Chapter 12
A knock sounds at my door and I put my Kindle down on my lap as my eyebrows pull down in confusion. I mean, apart from Trish and Caden, no one knocks around here and Trish was only here ten minutes ago and not once had Caden actually come to my door.
The boys are at school, though they should be home in the next twenty minutes and if it was Brooke, she’d come barging her way through, not caring if anyone was in her way.
I look over towards the door as the handle begins to turn and wait patiently for whoever it is to make their presence know. The door is pushed the whole way open and my eyes widen in surprise before they instantly fill with tears.
“Oh, baby,” Mom chuckles as she races through the door and drops down beside me. She pulls me into her arms and I do my best to wipe the tears. “I missed you too.”
“What are you doing here?” I cry. “I wasn’t expecting you until tomorrow.”
“I know,” she says as she pulls back and wipes a stray tear off my cheek. “I just couldn’t stay away. Too much has been going on here. I mean, you had emergency surgery without me and had to deal with a break in. No child should have to do that.”
I hate to admit it, but her words make me crumble. I’ve missed my parents so damn much. I throw my arms around her and hold on for dear life.
“Come on,” she laughs. “Are you feeling ok? We can pack your things while you tell me all about the past few months.”
I throw the blanket back and cringe as my Kindle flies off my bed and clatters to the ground. “Shit,” I grunt. I forgot I’d put that there.
Mom hurries after the Kindle and double checks that I haven’t smashed the screen like I’ve managed to do five other times over the past two years. “Oh, honey,” she says, trying to be serious but failing to remove the happiness from her eyes. “You really should be more careful.”
“I know,” I groan. “I’m just really happy to see you.”
“Good,” she says with a firm tone. “So you should be. After all, I did house you in my guts for nine months before pushing you out and let me tell you, that was no easy feat… it was also very messy.”
“Ewwwwww,” I groan as I roll my eyes. I mean, I heard about it a few hundred times but it still manages to gross me out. “I don’t know how they ever let you into that fancy pants country club.”
“I know,” she laughs. “I wonder about it every time I walk through the door. Now, where’s your bag?”
I walk over to the closet, trying my hardest not to let on that I’m still in a little bit of pain. I mean, this moment is special and I want to be able to physically spend time with my mom, not just sit in bed and watch her slave around after me. I mean, it’s only been a few days since the break in so I’m mostly fine but there’s still just that last bit of pain that’s there to remind me that I’m human.
Generally, though, I’m feeling pretty good. I have another doctor’s appointment in a few days and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that he’ll clear me to go back to school. I mean, it’s been over two weeks since I last stepped foot into that school and it’s not like I’m getting behind in any of my school work. I’ve had nothing but time to keep up to date with it all. Brooke has been stopping by every day after school and dropping it off so I’ve been getting straight to it. You know, after I finish whatever book I was reading and whatever TV show I was catching up on.
“How have you been going living with two teenage boys?” Mom asks as she piles up all my school textbooks while I pack all my clothes into my bag. “Was it as bad as you thought it was going to be?”
“No,” I grin. “Nate and Jesse have been great. We’ve all become really close again. Like it was when we were kids.”
Mom puts a hand to her heart and gives me one of those ‘I’m so happy for you’ motherly looks. “Do you have any idea how happy that makes me? I hated when you and Nate would be at each other’s throats.”
“I know,” I laugh. “We made up, so you’re good to come over and have your wine nights with Trish again. I won’t even complain about it, in fact, I’d encourage it.”
She narrows her eyes on me as she tries to work something out. “Good,” she finally says with a beaming smile. “I think I’ll take you up on that offer.”