29. Chloe #2
I cover his hand with mine, rubbing slow circles on his wrist with my thumb.
“They’ll miss you, but I know they will be happy for you.
Especially Reid. He is the most supportive person I know.
Annika, on the other hand, might make a scene but will also be supportive.
I think it will be good for both of us to get away, go out on our own for a while. ”
Our gazes collide, and he nods, giving my hand a squeeze.
“I’ve never lived anywhere without Annika. I didn’t tell anyone this, but I almost had a panic attack when I moved into the cottage.”
“Chloe! Where was I? I could have helped.” As if we weren’t already pressed together on the couch, he manages to slide me closer to him so I’m sitting on his lap. I lay my head on his shoulder.
“It’s okay. You were at work or something, I don’t remember.
But I went for a walk, found a bench at the back of the property, and sat there for a while by myself.
I realized I needed to move out on my own and learn how to operate as Chloe, not as Annika and Chloe.
I love Anni, but I’ve always just gone with whatever she’s done, and now it’s time for me to do something I want to do, like work my marketing magic for businesses and people who deserve way more recognition. ”
I stand and retrieve my laptop from the coffee table.
“I’ve already started organizing Griffin’s inbox.
He had four thousand unread emails. I don’t know how he even landed the sponsors he has now.
Plus, I’ve scheduled social media posts for the next three weeks.
He already has a sponsor renewal contract. ”
Tyler is looking up at me now. I can see pride in his eyes. “You’re glowing. I can’t wait to take on the world with you.” He takes my hand, kisses it, and brings it to his cheek. I bend down and kiss him as a promise.
“Did you pick up their favorite foods?” I burst into the cottage and see Tyler standing over the stove with various pots releasing steam. It smells divine in here.
“Yes, Chloe, relax.” Tyler points the spatula at me.
“I have everything covered.” I take a deep breath as Tyler turns back to the stove.
He’s already set the dining table with plates, napkins, and silverware.
There’s a vase with some dried flowers in the center and a candle burning on the entryway table.
The cottage is warmly lit, and all tidied up.
“The place is perfect. Thanks, Ty.” I walk over and wrap my arms around him from behind.
“Of course. I want this to go well, too,” he says, squeezing my hands. I release him and change out of my work clothes.
“I think they’re here—I hear a car pulling up,” Tyler says from his spot on the couch, looking up from the guitar he was strumming. He’s been playing the same song over and over, but I can’t make out what it is.
“They are like ten minutes early.” I walk over to the window that overlooks the driveway, expecting to see Reid’s pickup truck rolling down the gravel driveway, but I see a small black car instead. “I don’t think it’s them.” Tyler stands up and joins me next to the window.
“Maybe it’s a delivery driver. I did order a few things to freshen up the house for Miles and Alyssa.”
The black car stops in front of the main house, and a woman emerges. It’s been years, but I’d recognize those blond locks from anywhere. My mom looks around and starts walking toward the main house as I step outside the cottage.
I enter the main house through the back door and walk directly to the front. I don’t know how she found me or what she’s even doing here. Is she sick? Why wouldn’t she call me first? I swing open the front door, not bothering to wait for another knock, and come face-to-face with my mother.
I imagined what this moment would be like so many times. I thought we’d embrace tightly and she’d say how much she missed me. I thought I would feel this rush of relief as my mom reentered my life. But as I stand in front of her, I feel empty. She’s a stranger to me.
“Coco, my girl,” the nickname sounds like a foreign language coming from my mom. I haven’t been called that name in years. I force a grin.
“Hi, Mom. What are you doing here?”
“It’s nice to see you too. Can I come inside?”
“No,” I say, stepping forward, and she steps back. “What are you doing here?”
Her mouth forms a tight line. “I missed you. Can we talk?”
“We can sit on the porch.” I reply tightly. I can feel Tyler’s presence behind me in the house. I turn back to him and give him a curt nod. He stays back as I close the front door.
“It’s freezing out here.” My mom makes a dramatic attempt at showing how cold she is. “I don’t know how you can put up with the weather up here. I love that California heat.”
I don’t reply, walk over to the small seating area on the front porch and turn on the heat lamp in the awning’s ceiling.
“Wow, I didn’t realize you’re rich. Or maybe you found a rich man.” She chuckles to herself. “Probably more like the latter.” She mumbles and I can see her eyes searching the windows.
I shift uncomfortably in my seat. “You look nice,” I manage to say. I’m still in shock at her sudden appearance.
“Thank you! I just got my hair done and have been doing yoga.”
She sits, and her face morphs into something softer. I tell myself not to fall for it. She’s done this countless times to me. She’d be sweet and caring before slashing me with her words.
“I got your letter.”
“Letter?” I try to remember the last time I sent her a letter.
I don’t know why I kept it up over the years, but I’d send my mom a letter when I’d get a job or letting her know I graduated college.
Telling her I broke up with Dane. The last letter I sent was when Annika and I first moved here.
I thought, for some reason, my mom should know my whereabouts.
So I sent her a letter letting her know we had moved and included our Beach Street address.
“I sent that months ago. You just got it now?”
“I moved, and the previous tenant contacted me to say that I had some mail.” It’s not lost on me that she moved and neglected to tell me, even if Mia informed me when we visited.
If she notices my lack of surprise she doesn’t show it.
“Chloe, I’m here because, well, I’m struggling. I need you back in my life.”
She might as well have thrown a bucket of cold water on my face.
Oily guilt creeps through me as my first thought is, No, leave.
Instead, the guilty daughter in me replies, “Why now?” My question comes out harsher than I intended, and my mom flinches a bit.
I can see her eyes starting to well with tears.
“I’m so alone. You know how I was with Daryll?
” I shake my head. I’ve never heard that man’s name before.
“Well, we broke up, and I’ve been missing you.
You never call me, and you left SoCal. You abandoned me.
I’m so alone. I can’t sleep and I wake up at night thinking about you.
I got your letters and thought about replying.
I think about calling you and talking to you.
I think about everything I wish I could tell you. ”
“Well, you could have called anytime. I still have the same phone number. You could have replied to my letters, I always included my return address on the envelope. Why didn’t you?”
“You never call me, why should I call you? You only sent me a letter when something happened to you. What about me?” And there it is.
I feel her words like a gut punch. She doesn’t care.
She only cares about herself, she always has.
Nothing has changed with her and her finding me and showing up is her last ditch effort to help herself.
The reality washes over me; she’s never put my needs in front of her own.
“I don’t keep score about people I care about. If I want to talk to them, I call them. It’s as simple as that. I didn’t call you because I’ve never wanted to talk to you. So, now I’m here, you came all this way instead of just picking up a phone, what do you want to tell me?”
My mom stares at me, her eyes cold now. “What has gotten into you? What happened to my sweet girl? You never ask me how I’m doing.
You left for college, and then you left the state,” she says, her tone turning sharper with each word.
“You didn’t even say goodbye to me. What kind of daughter do you think you are to abandon her mother like that? I brought you into this world.”