My True First [18+]

Chapter 36

As soon as Tim went to bed, my aunt took a bottle of Merlot and two glasses and asked me to accompany her to the terrace.

I grabbed two chairs for us to have somewhere to sit and flopped down on one of them.

Aunt Sam poured some wine into our glasses and gave me one, smiling as she did so. "To our reunion," she said. "I missed you, baby girl."

"I missed you too." I smiled. It'd been a year of Skype calls and texts. I hadn't seen my aunt since I went to Marseille to study. "How's everything at home? How's Michael?"

My aunt smiled. "He's doing great, busy with his TV show and getting used to the normalcy of living in a peaceful place. I think he does miss being a war correspondent, but there's no way he's going back to doing that. Now, he's just as happy looking for issues to cover in his talk show. You should watch the next week's program."

"I won't miss it. Have you seen my mom and dad?"

"Last week. Luke was complaining about his low pay again. I swear, I miss the kind of guy he was before he got bitter. He's my brother, and I love him, but your mom deserves a monument for putting up with his grumpy ass."

"Yeah, she does." I sighed. "I think she's tired of being stuck in that town and not being able to go on vacation or visit me. I know it's because they have to pay for my stay here. It's a big effort."

"And you are their only child, Sky. Don't blame yourself. Luke could've looked for another job, but he chose to stay where he is. We are masters of our destiny, girl. It's all in our hands."

"I guess so." I shrugged. "But it's too late now."

"He's in his early forties, baby. That's still very young. If only your dad would listen to me. Instead, he prefers to say I had it easy. Easy, my ass. I spent months skipping lunches and saving every cent to afford to buy my equipment when I started. Do you know how many rejections I got? A ton of them. Lord, did I want to give up and find a regular job."

"But you didn't."

"I didn't. Abby wouldn't have forgiven me. She was that tiny voice in my head telling me that I could do it." My aunt's eyes glossed over at the mention of her childhood friend, who was no longer alive. "Well, enough of that." Aunt Sam perked up fast. "Tell me how you ended up in Paris. Luke didn't say anything to me."

"That's because he doesn't know," I said, biting my lip. "And if I tell you the truth, you won't be proud of me."

"That's nonsense!" Aunt Sam rolled her eyes. "I will always be proud of you."

"Remember the boyfriend I told you about?"

"The one from that industrial town close to where your parents live?"

I nodded. "I moved to Paris to be with him when he got a job here, but he dumped me in the worst way imaginable. He was already living with someone else. I was such a doormat I am ashamed of myself. I don't know how I could love myself so little that I put up with his crap for almost a year. He mistreated me and let me believe I had issues."