flirting with me. He’s kind of
relentless.”
Mom’s brows furrow. “That’s
inappropriate. Have you spoken to the principle about it
yet?”
“ It’s really not a big
deal,” I give an awkward chuckle and laugh. “He’s
harmless.”
“ Be careful,” she says
with a small shake of her head. “Situations like that tend to get
teachers in trouble. I saw this thing on the news a week or two ago
about a teacher who got into a sexual relationship with one of his
students. The parents sued him and he’s probably going to serve
jail time.”
“ Mom,” I say in
exasperation. “It isn’t anything like that. Lake’s just being a
boy. Trust me, I’m not encouraging him.”
“ Hmm,” she says, observing
me closely. “So, how’s Alan these days? He seemed like such a nice
young man. What you told me about him, anyway.”
A startled chuckle erupts from my
chest. Mom’s brows draw together again and she gives me a harsh
look.
“ Alan broke up with me
through text message over three weeks ago,” I say with a shake of
my head. Just then my phone starts ringing. I grab it from my
nightstand and see Drake’s name on the display.
“ Just a second,” I say to
Mom. “Hey, can I call you back later?”
“ Yeah, sure,” he says. His
tone says this was obviously not the hello he expected. “Everything
okay?”
I sigh. I’m honestly not sure how
respond.
“ I take that as a no,” he
says when I take too long to reply. “Is this something I can fix
with a chocolate muffin and an extra-large coffee in the
morning?”
“ That’d be a good place to
start,” I say. A smile is already creeping onto my face.
“’ K, don’t forget to call
me back.”
“ I won’t. Talk to you
later.”
I hang up, and for just a moment, I
forget why I was in such a bad mood.
“ What’s the new man’s
name?” Mom says in a teasing way. I look up at her and see a smile
curling on her lips. “You’ve got a man grin on your face,
Kaylee.”
“ No, I don’t,” I say,
shaking my head and trying to force my lips to not curl up. “You
have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“ I may have been single
for the vast majority of my life, honey,” she says as she leans
forward and rests her arms on her knees. “But I know what kind of
smile is made by only a man.”
I shake my head and my smile goes away
for real now.
The world I have with Drake is
beautiful and surreal. It’s above reality and I don’t want anyone
to touch it. Especially not my mother, who’s only barely started to
figure out the real world as an adult in the past few years, and
forgot that she needed to be a mother at the same time.
“ I don’t really want to
talk about this,” I say, unable to look at her. I stand and fold my
arms over my chest like a high schooler throwing a fit. “Be around
more, bother to check in more than once every three months, and
maybe I’ll want to talk to you about the men in my
life.”
“ Kaylee, I—”
A quick knock at the door cuts her
off. And not a second later, Skyler comes walking in.
“ Mom?” he says, his tone
shocked. He bolts across the room and throws his arms around her.
She looks just as surprised to see him for just a moment. Finally,
she melts into his hug and gathers him tight to her
chest.
“ Karen?” Dick is just as
shocked as everyone else to see my Mom. He strides in cautiously,
hands stuffed in his pockets. “I didn’t know you were
back.”
“ I just got in an hour
ago,” she says, stroking Skyler’s hair.
“ Oh,” he says. There’s
hurt in his eyes. It’s hard for him to be around my mom. He loved
her, loved me, and she acted like she’d grown out of him. “Uh, I
was going to see if you could watch Skyler, Kaylee. I’ve got
something I have to go take care of.”
“ As much as I’d love to
spend some time with my brother, I think Mom would love some time
with him even more,” I say, my tone harsh as I look at her. She can
hear every accusation and her
relentless.”
Mom’s brows furrow. “That’s
inappropriate. Have you spoken to the principle about it
yet?”
“ It’s really not a big
deal,” I give an awkward chuckle and laugh. “He’s
harmless.”
“ Be careful,” she says
with a small shake of her head. “Situations like that tend to get
teachers in trouble. I saw this thing on the news a week or two ago
about a teacher who got into a sexual relationship with one of his
students. The parents sued him and he’s probably going to serve
jail time.”
“ Mom,” I say in
exasperation. “It isn’t anything like that. Lake’s just being a
boy. Trust me, I’m not encouraging him.”
“ Hmm,” she says, observing
me closely. “So, how’s Alan these days? He seemed like such a nice
young man. What you told me about him, anyway.”
A startled chuckle erupts from my
chest. Mom’s brows draw together again and she gives me a harsh
look.
“ Alan broke up with me
through text message over three weeks ago,” I say with a shake of
my head. Just then my phone starts ringing. I grab it from my
nightstand and see Drake’s name on the display.
“ Just a second,” I say to
Mom. “Hey, can I call you back later?”
“ Yeah, sure,” he says. His
tone says this was obviously not the hello he expected. “Everything
okay?”
I sigh. I’m honestly not sure how
respond.
“ I take that as a no,” he
says when I take too long to reply. “Is this something I can fix
with a chocolate muffin and an extra-large coffee in the
morning?”
“ That’d be a good place to
start,” I say. A smile is already creeping onto my face.
“’ K, don’t forget to call
me back.”
“ I won’t. Talk to you
later.”
I hang up, and for just a moment, I
forget why I was in such a bad mood.
“ What’s the new man’s
name?” Mom says in a teasing way. I look up at her and see a smile
curling on her lips. “You’ve got a man grin on your face,
Kaylee.”
“ No, I don’t,” I say,
shaking my head and trying to force my lips to not curl up. “You
have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“ I may have been single
for the vast majority of my life, honey,” she says as she leans
forward and rests her arms on her knees. “But I know what kind of
smile is made by only a man.”
I shake my head and my smile goes away
for real now.
The world I have with Drake is
beautiful and surreal. It’s above reality and I don’t want anyone
to touch it. Especially not my mother, who’s only barely started to
figure out the real world as an adult in the past few years, and
forgot that she needed to be a mother at the same time.
“ I don’t really want to
talk about this,” I say, unable to look at her. I stand and fold my
arms over my chest like a high schooler throwing a fit. “Be around
more, bother to check in more than once every three months, and
maybe I’ll want to talk to you about the men in my
life.”
“ Kaylee, I—”
A quick knock at the door cuts her
off. And not a second later, Skyler comes walking in.
“ Mom?” he says, his tone
shocked. He bolts across the room and throws his arms around her.
She looks just as surprised to see him for just a moment. Finally,
she melts into his hug and gathers him tight to her
chest.
“ Karen?” Dick is just as
shocked as everyone else to see my Mom. He strides in cautiously,
hands stuffed in his pockets. “I didn’t know you were
back.”
“ I just got in an hour
ago,” she says, stroking Skyler’s hair.
“ Oh,” he says. There’s
hurt in his eyes. It’s hard for him to be around my mom. He loved
her, loved me, and she acted like she’d grown out of him. “Uh, I
was going to see if you could watch Skyler, Kaylee. I’ve got
something I have to go take care of.”
“ As much as I’d love to
spend some time with my brother, I think Mom would love some time
with him even more,” I say, my tone harsh as I look at her. She can
hear every accusation and her
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