Zach and Abby

18. - Edited

Abby - Edited

"Yeah mom, be by in a little while," I said into the phone, waiting a few seconds for her to respond.

Completely forgetting to listen to her messages yesterday, I decided I'd spend the day with her to make up for it. I'd had what was easily the greatest night of my life last night and seeing my mom today so I could tell her all about it got me excited.

This morning, I woke up in almost a dream-like state. I had to pinch myself a few times and check my night stand to see the ticket stub from the movies, proving I actually went out last night. I had fallen asleep in my clothes, too over-the-moon to care about changing.

I was slowly learning to accept falling in love and it wasn't as painful as I thought it would be. Maybe because Zach was the one I was falling for.

I sat down at the kitchen counter, bowl of cereal in front of me, thankful that Bridget was nowhere around. If I had been trampled by her questions this morning about how it went and whether or not Zach was still available definitely would have ruined the cloud nine I was currently on.

My phone beeped and the name flashing on the screen made me smile wider then ever.

Hey babe, any plans today?

I looked at the message, rereading it over and over again.

Babe.

The word made my heart race and he hadn't even said it aloud. It was in a text, in writing but still it made my chest feel fluttery. I started typing back a response about my mom but then I stopped, not knowing if I was ready to take that big a step so early in whatever this was that was going on between us.

I changed and retyped what I was going to say at least a dozen times. Finally, I decided on a lie: just running some errands. I wasn't ready to introduce him to Mom just yet. She loved Cole like a second son and was just as heartbroken when he left. She didn't need to meet another face just to forget about him and possibly witness the heartbreak I'd be left with if Zach were to ever really leave.

Mind if I tag along?

I sighed to myself, not wanting to say yes or no; and maybe didn't even make any sense.

I mulled over it in my head as I washed my dishes and got dressed. A minute before I left, I sent a reply back to Zach, telling him I'd be by to pick him up soon. I guess subconsciously I decided he would be meeting Debra Mitchell today.

I called Mom back, telling her I'd be by with a friend later to take her out to lunch. When I told her the plan, she'd apparently changed her mind, saying she didn't want to go out to eat, wanting instead to come back to my dorm. For some reason, she loved my dorm room. When she was here, maybe she felt like she was back at home, cooking in the kitchen and vacuuming the carpets. She felt useful and when we'd sit at the table and talk about whatever we wanted over hot cups of coffee, I think it made her feel more like the normal mom she used to be.