Janet
"Alright, honey. Eat up."
"Mom." Lia groaned.
"No whining. This is the doctor's orders. You need to eat."
"Mmmm." She whined. "Fine." I helped her sit up and put the tray over her lap. Lia grabbed the spoon and swirled it through the soup before bringing some to her mouth. She strained as she swallowed. Her throat was incredibly sore, but she had to eat to give her body the strength to heal after the surgery she had on her ribs. It was scary for a while because she couldn't stay awake for longer than half an hour but she's gotten much better over the past month.
She withdrew from the college and decided to focus on getting healthy without the stress of school. Not long after she had been home, Toni and the boys went to her old apartment and got her stuff. Keyon, of course, was there and tried to keep them out but because Toni's name was on the lease and Keyon's wasn't, she had a right to be there. She even called the police and had Keyon removed from the property.
At first, she was going to get rid of the apartment but instead, she had it fixed up and the locks changed for Jordan to stay there since he was sick of dorm life. It was also that way in case Amelia decided to go back to that school, she'd have protection where she lived. "Mom, I don't want anymore." Lia put the spoon down.
"Alright, sweetie. Try drinking the Gatorade." I opened it and put a straw inside before giving it to her. She drank about half of it before sitting it down. "Good." I cleaned everything up and moved the tray to her desk before grabbing her medicine. "Okay, here's your meds." She struggled but took them.
"Thank you, mom." I sat next to her and brushed her hair out of her face.
"Of course, sweetie. I'm just happy that you're okay." She smiled weakly. "Has he been calling you again?"
"Yeah. He told me that.."
"It's a lie."
"What?"
"Whatever he tells you is a lie. If he's promising to change or agree to do anything you've asked of him in the past, it's just so that he can get you back. Don't fall for it. He may even go as far as to say he'd get help, don't believe him."
"Why?"
"Because he'll go for a few sessions and as soon as they hit a nerve or you stop talking about it, he'll stop going and end up in the same routine as before but worse. And since I've gotten a feeling of the type of guy he is, if you go back, he'll try to get you pregnant again then use that against you." She sighed.
"I thought he was..."
"I know. I know, baby. But that's the thing with crazy men guys like that, they play those mind games but they all play the same mind games as others like him. Just look for the signs so you can avoid it or ask me. I've been through it enough to see it clearly by now." I kissed her forehead and got up. "Now get some rest." I went to pick up the tray.
"Mom." I turned back to her.
"Yes?"
"Can you......ummm....can you lay here with me?"
"Sure." I sat the tray back down and took my house shoes off before laying next to her. She moved down and laid on my chest while I held her. We laid there in silence for a few minutes before I heard her start to sniffle. I looked down and saw that she was crying. "It's going to get better, baby." I stroked her head. "It will get better. One day you're going to look back at this and realize you're a stronger woman." She continued to cry.
"Mom..."
"Hmmm."
"I want to be twelve again." My heart broke. I remember telling her that about me. "I don't want to be....."
