I don't go to school the next day. Emma, Marcus, and Xavier leave early in the morning, promising to come over later. I sit on the couch until eleven, which is when Mom comes downstairs. She takes a seat beside me, and we wait for one of us to speak.
After ten minutes pass, Mom does. "I should've told you," she says.
"What exactly happened last night?" I ask.
"Night terrors. I went to the doctor about it, and that's when they diagnosed me with PTSD and depression," she says.
I look at my feet. "I shouldn't have told you about Ridge. I should've asked about how you were doing."
She wraps an arm around my shoulders, and I lean into her embrace. "No, baby. I'm glad you told me. I didn't want to tell you, but I should've known that you would find out sooner than later. I thought I had then under control. The pills were working."
I snap my head up to look at her. "What pills?" I ask.
"Just some medication to help me with depression and sleep. It's nothing to worry about," She says.
I begin to cry, and Mom holds me. "I told the boys everything last night once I knew you were asleep. They know, and I wanted to tell you when we were alone. I got discharged, Braelyn. I'm not leaving again. I'm done with my tour. I'm home for good," she says, and I hear her voice shake.
I hug her tighter. "Okay," I say, sniffling.
She sniffles, too, and she leans away. "Let's order some pizza and that mega brownie you like, yeah?"
I nod. "Yeah," I reply.
××××××
I don't go to school for three days, and when I do go, I don't think about Ridge. Well, that is until I see him in class. "I heard your mom was back," He says, sitting in the desk next to me.
"They have assigned seating for a reason, Ridge," I reply, not wanting to deal with him.
"How's she doing?"
I look at him. "That's none of your business. Why can't you see that everything that happens in my life stop being your business when you ruined my life? Can you just leave me alone, Ridge? I don't want to see, speak, or hang with you ever again."
Ridge nods. "Fine. Just know if you need to talk I'm here," he says then gets up and walks away. I shake my head then place my head in my hands.
For the rest of the day, Ridge doesn't talk to me or even look my way, and I'm thankful. I meet up with Emma after school, and we meet Marcus and Xavier at the arcade. We all want to get our minds off of Mom and other things.
"So, who wants to bet I can beat Emma at air hockey?" Marcus asks.
"I have ten on Emma," I say, and Xavier nudges me. "What?"
I look at him, and he smirks. "I have fifteen on Marcus."
I roll my eyes. "You're on, Xavier."
Two hours later I have a total of twenty-five dollars in my pocket thanks to Xavier. Emma won, obviously, and I can't be happier. "Bet against me again, Xavier," I say.
He rolls his eyes. "Yeah, yeah."
"Tell me, Xavier, how does it feel to be a loser?" Marcus says in his reporter voice, using his fist as a microphone.
"Well, Marcus, you seem to know more than me. You just lost to your girlfriend," Xavier replies in his deep, reporter voice.
We all begin to laugh, and I look over at the zombie hunting game. "Ooh, Xavier, let's play that!" I exclaim, and Xavier and I make our way over to the booth.
I put in the tokens, and I pick up my gun. Xavier follows suit, and we begin.
××××××
I catch a ride with Xavier when all of us decide to go home. I sigh, leaving against the window. "Did you have fun?" Xavier asks.
"Yeah, that was well needed," I reply, yawning.
"Now, don't fall asleep on me," he chuckles.
I close my eyes. "I'm not."
"Yeah, you are."
I don't reply. I just let myself fall into sleep. I don't know how long I stay asleep, but I wake up to a pair of arms lifting me out of the car. "Xavier?" I yawn, barley opening my eyes.
His blurry figure comes into view. "Yeah?"
"Am I home?" I ask.
"Yeah, you're home. I'm just going to take you upstairs."
I nod and snuggle closer to him as a chill is sent through my body. "Okay."
He carries me into the house and up the stairs. I sigh as he places in my familiar bed, and then, I grab his hand. "Stay," I say.
I open my eyes as he presses his lips to my forehead. "That will not be a good idea, Braelyn."
"Please, I just-" Ridge's face pops into my head, and everything that happened Saturday makes its way to my brain. I don't know why it does come to my thoughts at that time, but I begin to cry.
Xavier sighs, "Okay, fine. I will." He kicks off his shoes and crawls in beside me. I let him hold me while I cry myself to sleep. This is my life, and a day at the arcade is not going to make it disappear.
Merry Christams Eve! Hope you guys have a a very merry Christmas!