Silvia and Luci sat beside Becca outside the courtroom. Her entire winter vacation had been spent listening to lawyers speak with child protective services. She had had to recount everything, and now she had to do it again. Didn’t matter that she would be eighteen in a few months; she still needed a guardian.

And today, of all days, when she was supposed to be back at school.

Her mother’s doing. Always her mother.

The door opened, and the girls looked up at the officer.

“Miss Peña, we’re ready for you.”

“Good luck, girlie,” said Luci, wrapping her up in a hug.

“You’ve got this,” said Vee, giving her another hug. She was thankful that both girls had cut school to be here with her, even if they weren’t allowed in the courtroom.

So, alone, she walked, the officer closing the door behind her, leaving the girls on the bench in the hallway.

She walked towards the front of the courtroom, sparing her mother a cursory glance.

Her mother, who had just left her there. Her mother…

“Miss Peña, today we are deciding the state of your custody. Balif, please swear her in.”

Becca raised her right hand and then took her seat at the front of the courtroom.

“Miss Peña, can you tell the court the state of your relationship with your mother?”

“Um, not good. I’m not living with her at the moment.”

“Please explain why?”

“Because she makes me feel bad.”

“I need you to elaborate, please. Does your mother hit you? Does your mother yell at you?”

Becca swallowed. “No, she doesn’t do those things; she degrades me. My body… she always makes comments about my body. He tells me I’m not thin enough, that I need to work out more, and that my hair is too unruly. She’ll give me smaller portions at dinner because of this. And then there’s my grade. I get a B+, well, why didn’t I get an A? She likes to compare me to my friends. Why can’t I be more like my friends, more like Lucita, who is thin and creative?”

Saying all that out loud made her cheeks burn. It didn’t sound bad, but there was no way capture the cruelty of her mother’s voice.

“That just sounds like a mother showing tough love, pushing you to be your best.”

“No! You don’t get it. I can’t—I can’t begin to tell you how cruel she is, how insignificant she makes me feel. She’s never happy with me, always finding some way to be cruel, to make snide comments. I’m not good enough for her, and that’s why she just left me there.”

“That’s a lie!” exclaimed her mother, jumping from her seat.

“Order in my courtroom.” The judge looked down at Becca. “I need you to tell the court about the day in question.”

Becca swallowed. “I was just taking a walk, looking at the new garden my father was installing. I had only been there for a moment before I saw my mother.”

“Can you tell me how that went?”

“She was calling my father an idiot. I ignored her. I said, “Hi, Mom.” She got upset that that’s all I said to her. I said I was going to go back home, and I tried to walk past her, but she snatched my arm, digging her nails into my arm. I had scratch marks from her. She said my home was with her. She called him ungrateful. I tried to get away. I pulled my arm away from her, and I slipped on a loose stone and fell backwards.”

“So your mother didn’t push you.”

“I never said she did. But she didn’t help me. She didn’t stay with me. She left me there. My friend Luci found me. She called both of my parents, but only my father came. And she called 911.”

“Okay. According to the hospital, they also tried to reach your mother, but she never picked up. Did that surprise you?”

Becca shook her head. “No. I told you, I’m not good enough for her.”

“Okay. One final question. Who do you want to live with? Who do you feel safer living with?”

Becca answered without any hesitation. “My dad. My dad loves me. He cares about me. He’s kind. Not perfect, but he is kind to me.”

The judge looked at her, skin around the eyes crinkling in a soft smile. “Alright, you may step down now.”

Becca stepped down, avoiding her mother’s glare, and sat behind her father.

“Now,” began the judge, leaning forward, hands laced in front of them, “I’ve heard both sides present their evidence as well as testimony from the social worker and friends of both the plaintiffs. Given the evidence and the age of Miss Rebecca Peña, who will be an adult in a matter of months, I do not believe this to be a case of mother over daughter. Mrs. Peña, you may not have directly assaulted your daughter, but you left her with a rather serious head wound. Your daughter could have died, and you did nothing. Therefore, I am leaving Mr. Peña with sole custody, and Mrs. Peña will have no visitation rights. I’m ordering a restraining order of over fifty feet for your daughter. Case dismissed.”

The judge banged the gavel; her father turned and gave her a hug. Over his shoulder, she watched her mother argue with her attorney. Her mother shot her a look of pure disdain before storming from the courtroom.

Her father kissed her on the head. “Come mijia, let’s go get some lunch.”

Rebecca followed her father and brother into the hallway, where her mother was screaming at Luci.

“Hey, don’t blame me because you’re a shitty person. Sorry, shitty mother.”

She saw her mother try to slap her, but Luci caught her by the wrist, deftly.

“You little brat. I’ll make you pay.” She snatched her arm out of Luci’s grasp before storming off.

Luci grimaced. “Well, that can’t be good.”

“Don’t worry, girls, given the incident, her contract as a property manager expires at the end of the year. She can’t really do anything. Now, let’s go eat lunch.” Becca smiled at her father warily, hoping he was right. Unfortunately, she had a feeling this wasn’t the last she heard from her mother.

Order ‘New Girl,’ the first in my YA Romance series.