TIFFIN

65

Hey everyone. I thought the Weeknds new song deserved more credit. Love you all <3
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It wasn't long before I heard the bathroom door swinging open. As I dabbed at my eyes, I sincerely hoped it wasn't Hero. I wouldn't have put it past him to do such a thing, honestly. Much to my relief, it was my mother looking distressed at the entire situation. 

"Do you realize how rude that was?" She demanded. "I swear, I didn't pay for those etiquette classes for sport. I taught you better. It embarrassed me-"

"Please, mother," I murmured, "Not now. I just can't..."

We both stood silently as a random elderly woman exited her stall, making her way over to the porcelain sinks. As soon as she made for the door, my mother continued.

"I'm sorry honey. These past few years, I've been so hard on you, I know that. I'm so proud of everything you've accomplished."

I didn't reply. I stared down at the tiny grains on the sink. Never in my life, had I ever heard either one of my parents say this. I never thought they would.

"You're in love with him, aren't you?" My mother asked. 

I turned around, mystified. What she'd said sounded so simple, relaxed. Everything she said in the past had some sort of discipline to it. 

"What?" I asked. 

"The boy. The-"

I sighed. "His name is Hero."

My mother took a struggled breath.

"Hero, then. You love him. I know you do. You can't seem to stay away from him, going around town every chance you get. I don't have to have a tracker to know what you're up to. I know how you feel. I had to lie to your father when he asked for daily check-ups. He has your phone linked to the cloud."

I couldn't seem to come up with a response for this. My father really was crazy. As far as I was concerned, he would do anything to keep me in chains, figuratively speaking.

"I know how you feel," My mother surprised me by saying, "I fell deeply in love once too."

Could this man possibly have been my birth father?

"He liked to take risks." She went on. "He was what my parents considered a troublemaker back in my day. Wherever he went, I went too. We were like links, always finding our way to each other. There were no secrets between us."

This made me frown. There were no secrets between us. That was the difference between Hero and me. There were always secrets, it seemed.

Speaking of finding our way to each other, though that was true, I hadn't realized for the past few weeks Hero hadn't been attending English. I'd been so consumed with my obsession with avoiding him and trying to get my grades up that I hadn't bothered to notice. 

"I don't know if I love him," I answered honestly. 

"You love him," My mother confirmed, "I know you do. I know I've been nasty to him and it was uncalled for. I wish I could tell you to forget everything we've taught you and be with him, but there are bigger things at play here. My parents taught me to do whatever I needed to stay at the top of the totem pole."

"Yeah, I know." I sighed. "But I can't just forget him. No matter what I do, he always seems to show up. It's like we're linked."

"Is he really worth it?" My mother asked. "After that display with him and his party girl? I didn't like how public that was. Very distasteful."

Was that what Kylie was? His party girl?

"Have you slept with him?" My mother went on. 

This took me off guard. I stood frozen, unwilling to open my mouth. I tried to shake my head. My mother folded her arms across her chest.