Chapter 27 #3
His face falls, and he reaches for my hand. “I’m sorry about that. It was a cruel thing to say.”
I shrug. “It’s okay. It made me think. At the time, you weren’t wrong, but I don’t think that’s the case anymore.”
“It’s not,” he immediately offers. “You’re beloved by everyone close to you.”
He stares at me for an extra beat. I think he’s trying to tell me he loves me but isn’t saying the words out loud. I’m glad he doesn’t. I’m not sure I’m ready to hear them.
I squeeze his hand in silent acknowledgment. “I like that you call me out on my shit. Truthbombs are good for me. I need that in my life.” I barely whisper, “I’ve never had anyone care enough to do so.”
A small smile finds his lips. “Well, okay then. How about a few more? Your personality falls somewhere between Mother Theresa and Mother Fucker.”
I spit in laughter, appreciating both the joke and him lightening the conversation. This man somehow makes me laugh and fills my soul at the same time.
Twenty-five minutes later, we’re walking into Pierce’s dorm building and up to his room. I knock on his door, and he opens it with his head down and a solemn face. “What’s wrong?” I ask with concern.
He looks behind him and then at the floor in front of me, like he’s unable to make eye contact. “I’m so sorry. Don’t be mad at me. She made me do it.”
He opens the door further, and I see my mother sitting there. Her collagen-injected lips tighten as much as they can for someone who probably has no feeling in them. “Time for us to talk, daughter. Pierce, wait outside,” she demands like he’s a child.
I wordlessly cross my arms in the doorway while Pierce hangs his head further and walks out.
“Come inside, Kennedy,” she commands.
I suppose this was inevitable. I’ve been back in Philly for over a year and have successfully avoided a real conversation with her.
Daylen, who she likely couldn’t see behind me in the hallway, walks in with me. Her facelifted face attempts to show surprise, but it doesn’t move much. “Daylen? What are you doing here?”
He scowls at her. “I was giving Kennedy a ride home when Pierce texted.”
She nods in understanding. “Honey, can you give Kennedy and me a few minutes alone? We need to talk about family business.”
He shakes his head. “I’ll leave if Kennedy wants me to.”
“I don’t,” I immediately respond. “Please stay.” I look at her. “He knows everything.”
She looks uncomfortable, but I don’t give a shit. It’s not my job to appease her in any way, shape, or form. “Say what you have to say, Ginny. I have plans. I only came here because of Pierce. How dare you use him to get to me. Don’t put him in the middle. It’s not fair to him.”
She throws her hands in the air in obvious frustration. “You left me no choice. I’ve been patient, but you won’t return my calls or texts. And now I can’t even get through. My texts bounce back. What else was I supposed to do?”
“I blocked you. You were annoying me. When someone doesn’t return calls or texts, it means they don’t want to talk to you. Take the social cue, Ginny.”
Daylen subtly places his hand on the small of my back in solidarity. Knowing he has my back, both literally and figuratively, means everything to me right now. It’s giving me the strength I need to have this conversation with words and not fists.
Tears well in her eyes. “What can I do to repair our relationship? I’ll do anything. I love you. You’re my daughter.”
My anger bubbles over. “Daughter?” I shout. “Funny how you care most when my star is on the rise. I haven’t been your daughter in ten years,” I yell at her. “Frankly, I was barely your daughter before that. We both know that.”
“How long are you going to punish me for it?” she asks with hardly a shred of remorse. “I made a mistake. People make mistakes.”
“A mistake is forgetting to pick me up from school. A mistake is mixing up my game times and missing a game. A mistake is forgetting to pack my lunch. Bending over so my boyfriend can stick his dick inside you is not a mistake. It’s diabolical.
It’s not something any real mother would ever do.
Mothers are supposed to support and protect.
You never did either. Mothers shouldn’t get off on stealing their teenage daughter’s boyfriends. ”
“You don’t know what I was going through at that time with your father. I was a mess. You don’t have a husband or a child. You can’t possibly understand. Maybe you will one day in the future, and then you’ll have some compassion for me.”
I can feel heat emanating from Daylen’s body.
He grits out, “She’ll be a million times the wife and mother you were when the time comes.
She will never treat her daughter like you treated her.
Mothers are supposed to be the only women who hope their daughters are better than they are.
Were you happy about Kennedy’s successes? ”
My mother stiffens. He hit the nail on the head. “Of course I was happy,” she lies.
“No, Ginny, you weren’t,” I snap. “You were jealous. You were jealous that I got what little attention Dad gave our family, you were jealous that I was prettier than you, and you were jealous that I was a superstar. I should have been your pride and joy. Instead you saw me as your competition. While the day you fucked Nick was the day our relationship officially died, in reality, it was never there to begin with because you were too insecure and selfish to ever be a real mother. You weighed social status over your kids every single day of your life. We all have choices. You made yours, and now I’m making mine.
I have nothing else to say to you.” The tears are starting to form, but I won’t give her the satisfaction.
As if sensing my need, Daylen wraps his arm around my shoulders and kisses my head.
I lean into him before giving her one more parting statement.
“To be crystal clear, you will never be welcome to be around my family when I have one. Stay away from me. Stay away from the people I love. Stay out of my life. You’re toxic, and it’s time to take out the trash. Goodbye, Ginny.”
I turn and walk away from my mother with Daylen standing right by my side.
I hold it together until we get to the parking lot, when I start sobbing. Daylen takes me into his arms. “I’m so fucking proud of you. You were amazing.”
I mumble into his chest. “I want to go home.”
I can feel him deflate. “If that’s what you want, but I wish you’d let me take care of you. I was hoping you’d stay with me tonight.”
I look up at his eyes and know for a fact in this moment that I’m in love with him. He’s my home.
I nod. “That’s what I meant by home.”