Just Like the Movies

Chapter Eleven

"You don't mind it?" she repeated, and I instantly knew it was the wrong thing to say. "Some of my friend's daughters still work in retail. Be happy we encouraged you to go to college and actually do something with your life."

"Retail is still doing something with your life," I pointed out, but my heart felt like it was in my throat like it always did when I voiced my disagreement with my mom.

"You're doing more, though. You're helping people. You have a respectable profession," she said. "You get up and go out and work."

"Any job is respectable, Mom."

"If we hadn't pushed you, you'd still be living at home, working on those books you used to write."

What's wrong with that? I wanted to ask, but I bit my tongue. "Don't you want me living at home?"

"Yes, so you can save up for a house."

"But people who struggle to afford rent should be ashamed to live at home?" I said before I could stop myself. "In other countries, people stay with their parents until they get married."

My mom let out a hard huff of air. "Maisie, I don't understand why you get so worked up. It's not like you're living that kind of life."

But I had. Back when I first moved out.

But I couldn't say that to her.

"Mom, I have to go. I need to sleep since I'll be at work all day and night tomorrow."

"Fine. I'll see you soon. I love you."

"Love you, too," I muttered before hanging up the phone.

I leaned back in my chair, rubbing my hands over my face. Although I knew better to argue with my mom, to make her suspicious of me in any way, sometimes it still slipped out. And now I would worry about the conversation until I talked to her next, and made sure she didn't infer anything from it.

It was this attitude, too, that held me back from coming clean to her and the rest of my family. I didn't want to lie anymore. I hadn't wanted to lie, to begin with. But I felt like I had no choice back then when I wanted to follow my own dreams, and even now, I was too afraid of my family's reaction.

Mood soured, I put my headset back on. "Sorry."

"Your mom?" Levi guessed.

"Yeah."

"You okay? I know talking with her sets off your anxiety."

I selected my usual role of ADC in the game client, watching as Levi swapped his to support. The anxiety left my chest feeling tight. "Yeah. There's not much I can do about it, though."

"There will be soon. Your movie will be a success," he encouraged. "Then you can show up to your parent's house in a limo, and I'll roll you a red carpet up to the front door, and then they'll have no choice but to admit that your dreams were achievable after all."

"A limo and red carpet will do that? We could do that right now if that were true," I pointed out, but a smile slipped onto my lips.

I could imagine him pursing his lips. "You know what I mean, Maisie. Bring your published books and awards. Bring the cast of your movie."

"I don't know any of them that well. Besides, I think that'd be a little weird."

"I'm sure some of them wouldn't mind," he said. "You should ask."

Sometimes Levi was too optimistic. Besides Theo, I'd barely talked to anyone on set. "Your imagination is great. You should be a writer. Start the queue."