beard, and blue eyes twinkling behind heavy black eyeglass frames—stood in the doorway of their classroom directing students as they arrived. “Down the hall to the auditorium.”
So, the rumors about Professor Hunter and impromptu performances are true, Reese thought.
When Hunter joined them in the auditorium five minutes later, he climbed the sidesteps to the stage and tapped on the microphone. “Today is karaoke day. We’ll play by my rules with no lyrics and no recorded music. Instruments are allowed. Otherwise, you sing a cappella. I’ll pick students at random. Starting with . . .” He drew imaginary circles in the air before landing his finger on Reese. “You, Miss Carpenter. Give it your best shot.”