When Harper arrived at the hospital, I was down in the cafeteria, sitting in the corner with a coke and some fries, just because I needed something to munch on to sooth my soul. My mother hadn't taken the story well, honestly neither had I in the retelling of it, and she had demanded I leave the room when I was done because she was so upset. I left the folder with the rehab centers, but right now, it didn't seem like she cared about that. I was more worried that she'd retreat right back into the bottle now that she knew what had happened. The nurse had to sedate her for a bit during the discussion, as her vitals were all going too high as she'd started yelling at me by the end, and I'd retreated to the cafeteria in tears.
I hadn't even told her everything about me getting attacked, she'd broken down as soon as she found out about dad's killer being the one who had been sleeping with her. I couldn't blame her, I would have probably done the same thing in her case. The whole situation sucked, and I hated that we had to deal with it.
I'd texted both Harper and Shay about what happened and where I was, and I knew Harper was close. Shay said she'd be here as soon as possible, but I knew she had to finish class. In the meantime, somewhat crunchy fries and ketchup were doing what it could to make my soul feel a little better. But they were hospital cafeteria fries and could only do so much.
When Harper arrived, she didn't even say a thing before swooping in and giving me a hug. I got lucky, and kept my grease and ketchup covered fingers away from her suit, but I don't think she would have cared.
"Are you okay? What happened?" she asked gently.
I shook my head, letting the tears fall once more. "The doctor. I tried to make him stop, but he wouldn't shut up. He told her she had syphilis, and she had no idea how. I didn't want to explain everything, but I felt like I had no choice at that point. She didn't remember all the guys she was with, and she was worried about missing Christmas because she had no idea what month it was! She kicked me out of her room when she found out who had done it. She's not doing well, and I don't blame her, and I just feel awful."
"Oh, honey, I'm so sorry. I wish I could have gotten here in time. Do you want me to go talk to her?"
I nodded swiftly. "Yes. But don't tell her I got hurt! I don't want her to be worried about me. I just want her to get better and hopefully agree to a rehab center. Everything else can wait."
"Okay. I'll go take care of her. You rest, and when Shay gets here, just go home. I don't want you to come back for a few days. I'll talk to her, and we'll set something up for you to meet again when she's doing a little better. Does she have a phone to get in touch with you?"
"Yeah. She might not know it, but it's with her belongings in a bag under the bed. It probably needs a charge though." I wiped away the tears and sniffled a few times. "Thank you, Harper, I don't know how I would have gotten through all this without you."
"That's what friends are for. We have a nice little group out there, and you and Shay are like our newest members, even if you don't live closer to us. We always support our friends, and we'll keep doing it. Besides, as much as you've had to grow up over the last few years, and act like an adult, you're still not even 16. You're the kind of kid that all of us would love to have, and you have an open invitation to come visit whenever you like."
I snickered a little. "Well, Shay has a truck now, so maybe we'll have to do that!"
"Good. That is exactly what I want to hear. I know the little ones loved hanging out with you and Shay, and Reid wanted to adopt you on the spot." She smiled as though joking, but hearing Reid's name really made me smile at the fond memories of the 4th of July weekend.
"We'll be back. Shay's family sucks, and if my mom is in rehab then we'll probably be looking for people to hang out with at the holidays." Really, I was looking for any reason to hang out with them again. If my mom was out of rehab rehab, once she was better, we could bring her too. There was no downside to it.
"Perfect. Now, let me go see your mom, and hopefully I can help her through things. I hate these kinds of talks, but I've done similar things with other clients in the past, so I'm pretty good at it." She gave me a final hug, and then left the cafeteria. I breathed easier, because I knew my mom would be in good hands.
Shay arrived about 20 minutes later, carrying a little cup of ice cream, and I burst into tears. That little touch of kindness was just what I needed, and she wrapped her arms around me while I cried for a bit. "Shhh, I got you, princess. Everything is okay. I'll take care of you. We can go home and relax tonight. No worries."
"I made her cry, so much." I couldn't stop sobbing, and it felt like I'd been doing it for hours now. "I don't know how we're going to get through this."
"We'll support her every step of the way," Shay said softly. "Whatever she needs, we'll make sure she gets it. And when she comes home, we'll make sure she gets every meal, and we'll make everything nice and easy for her."
I squeezed her tight, knowing I had the best girlfriend ever. "Thanks, Shay. I bet she'd love that. I love you so much!"
"And I love you too." She leaned over, giving me a soft kiss and let it linger for a moment. "Now, how about you eat that on the way home, and we'll get some pad Thai and snuggle up with some silly movies tonight."
I gave her a grateful smile. Not having to cook would be a good thing tonight, and I nodded happily. "Yes please. Maybe we should make brownies too, just in case."
She arched her eyebrows at me. "Are you just saying that because you know I'm in charge of brownie making?"
"What if I pouted and told you that your princess needs them to feel better?" I gave her just the hint of a pout, knowing I really didn't need to.
"Then I would make you all the brownies in the world!" She gave me another kiss, and then helped me to my feet before we walked out to the truck, hand in hand. My day may have been a big pile of crap, but Shay was already making the evening better.
Harper texted me a few hours later, after having talked to my mom. My mom had her phone, and it was now charging, so she could contact me when needed. She stressed that I shouldn't expect anything soon, because she was really overcome by everything that she'd learned, but that she would be looking at the rehab centers, for which I was grateful. I wish she would have let me see her again, but I guess in her mind she had to process all her new information. Harper would be talking to her daily though, and would keep me up to date, which was a good thing.
It took a week, until my birthday, for me to get the word from Harper that my mom was ready to talk. I was very nervous, because the last time I had a birthday, my mom had gone back to the bottle. She couldn't do that int he hospital, but it was still a bitter memory. Shay took me to the hospital, and we walked up to my mom's room together. I really needed her support today, and I had to pause outside the room to compose myself.
"You got this." Shay hugged me tightly, kissing the top of my head. "I'll be with you the entire time, and hopefully your mom is doing better now that she's had the time to cope."
"I hope so. I need my mom back." I was jittery but hoping for the best. I knew Harper was in there, and my mom was probably waiting for me to show up. "I guess it's time to go see her."
"Then let's go!" Shay agreed, giving me one final squeeze.
I knocked on the door, then opened it and peeked in. My mom was awake, looking at her phone, and she looked up at me with a smile. I was already happy, because even after a few days there was more color in her cheeks. "Hey, Amber. Come on in." Harper gave me a little wave from the chair that was across the room, which helped too.
I almost melted when I saw the smile, and I opened the door, and walked in with Shay at my side. "Hey mom. You're looking a lot better." I sat in the other chair, and Shay sat by my side, still holding my hand.
My mom's eyes flicked between us, obviously confused. I doubted that she remembered Shay, since she was very drunk last year when she'd met her. "Who is your friend?"
"Mom, this is Shay. She's my girlfriend. You might not remember her, but you met her last year. She's been amazing in helping me through everything." Several times in the past I'd thought about the fact that I'd never had the chance to come out to my mother while she was sober, and I guess today was the day. But she was doing about as well as she could be, so maybe it was the best time to do it.
"Girlfriend?" She frowned at the thought, and then sighed as she shook her head. "I know things have been difficult, but I've been talking to the doctors, and they have been very clear that I need to get into rehab and therapy. Between the drugs and the alcohol, and dealing with the overload of information, I really need to do that in a place I'm comfortable."
I smiled, nodding along with what she was saying, because there had been a tiny part of me that thought she might refuse the treatment. "I was hoping you'd do that. It can help you get better. I really want to see you getting better, I've missed you." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Harper shaking her head slowly while looking at me, and I was suddenly on edge.
My mother handed me a piece of paper with information on a facility on it. "This is where I'd like to go. I already have a reservation, and I will check in next week. They know what I've gone through, and they feel confident that they can help me."
I looked it over, not recognizing the facility as one of the ones we'd suggested. But it looked good. I heard Shay gasp quietly, and turned to look up at her, only to see her finger pointing at the bottom of the paper. It was the address of the facility, and it was in Ohio.
"Mom, why can't you do a local one? Why would you go all the way to Ohio?"
"I grew up there. I still have friends there that I grew up with, and I think we'll have a great life there. I can't stay here after losing your father, and knowing what else happened. I've already looked at some places to buy, and in the meantime, we can stay with my friend Darla until we get on our feet." She looked at me expectantly, and I think I blanked for a moment. Was she really expecting me to move with her? I didn't want that at all. Everything I knew was here. Shay was here! The people that had helped me were all here!
"We? Mom, I don't want to go to Ohio! I go to school here, I know the area, and I wouldn't even see you while you're in rehab, so I'd be on my own again in a strange town and knowing nobody. My whole life is here! Shay is here, and I love her!" My heart was suddenly hammering in my chest while tears pricked at my eyes.
"You're not in love with a girl, so don't tell me that again. I'm your mother, and you'll go where I tell you," she snapped at me louder than I would have thought possible in her condition, making me recoil in surprise. "It's your fault that all this happened, not taking care of me well enough, and now it is your turn to step up! Why did you let this happen?" My breath caught in my throat at that realization that she thought that of me. I was a kid, doing the best I could to take care of her for years, and that is what her opinion of me was? I knew things went to shit, but I could only do so much!
"Rachel, you may be her mother, but Amber has been emancipated. She can make her own decisions on her future," Harper said quickly but kindly, making my mother turn to look at her. "You may want to go to Ohio, but you can't force her to go there unless she wants to. As for the rest, she did an amazing job of caring for you for years, all while being too young to have that responsibility thrust upon her, so don't tell her otherwise."
"What do you mean, emancipated?" my mother asked in shock. "She's still my daughter!" She completely ignored the rest of the admonishment.
"No. Amber is her own person. You're going to be in rehab until you're better, which could be months or years, and she won't see you regardless of which facility you go to." Harper stood up, and loomed over my mother, who looked up at her nervously. "You may not like her sexuality, you may not like her choices, but they are indeed her choices. She has fed, clothed, and cared for you for over five years. She was bullied, and insulted every day at school, and assaulted the night you were brought in. She has done more than enough to earn the right to choose her own future."
My mother gaped at Harper, then turned to look at me with narrowed eyes. "Fine. Choose. But if you don't go with me, you won't be my daughter anymore. I'm not letting you stay here and live in sin. I'll sell the house and you'll be out on the streets."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing, that my own mother would say these things. "Why would you do all this after I've taken care of you for all that time? I did my best! Why would you make me choose between everything I love and going to a new state to live with a stranger while you get healthy?" I asked, as tears poured down my face. "Do I mean nothing to you? And since when are you homophobic? Hell, the first time you met Shay, you told me I should be with her and then threatened to steal her from me, and it isn't like we've ever been religious!" This was certainly not at all what I'd expected her to say when she found out I liked girls based on her original meeting Shay.
"We may not have gone to church, but that doesn't mean I don't believe in the bible. And obviously, I haven't been in my right mind, or you never would have been with this girl. I would have nipped that in the bud."
"What book in the bible tells you to kick your kid out after they've devoted so much of their life to trying to get you better and look after you?" Shay asked bitterly. "Damn, I thought my parents were bad." My mom shot her a dirty look but didn't reply.
"Go to Ohio," Harper told my mom, raising her voice to shut everyone else up. "Let Amber live her life. Let her stay in the house. You don't need to sell it, there is still over $4 million in your accounts from your husband's life insurance and the money from the original lawsuits. Amber has her own found family here that will love and support her, no matter what."
"And I'm staying here, with them," I added firmly as I wiped away the continual tears. To me, this was the ultimate betrayal after I'd done all I could for so long. But I guess it wouldn't be a birthday without it being a mess, right? "I love the people who have taken me in and supported me the last few years. I'm not leaving them, and I'm not leaving Shay. I need a chance to be happy too."
"Then get out of here!" my mother yelled, turning red. "You're no longer welcome!"
I marched out of the room without a backwards glance, doing my best not to explode, though I could hear Harper talking sternly to my mom as I left. Hopefully she could talk some sense into her. I was so angry, and so sad at the same time that I couldn't help the hot, bitter tears that were still pouring from my eyes by the time we got to the elevator. I could barely breathe, even with Shay holding me as she helped me to her truck.
I was a mess for the rest of that day, but I had Shay, and she held me in her arms until I fell asleep that night. It dawned on me as she kissed me softly and whispered that she loved me that I'd be okay, just maybe not in the way I had thought. But that didn't mean it couldn't be great.
I was okay with that. If my mom didn't want me after all I'd done, I knew I had people that did.