Recap: Teagan met Carter's mom before flying home to her hometown for Thanksgiving break.
The house is empty once again when I make my way downstairs. The rest of yesterday was nice I guess you could say. It felt like my old normal before college I can't tell if I enjoyed it or not. I liked the weight of school being lifted from my shoulders. During dinner, mom asked me the usual how is school? Are you doing your absolute best? Then my personal favorite is she says "Failure is not an option!" Dad was there of course as my personal shield deflecting me from mom.
Dad's love for mom gives him 'she can do no wrong' tunnel vision but even he knows that I'm doing my best. Mom just doesn't see it that way for some reason. Anne came to the rescue a couple of times switching topics before mom got the chance to say something snarky. Matt was there clueless as usual but I mean he probably just doesn't want to get on mom's bad side.
I knock once on the front white door of Raya's childhood home before opening it. Her house has always radiated with warmth and refuge. If I wasn't at my house or school I would always be here. Mrs. Rivera practically thinks of me as her own and I think of her as my second mother.
The floorboards creak with each step I take getting closer to the glass sliding doors leading out to the glassed-in back patio. I see the backs of Raya's and Jack's heads. Jack's muscular arm is draped over Raya's slender shoulders as they sit on the outdoor couch with a blanket on their lap. They're deep in a conversation Jack watching Raya and Raya watching the fake fire on the heater in front of them. Raya looks at me over her shoulder when they hear me slide the glass door open.
She points over to the outdoor dining set to the left of us. "Mom made brunch have at it." Raya tosses the blanket off of her lap and gets up after Jack chastely presses his lips against her temple and pulls his arm off of her shoulders.
"Are you coming to Thanksgiving dinner or are you and doing something with Jack's family?" I ask her while stacking waffles and fruits onto my plate.
"Yeah, we're going over to his place for dinner." Raya glances over at Jack before picking at her nails.
Raya is doubtful about how this dinner is going to go. Jack's parents liked them as friends but she thinks that they don't approve of them dating. Which is complete and utter bullshit. More specifically I know Jack's dad is happy for him but his mom is unwelcoming least to say. The thing is his mom is not even involved in his life enough to even say shit.
"Oh well have fun and call me if you need backup. Though I know mama Rivera will not hesitate to raise hell."
"You know she would." Raya half-heartedly jokes plucking a strawberry from my plate.
The door slides open and Mrs. Rivera comes out rushing out with her arms open. "Teagan!" She calls out as I set down my plate and open my arms to hug her. Mrs. Rivera squeezes me tight and sways me side to side.
Mrs. Rivera is one of the biggest huggers I've ever met. Her hugs are like the definition of comfort. If it could be bottled up it would probably be the cure to depression.
Mrs. Rivera releases me and frames my face with her hands. "You're looking a little frail. Are you sure you're eating enough and not spending all your time studying?" Before I can interject she speaks again. "These are your college years you should have fun and explore, yes your education is important but you need to live your life!" She manages to turn a hug into a lecture.
"Hey! Where's my 'I need to live my life' speech?" Raya purses her lips.
"Shh you party too much already," Mrs. Rivera waves her hand at Raya dismissing her while keeping her eyes on me. "You look thin, are you eating? Here eat some more." She puts some more fruits on my plate.
"I'm okay, I'm eating just fine." I laugh off her concern. "I missed you and your cooking so much." She laughs and guides me towards the table to sit and eat.
Jack and Raya sit at the table with us while I and Mrs. Rivera catch up. After eating I tell say goodbye to everyone and tell them I'll come again before I leave.
***
"Happy Thanksgiving!" Anne wraps her arms around my shoulders from behind me as I sit on the ottoman.
"What's there to celebrate again? Colonizers stealing land only to call it their own? Or them giving many indigenous people diseases?" I tap my chin and smile sardonically looking up at Anne.
"Huh right guess it's not happy Thanksgiving." Anne pats my shoulders then walks back to the kitchen to help dad prepare the rest of the food.
My phone starts vibrating on the coffee table Carter is displayed on the screen. "Hi, Carter," I answer the phone after grabbing it. I look around to make sure everyone is preoccupied with something. Dad and Anne are chopping up vegetables and Mom and Matt somewhere upstairs.
"Hi, pretty girl what are you up to?" An unforeseen smile creeps up onto my face as his voice tickles the side of my face. Pretty girl? That's new.
"Nothing much just sitting here watching football." I look back at Anne and dad talking about something that's putting a smile on their faces.
Hushed voices are in the background as Carter asks. "Nice. Nice. Anyways what time does your flight land when you get back?
"Around ten or eleven." I pick up the remote to switch the TV channel to something else.
"Ah perfect the missus wants to have lunch before we head back to school. I mean if you want to?"
"Of course, I want to see Della," I assure Carter as the sound of the mom's footsteps creaking the floorboards on the staircase catches my attention.
"Alright cool, I'll see you in two days."
"Okay bye." I nearly pull away the phone to end the call before he speaks again.
"Anything else you want to say?"
"Like?"
"It's alright you can admit that you miss me?"
This asshole. "Cocky much? You know what I'm gonna do you the favor of pretending like I didn't hear you say that and end the call."
He laughs into the phone making me not want to end the call. "No, how about I-" I end the call before he continues.
Carter: Rude.
Me: I'll see you later.
Me: Happy Thanksgiving
"Teagan help me out with this would you?" Anne yells from the pantry. I put down my phone on the coffee table and get up. Mom catches my attention, she's halfway down the stairs already looking at me. I pretend I don't see her looking at me and go help Anne.
***
Dinner is going well... I guess. This is our first year without any relatives because everyone is traveling and the Rivera's are going to dinner with Jack's family. I never thought sitting at dinner with my family would ever be awkward.
Anne, Matt, and Dad are engrossed in conversation and mom drops her input everywhere now and then. She makes it so obvious that she's not happy right now with me. She'll smile but not at me then she'll give me the side-eye and a subtle glare. Dinner feels like any other dinner at home. I'll try and stay away from setting mom off.
"Hey! You would be upset too if your hard work went down the drain just because someone else wanted something from you!" I complained as Matt and Anne laughed at me. They brought up the time when we were on vacation and I got in trouble for accepting a video call with my counselor to talk about future plans. We were in the car and I needed to talk to her because if I didn't I'd have to reschedule and it would be a whole process.
"You would know Teagan? Wouldn't you?" Mom decides to talk for the first time in a full sentence to me.
Distraught, I confusedly look at her, and my eyebrows furrow. Mom's fuse is finally starting to spark. I guess seeing me happy is what makes her mad.
"You know throwing hard work away for someone else's needs." She says so sneery. Her face stoic and frozen.
"What are you talking about?" I scoff, I'm so sick of her acting like she knows me and my life. When in reality she hasn't known anything about me or my life in the past several years since I turned sixteen.
"Don't act so coy." She rolls her eyes, the room is quiet once again. Dad doesn't know whether to let us talk it out or shut mom down. Matt is enjoying the show and Anne is chewing her nails. The nervous tick that she has still yet to let go of.
"Coy? Mom, please enlighten me, tell me what you think you know." I'm so over this. I wanna go back to Connecticut.
"Are you really that naive? I went through your phone I saw your conversation with this 'Carter' boy. Are you really that stupid flaunting yourself around like that?" She thinks she's made a point and won dad over. Dad is confused but he knows better than to assume the worst when it comes to me. Matt is making faces at me to taunt me because he knows if he speaks he'll get the short end of the stick later.
"That boy is just a friend, I'm so sick of you assuming the worst of me. Do you really think that I'm that incapable?" I'm five steps away from the door I could make it out right now. I should just book it.
"You really think that boy just wants to be friends with you? How dumb are you? I thought I raised you better than this!"
"That's enough! Stop! Why don't you ever stop undermining Teagan?" Dad snaps and the silence in the room is a completely new one than before. Matt has finally stopped making faces and looked away. Anne has moved from one hand to the other.
Dad yelling was something that never happened unless he was provoked enough which was rare. Mom looks insulted and moves her icy glare from me to dad. Dad returns the same look and her face drops and when she realizes she doesn't have dad on her side she walks away and the last thing we hear is her slamming a door.
~~~
Yes I know I'm an asshole... In my defense, I was in a coma 🥰😭🤦♀️
Nah jk, the coma means school and piles of homework. I don't wanna promise you guys a writing schedule because I don't know if I'd stick to it but I'll try and write when I can.
I have no idea how many grammatical errors this has but you guys have been waiting so here you go.