Welcome to My Arms

Chapter 5, Welcome to My Arms

"This is demeaning, Mom, being sent to the kitchen because Dad and Jeremy and Gabriel need to go out and fix something that has nothing to do with them." Chelsea dumped another of the peeled carrots into the bowl in the sink.

Her mom was beside her, scrubbing potatoes and poking them before sticking them in the oven to bake, and she could see Sarah outside in the round ring, riding her palomino. Zachary, she figured, was now in his room, supposedly reading a book, but he was more than likely playing video games. Just wait until their dad came home.

"You know your father—and I still don't understand why you didn't tell us, Chels."

Was her mom kidding? She'd had the sex talk with her parents long ago, but that royal fuckup with Boone, that humiliating moment, was something she'd had no intention of sharing with anyone. Yet now they knew, and as she glanced over to her mom, who was now leaning on the counter, she saw that her expression was a cross between disappointment and she didn't know what. It made her feel guilty for something she didn't understand.

"Mom, how old am I? Like, seriously, I'm nineteen, an adult. I have a job, and I live at home because Dad made it clear he didn't want me moving out yet. That was fine with me, since I can sock money away, but let me be clear: I have no intention of discussing my sex life with my parents. My very private sex life," she stated, picking up another carrot to peel.

Her mom reached for her hand to stop her. "Come and sit down. I want to talk with you."

She squeezed the peeler, about to say no. Maybe her mom knew, as she actually took the peeler and set it on the counter before taking her hand as if she were two years old and pulling her over to the large table they ate dinner at every night.

"I promise, Chelsea, I won't bite," Laura said.

Chelsea noted that every time her mom and dad called her by her full name and not the shortened version, either she was in trouble or they needed to have a talk with her that she wasn't going to like. She suspected it was the latter.

Her mom pulled out the chair at the head of the table, where her dad usually sat, and gestured to the chair to her right. Chelsea let out a sigh and pulled it out, then sat down, taking her time scooting it in. When she looked up, she noted the smile that pulled at her mom's lips. It was the kind that always annoyed her.

"What?" she said, noting the attitude in her voice.

"Seriously, Chelsea, I get it. I really do understand why you don't want to talk about something so humiliating and embarrassing, and I also get how you aren't too happy that your dad is out sticking his nose in your business, along with your brothers. But at the same time, no matter what and how embarrassing it is, what Boone did to you wasn't okay, and you should have said something. The fact that someone would hurt you like that when you were so vulnerable...of course your dad and I are upset. Add in the fact that you chose to keep it quiet and let him get away with it because you were too scared or embarrassed to tell us? You should have told us. Those are not the kind of secrets you keep. You having sex, well, of course I knew. Your dad, though, would prefer to believe that you've never had sex and never will."

She took in the hint of humor that flashed through her mom's green eyes. They really were one of a kind, as was her blond hair, which was still so long and full. She was so beautiful. She knew her dad really loved everything about her mom—and she was beginning to feel this conversation would never end.

"Your dad is right about a lot of things, Chelsea," Laura continued, "and I understand why you didn't want to say anything. But at the same time, for how many years, this boy has gone out of his way to torment you, and you just...let him?"