Not All Bad Boys Are The Same.

Chapter 47

I packed the last of my freshly laundered clothes into my bag as well as the rest of my belongings. "All packed?" My mom asked, running her hands up and down her jeans. She seemed anxious as she bobbed around the entrance of my bedroom door.

I zipped up my bag and paused for a second. "What's wrong?" Her jittery nervous behavior was putting me on edge.

She sighed. "Let's talk," she said and fear was my first instinct. Talk there were a million things that one word could have meant.

She closed the room door before sitting at the edge of my bed and tapping the space next to her.

I sat down next to her. "Am I in trouble?" I couldn't help the humor in my voice. I was nineteen and living on my own. Could I still get grounded even if I was in trouble?

"No, and yes," she laughed. I had a feeling I knew what it was about and that made me tense. "Why didn't you ever tell me about your boyfriend?" She asked confirming my thoughts. "I thought I was a cool mom now Aubrey is saying I just ain't down with the kids." She swung her arm around me and I laughed.

Boyfriend. It was still strange to my ears. The word didn't seem to sum up what he'd come to mean to me. "Mom it's not like that. There wasn't a label on our relationship," I explained and could see I was failing miserably by the look on her face.

"I think it's pretty serious for him to come all this way here. But I can tell that he is a good boy and that he loves you so much and it scares me a little to see my little girl all grown up. It's like the time flew Lizzy and I wasn't always there-" I put my arms around her giving her shoulders a gentle squeeze. She would start to feel guilty about the drinking.

I understood that my mother was only human and prone to making human mistakes. She didn't know how to cope with the loss and neither did I. But her reaction to my father's death slowed my possible reaction. It distracted me because I knew she needed me to take care of her. I knew that I had to be strong for her.

My mother was still adjusting to being without him. She just handled her grief differently now but I knew she still cried. The morning after Christmas showed the evidence that she still cried when I saw her in the kitchen with dark circles under her slightly pink, watery eyes.

At that moment I felt like staying home and never leaving her again but she stopped me before I could even get half the thought out of my mouth. I wouldn't even have to think twice about staying. Of course, I'd miss my friends and Luca but if my mother needed me I'd be here. 

"You're a good mom," I soothed, "it was hard for the both of us." She rubbed my back tears brimming her eyes.

"Well," she cleared her throat. "I came up here to tell you that I'm happy that you are happy peanut." I smiled and she smiled back a small tear escaping her glistening eyes. I wiped it away with the pad of my thumb. "Also you better not make me a grandmother. I'm still too young for a grandchild."

"Mom!" I gasped.

"Lizzy honey you're an adult and working while you attend college and you have a bright future ahead of you. Now if you need some advice on contraceptives..."

"No no and no." I covered my ears. "Mom please I really don't want to talk about this."

A knock came on my bedroom door saving me from a pending brief-up talk about the birds and the bees.   "Luca seriously dear. Can't I have just one minute with my daughter?" my mother's voice was teasing and Luca popped his head into the room with a broad smile on his face.

"Sorry for interrupting," he said and I wanted to scream thank you for interrupting. "I just wanted to know if she was ready." Luca's politeness this past week was surprising. It proved that he wasn't just swear words and angry scowls.