Break My Heart

Chapter 1. How To Love

Remi's POV

Sitting in the principal's office for having marijuana at school and beating someone up wasn't a good time. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that my mother was going to send me to a boot camp or something like that. The fight never would have happened if Jay had paid me what he owed for the ounce I fronted him. 

Things weren't looking good for me. The principal stared at me like I was some sort of disease—not much different from the way my mother looked at me. Ever since Mom remarried and had two other kids, I was irrelevant. At six years old, my twin brother and I were separated. Ryan lived with our father, and I lived with my mother. According to my mother, my father was crazy, and I didn't need to know him. I hadn't seen Ryan or Dad in eleven years. 

Mom came through the door with red cheeks and her breath coming out in huffs. I considered that she might be ready to explode. She dropped her purse on the floor and slumped into a chair.

"Hello, Jenna, isn't it?" Principal Jenkins asked. 

"Yes, sir," Mom said.

"Jenna, I'm sorry. Anytime we meet, you seem to be trying hard. It's just that we have given Remi more chances than she has deserved—" Jenkins stopped when my bubble from my bubble gum popped loudly. 

I smiled widely at him.

"Excuse us," Jenkins said sternly.

"Sure thing," I said. It wasn't like I enjoyed listening to him rant about how horrible I was. I couldn't agree. According to Mom, I'm not as bad as my dad and probably not as bad as Ryan. In a city like New York, you had to be tough. I was me, and I wouldn't apologize for that. I loved my mother, but I wasn't going to pretend to be some good girl to impress her. I smoked weed and cigarettes, drank coffee and alcohol—there were worse habits.

Before too long, Mom came out, and if she looked angry before, she looked absolutely irate now. I was pretty sure that getting in the same car with her would be risky.

Mom began screaming as soon as she started the car, "You're dealing marijuana at school? Are you fucking crazy? What the hell, Rem?" 

I stared out the window silently.

"You were expelled," Mom said.

I straightened up and turned to her. "What?"

"You were expelled. I need to consider what is best for your siblings—not to mention my marriage. I'm tired of fighting with Tanner to keep you here," she said. "We can't handle your shit anymore."

"Well, it's about fucking time. I'm tired of you and Tanner too. I'm sick of being put on a pedestal and not being good enough for your perfect husband and your perfect life and your perfect other kids!"

"That's such a crock of shit," Mom sneered.

There was a long pause. Both of us were too pissed off to speak.

"So, is Tanner's money getting me into some major boarding school?" I asked.

Mom rolled her eyes. "At this rate, I don't think a boarding school could straighten your ass out, Remmington."

There wasn't anyone home. It was only Mom and me. She had to get out of her perfect little job to come pick me up at school. According to her, I ruined her perfect attendance due to the amount of trouble I got into, which sounded accurate, but I didn't care. Caring for Mom and Tanner was pretty hard. Mom stopped being a mom toward me when Tanner walked into her life, and Tanner always hated me. When Tanner and Mom had kids, they started treating me the way Petunia and Vernon treated their nephew Harry.