Just So I Could Call You Mine

Chapter 4

                                           Jess

I wake up at eleven and head downstairs. Dad is cooking eggs and mom is sitting at the kitchen island mindlessly flipping through a fashion magazine.

"Oooh eggs!" I say excitedly and sit on the red bar stool beside her.

"I'm meeting up with a friend today to work on a chemistry project," I tell them as I scroll on my phone.

"That's great sweetie, which friend?" my mom asks, still engrossed in her magazine, not caring to look up.

"Well he's not a friend, but just a guy I was paired up with. His name is Mac, and I recently found out that Lisa, from the retirement home, is his mom," I say as dad plops a big pile of eggs and crispy bacon in front of me.

I tuck in, cutting through the starvation in my stomach.

"Oh, that's nice sweetie," mom says simply.

"Wait, a boy?" dad pivots around to stare at me. I stuff my face with eggs and guzzle orange juice, forcefully swallowing.

"Yeah," I say casually but not meeting his eyes.

"Where are you meeting him?" dad continues to question.

"Ms Molly's," I state. Dad is asking too much questions about a normal scenario.

"So it's a date," dad states, flicking the spatula around, as if it's a fact that he's just googled.

I scoff on my orange juice and his stormy eyes narrow.

"I don't know where he lives, so he suggested Ms Molly's. I'm not even friends with him, just that Mr Wallis chose the partners," I roll my eyes and return to looking point blank at him, because if I break eye contact or look away, he'll get the wrong ideas.

"What do you think about this, Angela?" dad faces my mother expecting her to care, but what we both don't expect is that she starts beaming with joy.

"Oh Jess! You would look darling in this red, off the shoulder, floor length dress for the winter dance! And you could take this Mac boy!" mom squeals and points to the dress she was goggling at in her magazine.

I face her, completely astounded at what she just proposed, but moms facial expression is the definition of the heart eyes emoji!

Mom is very into her looks and fashion. Her dyed black hair is always styled, and she always has the hottest new outfits and knows how to get her makeup looking perfect. Shes slender and short and nearly always has a pair of heels on.

One word to describe her looks would be flawless.

Mom and dad own their own real estate firm and she says that buyers are "drawn to a beautiful house being sold by a put together women."

Yes, she has told me that multiple times. She tells me that she outsells all her male colleagues, and that I should also go into a competitive field where I can "one up" a man.

I have no clue what that even means.

They want me to be just like them, or other options include, law, finance or psychology. All of which I don't want to do.

At the same time, she loves everything about crushes and love. She gives me conflicting messages sometimes. I feel immense pressure to look and act perfect around her. I have to be beautiful, sleek, smart and perfect.

Utterly perfect, a factor I'm failing to achieve in her eyes.

Dad just rolled his eyes and left to go watch tv. When it comes to some things, dad will never win the fight against Mom.