lovestruck † hs

Chapter 21

I was so ready, I couldn't wait for this. Once I had it stamped and ready to go, I put it in the mailbox outside, ready to wait for a letter back, a letter to determine my future.

Gosh I forgot how hard it was to wait for a letter of acceptance, let alone, imagine from applying past the date you're supposed to.

I walk back into the flat, checking the clock to see its almost two. I completely lost track of time, and my stomach growls, reminding me I haven't had a chance to eat. I decide to once again check my phone for anything...Harry related, or my cousins, you know, not that I'm obsessed with him. But when I check my phone, I am astounded to find nearly fifteen missed calls from my mother. My phone must have been remained on vibrate, I never heard it.

What the hell? Is it serious?

Quickly I call her back, worry filling every nerve in my body. She never calls this much. What if it's my grandparents? My dog? One of them? I thought of all these possibilities before, but they all seemed like nothing could be wrong with them.

Now I'm not so sure.

My mother answers even before the second ring.

"Mother? What happened? Is everything okay-"

"No! Of course not! Nothing about this is okay Rachel Edwards!" she blares into the speaker, causing me to jump.

"M-mother?"

"Don't you mother me-" she threatens as I hear my father in the background warn her, "Kristen, calm down!"

"Mother, explain to me why you're so angry," I suggest to her, constraining myself as hard as I can to not explode at her the way she just did to me.

What else would I expect from her though?

My mother sighs loudly, all I hear is anger and disappointment. "Don't act like you don't know."

I sigh as well, but out of frustration. "I don't! Enlighten me, would you?" I let out some sarcasm, already expecting a tidal wave of my mother's attitude to drown me.

"Fine, if you'd like for me to remind you of the stupidity you've let your mind allow to enter. You remember Ms. Young, right?" My mother tries to calm her tone to a reasonable level.

Ms. Young, I remember her. She was one of our nearby neighbors, just down the street. Usually pretty nice, and she and my mom were sort of close friends I guess. I always remember her being single, and I guess it remained that way.

"Yes, why?" I ask, annoyed. What does she have to do with anything, if I haven't seen her in nearly three years?

"What about her daughter, Meredith, remember her?" my non-descriptive mother questions.

Oh, do I definitely remember her. That girl was one of the most stuck up, bitchy, annoying girls I ever knew. I could stand to be around her mother, but when our mothers would hang out, we'd be forced to hang out. We knew we hated each other, our personalities clashed since we first met as younger kids. As a teenager her parents would think she was like me, a nerdy whiz kid who's number one priority was my work, but she would put up a fake show for them, and sneak out to meet new guys all the time. A whore, I believe is that term?

"What does she have to do with anything? What do any of them have to do with me?" I ask her, losing my patience.

"Well, I was at the supermarket yesterday, and I ran into the both of them, Meredith home from college for the summer, like you would have been," she takes her usual swing at my moving to London decision. "Anyway, we got to chatting up, and Meredith was on her phone, then she found something on one of those social media websites, a picture.."

A picture...?

"It was pretty shocking for me to see such a picture of my daughter, without hearing from her for days. To see her like this, right in the middle of an aisle at a supermarket. Yet to find her in a picture that is making its way throughout the Internet for everyone to see," she continues to describe, like I know what she's talking about. "A picture of my daughter...holding some tattooed punk's hand as she walks into an apartment building!" my mother raises her voice, I wouldn't be surprised if the neighbors next to me could hear it.

Holy shit.

I know what she's talking about. The date. Stupid paparazzi, stupid Meredith with her bitchy personality to get me into trouble purposely, stupid internet. My mouth falls open and I freeze.

"My daughter?! My Rachel would never do such a dumb thing! Leaving California was the worst thing in the world for you to do! Leaving Jacob? What kind of a decision was that? Something my Rachel wouldn't have done! He could have given you everything, even more than the many things he'd already given you! But you gave it all up, you screwed up your future your father and I tried so hard to make for you. For what? Living in London with no life planned out and some long haired freak holding your hand? You gave it up for sex with some random man who for some reason, there are pictures of you two that are becoming famous online? What the hell is the matter with you?! Where's my daughter?"

Did she just say that to me?

"Ah quiet are we?" she smirks through the speaker.

"Your daughter, is right here. She grew up, she had to. She needed a change from the constant cycle that was weighing her down, and that cycle was you, and everything else back there in California that I needed to leave," I hint at Jacob, not wanting to say his name. "I'm better off that I left, and no way would I have gone home to you, to Texas. You know what, I was actually happy today for the first time in ages, until you called me mother. Happy! That boy, he made me very happy today," I say to her firmly, trying hardly not to cry.

My mother scoffs, "Oh did he? What, the sex was that good?"

"It's none of your business if he and I do something. You are not in control of my life anymore! I am an adult, twenty at that!" I squeeze my phone, positive I could break it. "He and I can do whatever we want, whenever we want," I tell her, somewhat exaggerating considering he and I haven't done anything yet. But she doesn't know that.

"I know what this is. He is a phase, something you're going to through to rebel against us. So immature really. What did you do, try to find a guy that looks and is completely opposite of Jacob? Disgusting tattoos, very long hair? Well done, I must say, but time to give it up," she mocks, laughing.

"He is no phase of mine. He's the only one that actually cares!"

"Cares, huh? You don't even understand what you're saying. You're being very naive and not using your brain Rachel. If you think this..this freak you're with cares, you've completely lost it. He will leave you for some other slut, you'll see. You know, sex isn't everything," she continues to taunt me, but I've had it.

"That's it mother! I'm finished with this! I was fucking happy and you ruined it! I applied for a college today, like you'd give a shit about that! Hell, you don't give a shit about me!" I yell as loud as I can into the speaker, feeling the waterfall of tears streaming down my face. I can't believe I just cussed at her.

I hang up the phone and throw it on my bed, climbing next to it and lying face down.

I guess I jinxed it, today was not a great day.