Unconditional

“You tell me.”

“Oh, for the love of God, Maddie and I are…” I clear my throat, preparing to speak the words when she beats me to it.

“Screwing.”

I almost spit out my coffee in my haste to swallow it down quickly. “Mom!”

She puts a hand over her heart. “What? Oh, I’m sorry is that not accurate?”

I grit my teeth and screw my eyes together. “It’s accurate. How did you know?”

“First things first, when did that start, and don’t lie to me.” Her voice is even, not angry or judgmental or upset. But calm and rational, unlike Henry and Aria.

“Not long if that’s what you’re thinking. A few days ago.”

She nods. “Well, that’s a relief. That girl has been in love with you for so long; I’m surprised it took this long for it to happen. She thinks you hung the moon and the stars and everything else in the sky.” She rubs under eyes.

“Mom…” I trail off. “Please don’t hate me.” I expect to see the angry look Henry had or even the devastated look Aria had, but her eyes are filled with compassion and love and understanding.

“Do you love her?”

“More than I thought was possible…I already loved her so much but…it’s just so different now. I never expected to get here, I—”

“I did.” She tells me honestly with a ghost of a smile playing on her lips. “I saw it a mile away.”

“When?”

She lets out a breath. “I don’t know. Small things here and there. The way your eyes search for her the second you walk in a room. The way you gravitate towards her. She’s always been affectionate with everyone, but with you, she was always more so. You always went above and beyond for her but as she got older…you still always went the extra mile. I wasn’t sure how or when it would change into this, but it seemed inevitable.”

I let out a breath as I listen to my mother paint a vivid picture of me and Maddie. “Aria thinks it’ll ruin her. That I’ll break her.”

“Aria needs to mind her business and focus on the problems in her relationship.” She narrows her gaze. “She’s always got an opinion on everything but that’s another story. As far as Maddie goes, you couldn’t break that girl if you tried.”

“I think she means if things don’t work out…we can’t go back to the way things were. Maddie would hate me if I hurt her and it would devastate her not to have me in her life.”

“I would hate you if you hurt her. You planning to hurt my girl? Because you wouldn’t be here if you two were just experimenting with her new legal status.”

“I’m not planning on it…but things happen. What if she decides she doesn’t want this? What if she ends it? It would still make it hard for us to be close again.”

“True. And that’s a very real risk. But you’ve already crossed that line, so there’s no going back at this point, am I right? But if she loves you as much as I know she always has, I don’t think she’ll ever want to be away from you, honey.”

“I don’t want to hurt Maddie. I don’t want to ruin her. And Aria thinks that us being together after everything we’ve been through…given our history, will ruin her.”

“Maddie isn’t your daughter, Cal. This isn’t illegal, sure some will take issue with it, b

ut to hell with them. You deserve to be happy, and I’ve never seen you light up the way you do except when you’re looking at Maddie.”

“I love her…more than my own life. That hasn’t changed. But I want…I want it all. So, if she needs space to make sure that this is what she wants, then I’ll give it to her.”

“Did she ask for space?”

“No. She’s not happy about it, but Aria has her rattled. Aria wanted her to move in with her and Henry but with the way they’re both acting, I don’t want her to have to deal with that.”

“So, Henry knows but Aria…doesn’t?”

“As far as I know, and Henry took a swing at me, so needless to say he’s pissed.”

“He’s always been such a hothead.” She rolls her eyes. “Must be why he said he wasn’t sure if he was coming today.”