Ex-Wife Moving Wife Giving Birth? Congratulations, You’re Single Now novel Chapter 93

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Before I knew it, I was standing outside the movie theater.

Mom’s food truck was parked at the corner–the smell of burgers and fries drifting through the warm evening air.

I quickly wiped my face, then ducked around the side of the building to pull myself together.

I stayed there for what felt like forever, forcing my breathing to steady, blinking back the tears that kept threatening to spill over,

I couldn’t let her see me like this.

Only when I was sure I looked halfway normal did I walk over to the truck.

The second Mom spotted me, her whole face lit up–but just as quickly, she started in on me.

“What are you doing here? I told you to go home and rest after you submitted your application!

“I’ve got this covered. You don’t need to be here.”

I forced a smile, grabbed a spare apron from the hook, and washed my hands at the little sink attached to the side of the truck.

“It’s fine, Mom. I’ve had plenty of rest since finals ended. Might as well help out before school starts…”

My voice cracked.

The words caught in my throat like broken glass.

My chest felt so tight I could barely breathe. My fingers gripped the edge of the counter so hard my knuckles went white.

I didn’t know how to tell her.

That I’d changed my application.

That I’d let myself get swept up in some stupid, pathetic fantasy and agreed to go to a school thousands of miles away.

That for the next four years, I wouldn’t be here to help her during the dinner rush. Wouldn’t be around to check on Grandma when Mom was working late.

And the cost–God, the tuition and living expenses in Miami were easily double what they’d be in New York. Even if I got a partial scholarship, it wouldn’t come close to covering it.

The more I thought about it, the harder it was to breathe.

Five years ago, after Dad’s business went under and he took that whole bottle of pills, Mom–who’d spent years as a stay–at–home wife–picked herself up and bought this beat–up old food truck.

She worked sixteen–hour days to get me through middle school and high school. To take care of Grandma, who could barely get out of bed

anymore.

Mom used to have long, shiny black hair.

Now it was streaked with gray. Her hands were rough and scarred from the grill. The lines around her eyes had deepened.

And I–God–I was throwing it all away.

Wife Giving Birth? Congratulations, You’re Single Now

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Cagay

For a boy who diferen cars about ane

16y throat burned. My eyes sting

1 Aduked hard, focusing on dipping burgers, trying to keep my hands busy so I wouldn’t fall apart right there.

How could I have been so selfish? So staput?

How could I have les Nathon convince me to do this?

My phone buzzed

Mathon’s name flashed across the screen.

[Sell ignoring me?]

[Don’t forget about tonight)

[We should talk after. For real this time.)

I locked my phone without fesponding

But he wouldn’t stop. The messages kept coming, one after another, lighting up the screen over and over.

I kept working jaw clenched, ignoring every single one.

Mom noticed. She glanced at my phone, then back at me with a knowing smile.

“Is Nathon trying to get you to hang out? You should go, sweetie.

“I heard NYU’s insanely hard. You should have fun while you still can. If you need cash, I’ll Venmo you.”

She was practically glowing

“You got into NYU, Alina. New York University. Do you know how proud I am?

“I can finally say I did right by your father. That all this- she gestured at the truck, the grill, the grease–stained apron “-was worth it.

“Everyone in the neighborhood keeps stopping by to congratulate me. Mrs. Chen came by twice yesterday just to tell me how jealous she is. I finally made it, huh?”

She laughed–this bright, relieved sound that made my chest ache so badly I thought I might break.

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