𝒃𝒂𝒃𝒚 𝒈𝒊𝒓𝒍 ➳ 𝒃.𝒖

thirty seven

"Hey sweetie!" My mom grins, happiness clear in her eyes. I smile at her - it's been a while since she smiled and has actually meant it.

"I've got some good news." She says, as we walk into the dining area for our dinner. It's a fairly large hotel, and the dining area looks quite beautiful to be honest. "And bad news.".

We both get some food before sitting down at a small table in the corner of the large room. "So the good news is that I've got the job."

"Really? Mom that's great!" I smile widely at her.

"It's great and all, but the bad news is that it requires me to move away for a few weeks."

"What?"

My mom shakes her head, "Not far away, no. Just staying in New York for a few months. It's sort of a business trip."

"And you're going to take it?"

"It pays a lot, Emma. I was thinking I could just transfer some money to your bank account then you could pay the bills for the apartment we get while I'm gone." She says quietly, messing around with the food on her plate.

"Oh. Okay."

"And you're 18. You've always said you enjoy being by yourself in the house. And you won't have to get a job if you don't want, I'll pay for everything while I'm gone. I should be back by Christmas."

"This job is worth it, right?"

"Yes, sweetie. It pays roughly 44 per hour, and I'd work 9 hours a day so..." She awkwardly counts the numbers in her head. "Almost 400 a day. That's such an improvement from my last job."

"And if you went on this business trip you'd be happy right?"

"Yeah, I suppose."

"Okay..." I say quietly. There's a moment of silence between us, in which my mom nervously plays with the silver ring on her finger. It was a gift from Trevor, which I'm guessing is why she hasn't taken it off in months.

"Have you talked to Ashley?" She changes the subject suddenly.

"No. Not yet. I'm going to see her mom tomorrow to see if she's in. I don't think it'd be right just talking to her over text."

"Oh. Okay. Makes sense." She nods, drinking her glass of wine. She only usually drank alcohol during celebrations - well, before Trevor died anyway. 

-

I park in Ashley's family's driveway, anxiety filling up my entire body. I wasn't sure why I was so worked up - I've been here so many times before it's like a second home to me.

I awkwardly knock on the door four times like I always did, and Ashley's joyful mom opens the door and immediately smiles when she sees me. "Emma! How long has it been?"

"6 months." I giggle timidly, and she wraps her arms around me in a warm embrace.

"I'm guessing you're here to see Ashley." She smiles warmly, and I step inside before she offers me a cup of tea. As soon as I step inside, the delicious scent of Sunday dinner fills my nose - Ashley and her family always had big dinners on the weekends.

I wrap my fingers around the warm cup, smiling at her gratefully. Yeah, is she here?"

"Should be here soon. She went out to get some milk," (oops) She continues cooking, "You can wait here, sweetie. Wouldn't want you standing out in the cold, anyway."

She begins attempting to make some small talk with me, and we exchange small stories of dumb shit me and Ashley did in the past few years; which makes me want to see her even more. About twenty minutes after, the door swings open.

"Mom, I'm home!" Ashley's voice beams through the walls, and she immediately notices me. Her hair is now short, dyed a bright teal colour and she has a few more noticeable piercings and tattoos on her. "Em?"

"Hey, Ash." I laugh, and she drops her bags and hugs me tightly. "When did you get back?"

"A few days ago." I respond, smelling her familiar Gucci perfume I had bought her for her 15th birthday - she's been using it ever since.

"Did something happen in Florida? Your mom was so excited about it."

"Yeah. Something happened. But I'm glad to be back." I let out a sigh.

"Dinner should be ready in about 25 minutes." Her mom smiles, "Why don't you both wait upstairs?"

We both nod, hurriedly running up the stairs into Ashley's bedroom and I immediately collapse on her bed. "So, how's Breadbin?"

"I saw him the day I got back."

"Did you two fuck?" She snorts.

"Yeah, Ashley. We did." I roll my eyes. She doesn't seem to notice that I was being honest.

"So you're back together?"

"Yeah, I guess. I missed him a lot." I smile.

"How's your mom?"

"Okay. Just got a new job. She has to move out off town for a few weeks though."

"Really? Well you're 18 now, so I'm sure you'd be fine on your own."

I nod, shrugging my shoulders. "I guess. Besides, I like being by myself at home."

"But, then again. It's Christmas soon. Would she be home by then?"

"She said so."  I smile, glancing at my phone and noticing a text from my mom.

To: Emma
I took the job. I'm leaving in a week. We should be getting keys to our apartment in a two days! x
From: Mom

"She took it. And apparently, found an apartment during that time."

Ashley just laughs, grabbing my hand and pulling me up from her bed, "Come on, dinner's ready."

-
this isn't a very good chapter but I wanted to give something to you guys as soon as I could.
I'm gonna try to update as much as I can because it's Christmas soon! I'm a bit stressed atm but I might try to update everyday
- m x