My Record Store Romance

Suppliers and Stealers of Oxygen

Chapter 20; Suppliers and Stealers of Oxygen

I love you guys so much. MRSR reached romance and humor #13 last Monday all because of you guys. thank you thank you thank you. so so so much. And holy crap, this story is up to 20 chapters now.

Anyway, this chapter is dedicated to Anthonyx3 because he has literally been a supporter of MRSR from the beginning. Like the beginning beginning, which means a great deal to me. So thank you, Anthony.

____

My mom put a hand to her face in frustration, her cold eyes unrecognizable as her head swayed back and forth. My father dropped his newspaper, reaching out to grab Ally's hand across the table and pull her from the chair.

I hardly was able to make out a faint; "Sweetheart, I think we should go upstairs," Before my dad gave me a quick look and whisked Ally from kitchen, his hand placed on her back as he guided her through the creaky floor boards.

Once they were out of hearing distance, I looked over at my mom again, still in her stance of disappointment.

When there was a reassuring click of a bedroom door from somewhere above, she finally looked up. And as her dark brown eyes locked with mine, I could only help but wonder if my eyes looked like hers when I was angry. Because, at the moment, hers held a flame of fury hidden beneath them that I'd never seen before; and it scared me more than anything.

She took one step towards me, making even her foot placement look planned and purposeful as she stood inches away from my face. From where I was at, I could nearly feel the heat of her heavy breaths each time she exhaled.

"What did you do, Drew?" Was all she said, but I instantly froze.

There was only one other time in my entire life when my mother had recited those exact words. And even though to her they were meaningless, nothing other than a random sentence strung together, a motherly phrase filled with agitation, to me it meant something much more.

Because, the last time that sentence had escaped her mouth, we were standing in the middle of a hospital waiting room, delirious and winded. My mom was in the hold of my Father's arms, shaking with terror, lip quivering and face tracked with tears.

I could still remember the smell of smoke that lingered on my clothes.

I could still remember when the doctor emerged from the door at the end of the hallway.

I closed my eyes, trying to control my breathing and not let my thoughts roam. I couldn't think of a single thing to say to her, not one thing that could make her understand what was actually going on or to make her look of fury disappear.

I knew how this all seemed. I knew what she thought. But was there any way I could tell actually tell her what happened and have her believe me?

Probably not.

"Mom, it really isn't at all what it looks like. I-"

Her sigh cut me off.

"Drew, I'm really not in the mood for this right now." She paused. "I'm not in the mood for your excuses, I'm not in the mood for any story you're putting together in your head."

"But-"

Her tone became harsher as mine became more persistent, and she continued to glare at me. I wish she would just stop. I wish she would just stop pretending like she knew what was going on, like she knew me.

Because, in all reality, she knew nothing about what had happened. And she didn't know anything about me, either.

"But nothing." She said, each one of her words more defiant than the last. "I'm so tired of this Drew. I'm so tired of all of this. I let things slide in the past, time and time again. But you need to understand that there are boundaries. Inviting a girl into our house, having her spend the night, all when we're not here? I just don't know why you thought that was okay."