"Like his mother was," she said with a sigh. "Of course, that boy always excelled academically."

"Unlike my 3.2 GPA?"

"That's a solid GPA, son," she coaxed. "One you've worked incredibly hard for."

True. I had worked my ass off to get my grades up and keep them there. "Not quite as Sophie's perfect 4.0 or Rourke's exceptional 4.5 though, huh, Mama?"

"Daryl." Another look of disproval crossed her features. "It's not a competition."

Of course it was. My whole life consisted of one big competition that I had been losing since I came out of her womb. "Sure thing, Mama."

"While we're on the topic of school, I bumped into Martha Thomas at the store last week," Mom began, smiling now. "Well, homecoming came up and we both thought how lovely it would be if you and her daughter Ashley went together this year?"

"That would be a no."

"She's a beautiful girl, Daryl," she pushed. "And Martha seems to think that Ashley has a real soft spot for you."

Folding my arms across my chest, I leaned back and stared blankly at her. "Hard pass."

"Daryl." Mom narrowed her eyes. "You could do a lot worse, son."

"I lied to you earlier," I came right out and told her, watching her carefully to gauge her reaction. "I wasn't at Rourke's place." Disappointment flickered in her green eyes. No surprises there. "I was with a girl."

"A girl."

"Yeah, a girl," I confirmed. "All weekend."

A vein ticked in her temple as she digested this piece of information. "I'm assuming that this girl wasn't Ashley Thomas."

"Correct."

"Can I ask what this girl's name is?"

"You can, but I ain't telling you."

"Daryl."

"You don’t wanna know," I replied.

"Of course I do."

"No, you really don’t, Mama."

"Try me."

"Fine." I looked her straight in the eyes and said, "I was with Molly."

"Molly," Mom repeated the name, looking confused for a long moment before realization finally dawned on her. The moment it did, her face turned a crimson shade of red, and angry fire danced in her eyes. "Oh no, no, no." Jerking to her feet, she shoved her chair backwards, causing it to slide across the tiled floor before crashing into the opposite wall. "Over my dead body!"

"Told you that you didn’t want to know," was all I replied as I watched my mother erupt like a volcano in her kitchen.

"And when you say that you were with her…"

"I'm grown, Mama. I'm eighteen. I ain't a virgin if that's what you're getting at," I countered unapologetically. "Haven't been one of those for a few years now, and I definitely ain't one after last weekend."

"Her, Daryl?" she demanded, spitting venom now. "Of all people? You choose to screw around with her?" Mom's face turned a scary shade of purple. "Do you have a shred of loyalty to this family?"

"Molly ain't the enemy, Mama," I replied, pushing my chair back and standing up. "She never was."