Wrong Number [18+]

Chapter|22

It's like she doesn't even care about how I feel. "I'm done with this conversation". "When you decide to support me and the decisions that I make in my life...then we can talk. Until then..." I hang up the phone and shut it off.

"Un-fucking-believable."

I run my fingers through my unkept hair and pace around the kitchen. What I did was a dick move, yes. It hurt very much to cut ties with my mom, for now. But it needed to be done. I'm so sick of her trying to run my life.

I lean my head against the refrigerator. Just once I would like for her to be happy for me. Why does she always have to make things so...difficult?

I can feel myself getting more irritated the more I think about it. With that being said, I do the dumbest thing I could possibly do right now. I punch the refrigerator. I growl in pain and cradle my hand. Yes...I know, stupid.

"Are you okay?" I spin around in surprise at the sound of Fallon's voice. She is standing in the doorway wearing one of my T-shirts that lay just above her knees.

She slowly walks towards me and gingerly takes my hand in hers, examining it. She gives it a soft kiss and opens the freezer, grabbing a bag of frozen vegetables and placing it on my knuckles. "This should help with the swelling if it's not broken," she tells me.

"I'm sorry that I woke you," I tell her. I really am. Waking her was the last thing I wanted to do.

"You didn't wake me," she says softly, wrapping the bag of frozen vegetables around my hand with a towel. "I've been awake since...your phone went off."

Figures.

"How much did you hear."

"Everything," she says. "I'm sorry...I never meant to cause a rift in your relationship with your mother."

"This isn't your fault," I tell her truthfully. It's not her fault at all. My mother is just a control freak and when she loses that control...she has no idea how to handle it.

Fallon sighs and leans back on the countertop. She swipes her messy blonde hair to the side and trains her eyes on the floor. "I can't let you push your mother away because of me, Alex."

I don't like the sound of that. I'm in front of her in seconds. "It isn't because of you," I say a bit panicked. With my good hand, I lift her chin, forcing her to look at me. You can see the conflict in her eyes.

"This isn't your fault," I say softly. You can tell she doesn't believe me. I stroke her jawline with my thumb. "This isn't your fault."

"You only get one mother." You can hear the pain in her voice. "I would give anything to have my mother in my life."

Did her mother die or something? Curiosity gets the best of me. "What do you mean? What happened to your mother?"

She sighs and grasps my hand in hers and brings it to her lips, kissing it softly. "She's not dead if that's what you're asking. At least I don't think she is," her voice wavers.

I'm so confused. If she isn't dead then where is she?

"My mom is a druggy." Well, I wasn't expecting that. "She went to work one day and never came back." You can see tears forming in her eyes. "My dad was so devastated— I was so devastated."

My heart breaks for her. A tear finally breaks free and trickles down her face. With my thumb, I quickly wipe it away.

"We went looking for her about a month after that."

"Did you find her?" I want to smack myself for prying.

She nods. "We were driving through the city one night and found her sitting on a bench." She smiles softly. "I was so excited that I jumped out of the car, ignoring my father's demands to get back in. "

"That was dangerous," I say.

"I know. But being a ten-year-old girl whose mother just up and left without even saying goodbye..." she trails off for a minute. "I just wanted to see her."

There's a lot more to Fallon than meets the eye. I'm really glad that she's opening up to me.

A grim expression covers her features. "When I finally reached her— she had a needle in her arm."

Jesus.

"That wasn't even the worst part...when she looked at me, she didn't even recognize me," her voice cracks. "Who forgets their only child?"

My heart completely shattered for the woman standing in front of me. I pull her body into mine and hold her close as she sobs. I can feel her hot tears streaming down my bare chest. It would be one thing if her mother had passed away, but she didn't. She just up and left her.

I pull back and place my hands on her cheeks. With my thumbs, I slowly wipe the tears away. Her eyes are still filled with tears that are readying to break free at any moment and I can't stand it.

"I'm sorry."

I know it's the last thing she wants to hear right now...but I don't know what else to say to her. I don't know how she's feeling or what's going on in her head. All I know is that I don't like seeing her like this.

She sniffs and wipes her eyes. "It's okay," she gives me a small smile. "I'm okay."

You can tell that she's just saying it to reassure me. She knows seeing her like this is bothering me. "Are you sure?" She nods slowly. I don't want to overstep any boundaries and decide it would be best to leave it go.

A yawn escapes my mouth and she giggles. She laces her finger through mine and smiles, "I'm tired too. How about we go back to sleep?"

Sleep sounds good right about now. "Sounds good to me," I yawn, again.

She tugs my hand and leads me upstairs to my room, with Max trailing close behind. He acts just like a child. She turns off the light and we both crawl into bed. She snuggles her body into mine and kisses my chest. "Goodnight, Alex."

I smile, "Technically, it's a good morning. It's 4:30 am."

She giggles. A sound that brings me to my knees. "Good morning then."