𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗧𝘄𝗼 | 𝗖𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗽 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 | When Kay gets an emergency call from her mother, Brian takes her back to her hometown of Harmony, where she has to deal with old family drama and her ex-boyfriend, Mario, who just won't let her...
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On the drive back to my parents' house, I told myself I couldn't stress anymore. It wasn't going to help anyone. The tension and awkwardness—as intense as it was—were bound to be expected, right?
Sure, I hadn't thought I'd see Mario's ugly mug with my dad, but I couldn't say I wouldn't have been surprised. My parents absolutely loved the maggot. When I finally had the courage to up and leave him, they complained. Even after everything he'd done, which was the town's gossip for over a year, they still said, "People make mistakes. He's the sheriff's son and needs a second chance."
No. I needed a second chance at life. And I took it. I couldn't dwell on their odd, out-of-place consistencies. My parents were who they were and filling myself with the dread of the night's dinner wouldn't be good for me or the baby.
But neither was waiting on another dinner.
As I walked back into my parent's house, through the living room, and into the kitchen, I'd expected to see a table with plates set and ready to be filled with food. Instead, we walked into an empty room. My mother stood by the sink, scrubbing out the caldero that had been cooking the rice. She back smiled at me and said, "I messed up the rice. So, we'll do dinner tomorrow. Your father went to buy pizzas."
"What?" I dropped down into one of the chairs and pushed my hands into my curls. Jun, obviously as bothered as I was, groaned as he turned in a circle before leaning against the back door. Brian looked unsure of what to do; he slowly touched the cut on his lip.
"Mhm." My mother's smile didn't go away. "Sorry. Besides," she looked at Brian, the corners of her eyes crinkling, "I convinced your father to let your boyfriend stay."
My eyes widened. Again, I said, "What?"
Who is this woman standing in front of us?
"Okay, that's great." Jun stood beside me and pressed his hands on the table. The red table mat moved under his fingers. The little ceramic chicken scooted with it. But he didn't pay attention to that. He kept his eyes on our mother. "So, you're letting Brian stay. That means you and pa will get to know him."
"I guess." My mother faced us fully, rubbing her hands with her towel. Her eyes fell on me as she said, "I remember when you said his name before. You sounded very... determined."
I think I smiled because she still had that same smile on her face, but the way she said it, the determination, it wasn't in a good way. At least, it didn't sound good.
I remembered that conversation.
I hung up on her right after.
"Mom, listen—" I wanted to tell her that it was great she told my dad about Brian staying. That, in a way, her being nice was different, strange, but... refreshing. And I couldn't fight it.
But— "Is Mario staying here? Or was him being here this morning a one-time thing?" Because I needed to know.
It was as if I didn't anything. My mother hummed, turned her towel over, and walked over to the sink. With a quick flip of the hot water handle, she let the water run into the caldero until it overflowed.
