To Be Made Whole (A Christian Romance) (On Hold)

Chapter 7: Re-Do

Anna's POV

My mother's facial expressions were grim as she glared down at the sheet of paper that was now in my hand.

I stared at the less than exemplary grade before me. Although I turned in my paper on time, the rushed attempt did not bode well for my perfect straight A's prior. Now, I held my very first B+ since I entered college. My mother's arms were cross as she glowered down at me. Anything less than an A+ plus was seen as subpar in her eyes.

"Well?" She questioned. Her voice only exposed the little patience she had to offer me in that moment. It wasn't much for me to work with.

"I'm sorry mother. That was the night of the black out. My computer loss power before I could hit save. I had to quickly make a replac-"

"I don't want to hear it," she cut me off. "I did not work this hard for you to waste my hard earned money."

"I know. I can try and make it up." I reassured her.

"Try? You should have already tried as soon as you turned in such a horrible paper." She was clearly upset, her tone blatantly filled with anger at my response and I realized that nothing I said would be good enough.

That's when it dawned on me. How did she see my paper and grade? I would have received the grade before her unless...

"Mother, did you log into my school account?" I asked.

She rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Don't ask me that silly question. With all the money I've dumped into your education, you shouldn't expect any less."

"I won't fail you." I stressed. "At least I'll try not to."

I paused for a little while before grasping together my thoughts. "Um... may I ask you a serious question though?"

"What could it be now?" She sounded tired of our conversation already, but my curiosity would win this battle. Her hands rested on her hips again. It had become her default stance over the years. Her large dark eyes studied me which only succeeded in making me feel a little uneasy.

"Why have you pushed me to go through with law school? You know that I don't want to be a lawyer. I did it to please you and dad after..." I paused. "Everything that happened. You see that it makes me miserable and tired, but I do this for you two so that maybe you'll love-" I stopped myself again. Saying that would only spark something deeper. "So um, why?"

Her eyes drifted from me and she stared off towards our staircase instead. She looked as though she were watching a far away film that she longed to be in. The walls before her gaze fell down and the emotion she had been hiding behind it came to the surface. I could see her eyes fill with water, pushing it's way to the edge. I immediately regretted my question.

"Mother, I'm sorry you don't have to ans-"

"Your sister wanted to be a lawyer."  She whispered. Her voice came out so low that I hardly heard it.

"What?" I implored further.

The surprise that I experienced from hearing that was unmistakeable. I hadn't realized that my sister wanted to be a lawyer. We were close, yet we didn't discuss everything with one another. Just like my grandmother, she was a Christian and her life seemed to be wrapped around Christ. She had always been the golden child while I had gone through my phase of rebellion.

That's why I felt so betrayed when I saw her at that party. It wasn't like her to be there and at that time I just thought that she lied very well, but I was wrong. She was telling the truth.

Now realizing that I didn't know about her dream career only put into perspective how I was the bad sister. I didn't listen well enough. I didn't support her well enough. I didn't believe her when she spoke honestly. She didn't get to live out her life or her dreams, so our mother was trying her best to fulfill them for her, through me.