Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 106797 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106797 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
“Mom…” I dropped the containers and moved toward her. I would be late if I didn’t leave soon, but I didn’t care. They’d fought before, but I’d never seen my mom cry like that — ever. “What’s going on?”
“It’s nothing sweetheart.”
“Come on, Mom. It’s okay. Talk to me.”
She sighed, shaking her head again and grabbing the containers I’d abandoned. She carefully placed them in the fridge and then turned to face me, propping herself back against the counter. “I’m fine. It’ll all be fine.”
I just stared at her, trying to decipher if she was lying. She waved me away.
“I promise. We’re just having a tiff. He’ll realize I’m right and come around. He always does.” She smiled. “You heading to see your trainer?”
I nodded, letting her change the subject, and her smile widened. Mom didn’t really ever talk to me about her relationship issues, which made sense, being that she was my parent. Still, we were also best friends, and I hated not knowing what was making her cry.
She lifted from the counter and tucked a fallen strand of my hair behind my ear.
“He’s really doing a great job already, Natalie. I can tell.”
I shrugged, suddenly feeling odd under her watchful eyes. I was concerned for her fight with Dale, but I still hadn’t forgotten her conversation on the phone that I’d overheard. She was finally seeing me turn into the daughter she could be proud of. I just wished it wasn’t because I was losing weight.
“Oh!” She clapped her hands together. “Let’s go shopping after your session! I bet you need new workout clothes. Invite Willow. It’ll be fun!”
“Mom…” I groaned. “I don’t want to buy fat clothes.”
“Oh stop,” she scolded, clicking her tongue. “You shouldn’t be wearing raggy old high school t-shirts to the club and I could use the girl time. Please?”
I sighed, not excited about the idea of shopping, but I also knew that retail therapy was her favorite. This was Mom’s way of telling me she needed me. “Okay. I’ll call Willow.”
I needed to call her anyway. She’d blown my phone up all night and morning trying to apologize for last night.
“Perfect!” Mom scampered off toward the stairs. “I’ll get showered and dressed. By the time you train, get back, shower, and get ready, I should be almost finished.”
I laughed at that. “I could probably eat and take a nap beforehand, too.”
She giggled, but didn’t deny it, before trotting up the stairs. At least she seemed better than when she’d come down them. It took a lot to knock my mom down for longer than a few minutes. After the hell my dad put her through when I was younger, there wasn’t much that could faze her. Though, when she told me stories about her before Dale, it was always so hard for me to imagine. To me, she’d always been a wealthy, classy, refined woman. It was hard to imagine the poor, rough around the edges version of her.
In fact, I didn’t really know much about that time in her life. My dad left her when I was born, not even leaving so much as a note. She met Dale two years later and only a year after that they were married. He’d been around my entire life. Dale was my father, as far as I was concerned. Still, my grandmother often told me how Dale brought out the best in my mom and saved her from a really dark time in her life. I guess in a way, Dale sort of saved me, too.
I shook off the feeling of the house as I made my way to the Rover. I wouldn’t say I was necessarily excited about going to the gym, but I wasn’t dreading it, either. I was nervous to see Rhodes, but anxious to workout. There were plenty of things I wanted to get my mind off of, and unlike my mother, shopping wouldn’t help. But, working out might.
On my way to the club, I dialed Willow. She answered on the first ring.
“Okay, I’ve decided you can’t hate me. Because you’re my best friend, Nat, and if you hate me, my life will plummet into a downward spiral the summer before college and I’ll never come back from it. I won’t get in the early admittance program, I’ll probably fail out of college my first year from sheer depression, and then I’ll live the rest of my life trying to be a carny at the Poxton Beach fair and wondering where I went wrong that fateful night years ago.”
Willow was breathless by the time she finished spouting off her story and I couldn’t help but laugh. “Lo, I’m not mad at you.”
“Oh my God,” she said, exhaling a long breath. “I’ve been freaking out all night. I’m so sorry. Whatever happened, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have forced you to go out with everyone. I don’t know what’s going on with Mason and his chick but I’m sorry I pushed you. We don’t have to hang out with anyone else the rest of the summer. Just me and you. I promise. I’m so sorry.”