All I Ask(3)

During the summer, the busyness keeps my mind off the things that haven’t panned out the way I hoped. My parents are gone the entire time because they want to see the world, which is great for them—and me. My mother drives me to drink, and I enjoy every moment when she’s gone.

It’s much quieter and less judgy.

In a few days, they’ll return, letting me know all the things I did wrong, reminding me that this is not the way I ever wanted my life to go. How much potential I had—and wasted.

It’s super fun times. However, I will survive, like I always have.

“Teagan?” Nina calls from the back. “You down here?”

“I am.”

She peeks her head over the lamp by the back entrance, waving her hand. “Hey!”

Nina is my best friend and has a glow about her. No matter how crappy things are, when she’s around, you can’t help but smile. Her energy is infectious, and she’s the kindest person in the world. She loves, forgives, and every day I wonder how she found it in her heart to give me her trust.

“How was yesterday? Sorry I couldn’t come by, but I had to handle Daddy and his doctor’s appointment. He would not go willingly. Trying to say it was a bruise from hitting the side of the boat when he clearly has a gash on his arm that needs tending. That man is either hell-bent on making my life a nightmare or he wants to join my mama in the ground.”

“Is he okay?”

Her lips purse and her eyes narrow. “Uhh hmm. He’s fine, just stubborn and thinking he can still go out crabbing. The man can barely walk on steady land, but he thinks he can navigate a boat?”

Nina’s father is the sweetest man. However, he’s old and refuses to believe he’s old.

“Well, at least he’s feeling good, you know?”

She sighs. “I know. I prefer him this way, but I’d also prefer he listen to what we tell him. Anyway, what’s new with you?”

It’s been a day since I’ve talked to her. “It’s Chincoteague, what could be new?”

Nina sits on the old sofa that’s been here since 1973 and will never sell. It’s probably the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen, but there’s something ornately beautiful about it. The sofa may not have the best upholstery, but the bones are there. The frame strong, withstanding countless times of being sat upon, and the cushions aren’t dented, regardless of the number of asses that have been there. If I ever get my own home, I plan to buy it because someone should see it for what it could be.

“Maybe some handsome stranger rolled into town to see the wild horses and realized you’re the fairest maiden in the land, professed his undying love, and now you’re getting married. Of course he only granted you a chaste kiss, after which you fell helplessly in his arms and wanted to stay there.”

Oh Lord. “You’re reading historical romance novels again, I see.”

“I always do. One day I’m going to find a man like the heroes I read about. Mark my words. Until then, I refuse to settle.”

I love my friend, but her head is always in the clouds. She’s beautiful, smart, and any man would be lucky to have her…she just won’t even give them a chance. I don’t know what it is that has her so afraid to love, and she won’t tell me. I’ve tried many times to get her to open up, but I’ve never been able to crack her.

There’s no secret as to what my issue is. Keith is the biggest piece of shit there is, my ex–best friend abandoned me, I’m broke, and I have a teenager who is my priority number one. As soon as I tell any potential date I have a kid—poof—they’re gone. Which is fine by me. I’ve had enough disappointment from men unwilling to commit.

“Well, I would like to meet a man who isn’t married, like the last asshole, or unwilling to deal with the fact that Chastity is my life. I’m tired of having to even explain that.”

“You shouldn’t have to.”

No, I shouldn’t.

“My love life is a damn disaster.”

“There’s a hero out there waiting for us, Tea. I know it. We just need to find him.”

“Well, so far I’ve gotten the antihero that you can’t even grow to like.”

“At least you know what it felt like to be loved,” she challenges.

“Keith didn’t love me. He didn’t love anyone but himself.”

Keith is still the town hero here. No matter what he did to me, it doesn’t matter. While Nina knows the truth, sometimes I wonder if anyone else would believe it if they found out. Of course, his version paints me as the whore who tried to trap him into marriage.

Each freaking Sunday during football season, I have to hear his name, see his stupid face across the television screen, know how much money he makes while I can’t even buy school supplies for Chastity.

Nina’s eyes go soft and her lips tighten. “I wasn’t talking about him, honey.”

“Well, I sure as hell hope you weren’t talking about Derek.”

She lives in a world where impossible things happen all the time. Like a man waking up and realizing that it was you he wanted all along. I don’t have time for fantasies because they’re just that—fiction. I would much rather have my head on straight and focus on what’s real. Like bills and teenagers.

“I still think that…”