Free Here Without You by Tammara Webber Page A

stares into his mug. ‘She’s not angry, Dori. She’s concerned.’
    ‘When I’m concerned about someone, I don’t stop talking to them,’ I counter.
    He nods without replying, and I see that he agrees with me in this, at least. Giving up on me, even if he believes I’m making rotten choices, isn’t an option. I won’t push him further, though, because my parents seldom disagree, and I don’t want to be the cause of an argument between them. I just want to live my own life. Mom will either change her mind or she won’t. If anyone can change it, it’s my father.
REID
     
     
Me: Call me when you’re ready to tell me your news. Headed to an appointment with George.
    Brooke: Give me 10 minutes.
     
    Brooke wastes no time on pleasantries when I answer – not that we’ve actually been pleasant with each other even once in the past five years. ‘I saw the attorney yesterday.’
    Ridiculously, I thought I’d braced myself well enough for this conversation.
Wrong
.
    ‘You’ve retained an
attorney
already? Jesus, Brooke, what are you doing?’
    ‘I’m applying to adopt him.’
    I nearly rear-end the tiny classic convertible in front of me, the Ferrari’s brakes squealing and catching at the last possible second and whipping me forward in my seat. The driver turns and shoots me the finger. I grip the wheel with both hands to keep from shooting it back.
    Whatever cracked idea I expected Brooke to disclose this morning, whatever I imagined her finding in Austin, whatever absurd course of action I dreaded she might try to take – this is miles beyond it.
    ‘Oh, my God, Brooke –
why
? You can’t be a mother to this kid –’
    ‘Why the hell not?’ she retorts. ‘I’m financially sound. I can provide whatever he needs. And by the way I
am
his mother.’
    She’s lost her mind, though implying that probably won’t do any good.
    Logic? Worth a shot. ‘Kids need more than a biological connection and money – they need attention. Two parents, preferably. A family. They need someone to be there full time.’
    ‘Oh, please – attention? A family – like you or I got? I have more
parents
than I can shake a stick at, and most of them
sucked
. And your parents were so clueless they let you nearly kill yourself on multiple occasions.’
    She has good points, dammit, though I prefer throwingmy dad under the bus to blaming Mom. She’s been quietly disappearing nearly every afternoon for about an hour and a half, and I haven’t seen her drink a drop in almost two months. I suspect she’s attending the AA meetings Dori suggested, but I haven’t asked and don’t plan to.
    ‘You’re right – they pretty much across-the-board sucked ass as parents. And yet you think you’ll do a better job than any of them? At your age? By yourself?
And with your proclivity for partying and screwing around?’
    ‘God-fucking-dammit, Reid – you have
no
right to preach at me about screwing around –’
    ‘Not to mention your language – and before you try to turn that around, remember that
I’m
not saying I want to raise a kid. And I don’t give a shit who you sleep with, otherwise –’
    ‘I party to keep from being bored – or haven’t you ever done that?’ She knows damned well I’ve done exactly that. ‘We’re single, young celebrities. Partying is expected. It’s practically an unspoken part of my PR strategy. I’ve never given an actual shit about doing it – I’m more than happy to ditch it. My public relations machine will just have to switch gears. And by the way – my sex life, not that it’s any of your business, is heavily fabricated. I’m more particular than the media portrays me to be.’
    She’s making too much sense, and she’s thought this all the way out – which is even more alarming. ‘Okay, fine, whatever – but you have to admit that having a kid to raise will interfere with your
socializing
, whatever form it takes, not to mention your filming schedule.’
    ‘Will it? How?