2:29 AM

Chapter Twenty-Two

It's been four days and I still haven't told my parents about college. It's also been five days since my mother was telling me that I'll never make it's a doctor.

I got the acceptance letters two weeks ago. I know I should tell them, or at least Dad, but I haven't. And that's why I'm going to tell Auntie.

I walk to her office with a four shot of espresso, three shot of chocolate mocha. I open the door to her office and she smiles when she sees me. "Hey," she says. "Do you know what I hate? Paperwork," she says. I laugh and set down her coffee.

"So, can I talk to you about something?" I ask Auntie. She frowns.

"Oh, God. You're not pregnant are you? What happened to those condoms that I gave you? Or the birth control?" she says. I laugh.

"I'm not pregnant. It's just about my mom and college," I tell her.

"Go ahead. What did that bitch-I mean, Brittney-do now?" Auntie says.

"I was at the hospital on Sunday and I was hanging out with Brandon. You know the intern that looks like Robert Pattinson. Anyways, we were going to go and see Harrison so he could suck up and my mom walked out of his office," I start. She nods and then frowns.

"What the hell was your mom doing with Harrison?"

"I know! I was wondering that same thing. When I asked her what she was doing at the hospital, she told me that I should take the scrubs off because they looked ridiculous. And then proceeded to tell me that I'd never make it through med-school, let alone be an actual doctor," I tell Auntie. She sighs in a sad way.

"I'm sorry, kiddo. Your mom sucks ass," she says. "Go on with your story."

"You see, the thing is, I got accepted for pre-med at um, Harvard and Stanford," I tell her. She grins at me and jumps out of her chair to hug me. I hug her back. She smells like tropical shampoo and floral perfume.

My aunt's really short, she's wearing five inch heels and I'm still inch taller than her. She's like 5'1".

"That's great!" she tells me. "Do you know where you're going?" Auntie asks.

"Harvard. Dad went there, right?" I ask. She nods.

"Did you tell your parents yet?" She sits down at the edge of her desk. I shake my head.

"Um, not exactly. The only people that know are: you, a couple of my teachers and Brandon," I say.

"You should tell my brother, at least. He'd like to know," she says.

"I know. I've been meaning to tell Dad. I just haven't. But Mother..." I trail off.

"Shit," Auntie says. "Your mom's just a fucking bitch. That's the only way to put it, excuse my language. I've never liked her, personally." My lips twitch into a smile.

"Thanks," I say.

"No problem, kiddo," she says.

"Is it okay that I kind of want to shave her head and uh, punch her in the face? Brandon said that it was understandable, considering what she said to me," I say. She nods.

"I like that intern, he's nice to look at," Auntie tells me with a big grin. I can't help but grin too.

"You know that you're twelve years older than him, right?" I ask her. She nods.

"Yeah, but on the bright side, your mom's fourteen years older than him." I break out into laughter. That's when my phone rings. I pull it out.

"Ugh," I say when I read who it is.

"Who is it?" Auntie asks.

"Colton, you know the kid I also complain about," I tell her.