King of the Empire (Completed)

Chapter Twenty-Five: Losses & Gains

Chapter 25

Cori stirred the soup carefully, breathing in the scent of the vegetables. Cori winced at the unfamiliar lurch in her stomach and turned off the stove. For a while now, it happened every time Cori cooked something.

She stood there for a second before grabbing some crackers. She was munching on them when Jamal came into the kitchen. He kissed her cheek quickly before grabbing a bowl. "No soup with those crackers?" he teased, sipping his soup.

Cori smiled weakly and shook her head.

Jamal noticed her reaction. "What's bothering you Cori?" he stopped eating and leaned closer to her.

Cori shrugged, eyes down. "I'm just thinking on my mom."

Jamal looked in her face. "Well if you feel like you should go talk to her, go talk to her. If anything happens, call me and I'll come get you."

Cori smiled. "Thanks Mal."

"You want me to drop you off?" He stole a cracker from Cori's pack, earning him a slap on the wrist.

Cori shook her head. "Nah. I can go alone."

"Well I'm off... Remember Mom invited you tonight to the dinner; we are signing our shares for Empire." Jamal reminded her as she took up her messenger bag.

She blew Jamal a kiss. "Just reminding me of how broke I am." She joked as she went through the door.

Cori took a deep breath as she knocked on the door of her mother's apartment. Her mother had cleaned up her act and moved in with a new boyfriend that lived in downtown Manhattan.

~

Cori felt her heart thump as she heard shuffling from the opposite side of the door. Her mother, Jenny, opened the door wearing a jean ensemble.

Cori cleared her throat. "Hi mom..."

The few minutes of silence rumbled between them. Cori wondered if she shouldn't have come at all.

"Look mom, I just wanted to say hi-"

Jenny cut Cori off with a bone crushing hug.

Cori gasped. This wasn't what she had expected. Plus she heard—weeping?

She looks up at her mom, confused. "Mom?"

Jenny wiped her eyes and pulled away. "I'm sorry Cori-baby. Come in."

Cori stepped inside. Everything was nice and neat- there was even a bucket and a mop propped against a wall. Cori looked around in awe.

"Yeah, I'm cleaning. I'm also in AAA. I know how to cook and..." Cori looked to her rambling mother, who was looking at her in concern and twisting her hands in anxiety.

Cori nod unable to say anything.

Jenny stopped talking. "Come sit on the couch. I want to talk."

Cori obeyed.

Jenny looked down. "First off, I want to say I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have treat you the way I did. When your father left, I shut down. I let you take responsibility of everything while I got sicker and sicker. I treated you horribly. You have to remember though, I wasn't in my right mind. "