Between the Seams

Between the Seams Read Free

Book: Between the Seams Read Free
Author: Aubrey Gross
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the bed, leaving the other items on the floor where she’d left them.
    She wasn’t sure what had her feeling nostalgic. Maybe it was being back here in Del Rio, sleeping in the same room she’d slept in as a teen far too often when things went downhill at home. Maybe it was seeing Chase tonight. Or maybe Aunt Flo was just a mean bitch who made her do crazy things.
    She opened the memory book, smiling at the memories and the thoughts of an eighteen-year-old girl hell-bent on changing the world. Or at least her little corner of it.
    10 Years From Now I…
Will be Oprah’s go-to psychologist on all of her shows
Will own my own practice
Will be married with two kids—boy and girl—to a gorgeous man who owns his own business, makes a lot of money and will never cheat on me
Will be a great mom who never cheats on her husband or abandons her kids
Will be living somewhere super cool, like New York City or Chicago or San Francisco
Will be making a six-figure salary with no debt, a nice house and driving a BMW
Will no longer feel the need to be perfect
Will know what love really is
Will be a member of the Junior League
Will be gearing up to run for office
    Funny how the only one of those things that had happened was number seven.
    Jo brushed away a lone tear that rolled down her cheek, hating herself for feeling maudlin but realizing that if she was there was probably a good reason for it.
    She hadn’t gone on to become Oprah’s therapist, and instead of opening her own practice had decided to help out high school kids. God knew as a high school counselor she certainly wasn’t making a six-figure salary, her student loan debt was mind-boggling and her dreams of owning a shiny new BMW had been replaced with the reality of driving a Ford Fusion. Mr. Right still hadn’t come along, and at thirty-two she was beginning to wonder if he ever would. The only guy she’d loved as an adult had been shipped off to Afghanistan, and he’d ended things before leaving the States. And she certainly wasn’t a member of the Junior League or planning on running for office any time soon. As for her current town…well, she sure hadn’t pictured herself back in Del Rio taking care of her grandmother, but she supposed her adopted town of Austin was pretty cool. At least that’s what people and dozens of weekly Top Ten lists always told her.
    Jo continued to flip through the memory book, smiling at the photos and random pieces of high school life she’d glued to the pages. Towards the back, folded up and tucked underneath a photo of her, Jenn and Chase, was a lined piece of notebook paper, which she unfolded.
    Dear Chase,
    I’m sorry.
    I’m sorry I haven’t been talking to you much. I think I’ve hurt your feelings. I never meant to do that.
    But I can’t. I can’t talk to you knowing that my mom has a thing for your dad. It’s weird and gross and makes me embarrassed and ashamed.
    My dad doesn’t care who she sleeps with. I think the whole town knows that by now. He probably doesn’t care if I sleep with someone, either.
    But I’m not my mom. And I can’t be around you because I’m too embarrassed and hurt and afraid you’ll hate me.
    You’re my best friend. You, Jenn and me. We’re the Three Amigos. I don’t want to hurt you.
    I’m so sorry.
    Love,
    Jo
    She folded the paper back up and placed it in the book again, tucked neatly under the photo of her, Jenn and Chase. They’d been going into the ninth grade, the best of friends since elementary school. Until that awful day when Jo had overheard her mom on the phone with Chase’s dad. The things her mom had said had made her hot with embarrassment and shame, and even though she didn’t think Chase’s dad would ever cheat on his wife, Jo still felt awful and as if it was somehow her fault. If she and Chase hadn’t been such good friends, her mom might not have ever met his dad. So she’d done what seemed best to a fourteen-year-old girl—she’d distanced herself from her

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