A Shattered Moment (Fractured Lives 1)

She sighed. “Are you two having sex?” she blurted out, making me choke on a sip of my coffee. She patted me on the back, trying to help clear my airway.

“Um, that’s kind of personal,” I answered, shoving more bacon in my mouth.

“Too personal for your mom? You’re still my little girl.”

“Mom, I’m an adult. I can vote. I could defend our country in the military if I wanted. I’m on the verge of being able to legally drink. If I want to have sex, I can do it without discussing it with my mother.”

“Are you being safe? That’s all I want to know,” she pressed.

Now I remembered why we had butted heads so much in the past. Mom didn’t know how to back off until she got what she wanted. I silently collected myself, not wanting to ruin the morning by saying something I would regret later. “If Bentley and I chose to do anything, I would take care of it,” I told her flatly.

“So you have protection?”

“Mom. We are done discussing this.”

“Honey, you can’t blame me for wanting to make sure you’re being smart.”

“Well, I am, so don’t worry about it,” I said, ending the conversation. I returned to my breakfast, trying not to let myself get in a bad mood. Today would be stressful enough. “Where’s Dad?” I asked, changing the subject.

“He went out to get a few things he saw in one of the ads.”

I snorted. “Dad went Black Friday shopping? He hates shopping under normal circumstances.” I would have loved to be a fly on the wall, watching my dad navigate his way around stores on the worst nightmare of a shopping day of the year. Dad’s favorite saying when it came to shopping was “buzz in and buzz out.” I shook my head. By the way my parents had been acting the past couple of days, I was even more convinced they had been brainwashed. It was the only explanation for the strange behavior.

She sighed. “I know, but he got suckered in. I’m expecting an SOS call at any time. What do you and Bentley have planned today?”

“Well, meeting his family, of course. Thrilling,” I answered, shaking my head. “I think we’re going to a movie. Something like that.” I grimaced.

“That sounds nice. Just remember to be yourself. You’ll be fine,” she mused, rising to rinse her coffee cup.

I shrugged but didn’t answer.

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“Maybe now that you’re getting out more, you can visit other people,” she added, picking up my empty plate and carrying it to the sink.

I rolled my eyes, surprised it took us this long to get here. Normally she started a conversation by pushing me to visit Tracey’s mom and everyone else I’d been avoiding for a year. “Maybe,” I said to pacify her.

“When?”

“Soon. Just not this weekend.”

“That’s fine. Patricia and the boys are gone this weekend anyway, but she’ll be back next weekend.”

“Maybe,” I answered, rinsing my cup. That was the best I could give her. I felt like I’d come a long way in the past few weeks. That didn’t mean I was ready to face the flood of bad memories that would come from seeing Patricia.

“Okay.” She gave me hug, letting the subject drop. “When is Bentley picking you up?”

“Soon. He should be here at any time as a matter of fact. Did you need anything?”

“No, it’s nothing. I just bought a new puzzle and thought we could do it together. Oh, and this, too,” she said, holding up the box set of season one of Gilmore Girls.

“Oh my God, I’ve wanted this forever,” I said excitedly, reaching for it. “It’s been ages since we’ve watched this.” Gilmore Girls used to be our thing. Not just Mom and me, but all the girls in our crew. When I was thirteen, Tracey, Jessica, Kat, and I, along with our moms, had become hooked after Jessica’s mom gave her the entire series for a Christmas gift. It became a Friday night ritual to binge on episodes and junk food. We all had our favorite characters, but in the end, everyone agreed we wanted more Luke and Lorelai.

“Is it okay?” she asked, watching my face carefully.

“It’s perfect. Can we watch it tomorrow?” I handed it over wistfully.

“Sure, we’ll make a day of it. We can veg all day and make your father cook us tasty treats.”