Public Service Announcement (Austin Carlile FanFic)

Chapter Seventeen

*Liz's POV*

"Mom?" I called as I walked through her front door.

"In here, baby." She called back from the kitchen.

I went in the kitchen and smiled at her. She stood at the island in the small wood paneled kitchen cutting up carrots. "Whatcha makin?"

"Chicken pot pies." She said.

I sat on the counter and reached into the cookie jar, stuffing my mouth with her homemade chocolate chip cookies.

"How are you, sweetie?" She asked.

I nodded. "Good." I mumbled.

She handed me her knife. "If you're here I'm putting you to work."

I hopped off the counter and started chopping carrots. "Hey, Mom?"

"Yeah?" She said, going to the other side of the island and cut up chicken.

I sighed and glanced at her, then went back to chopping. "Do you ever think about Dad?"

She shifted her weight. "All the time."

I looked at her. "Have you forgiven him?"

She nodded. "Yes. I have." She looked at me. "Have you?"

I thought for a second. "No."

She sighed and put her knife down. "Sweetie, forgiveness is an important part of moving on."

"How can I forgive him?" I whispered. I shook my head.

"Sweetie," she said, reached across the island and holding my hand. "I can never apologize enough for the way you were treated when you were young. I know that the way things were here were probably the reason you did the things you did. But you have to understand that having four kids is stressful. You cant give them all the attention and affection they need. And with my drinking..."

I shook my head. "It's in the past, Mom." I didn't want to hear her stupid excuses. I wish she would just take responsibility for the way she acted. I was always the most like dad. And she hated me for that. Mel, Olivia, and Deni were her little mini-mes.

She pulled her hand away. "I love you, Elizabeth. I'm so happy that we finally have a good relationship."

I faked a smile. "Yeah, me too."

We went back what we were doing and we didn't talk, for a long time. I was lost in my own thoughts. All I wanted for my mom to admit that she resented me for being so much like Dad. I was the surprise kid. When Mom was pregnant with us, the ultrasounds didn't detect that I was even there. It wasn't until after 12 minutes after Deni was born that they knew I even existed. They weren't prepared for another baby. I was reminded of that my whole life. I was a burden to my mom. I always knew that. But with Dad, it was different. I was his little princess. I was closer to him than I was so anyone else. Mom always made me feel out of place. I wasn't one of her perfect little girls. I was always chubby and "not as pretty" as my sisters. Now that we're older, things have changed. Mom and I are closer, but it doesnt fix the way she treated me. I just want an apology.

"Elizabeth?"

"What?" I said, breaking away from my thoughts.

"Can you open the oven?" She said, picking up the tray of the uncooked pot pies.

I nodded and opened the oven. After a few minutes Mom and I moved to the dining room, drinking wine. I glanced at the bookshelf and got up, grabbing one of the photo albums. It was my favorite album because it had my favorite picture. I opened it to the page and smiled. The picture was of Austin and I. We were 13 years old and looked dorky as ever. He had his arm around me and we were both laughing.

"Mom? Do you remember this day?" I asked, showing her.

She smiled. "Oh yeah. That was when we went to the cabin by the lake. You and Austin never left each others side."

I smiled. "Yeah. He and I jumped off the dock and he almost lost his swim trunks."

She laughed. "I had forgot about that." She took the picture and smiled at it. "I'm glad you too are together."

I sat down and flipped through the album. "You dont think I moved too fast?"

She set the picture down. "No. Your sisters do. But I think you made the right choice. I love Jonathan, but he just wasn't right for you. I always pictured you growing old with Austin." She smiled at me. "I think he's the one for you, Liz."

I smiled at her. "I think so too." I turned the album page and chuckled. The very first picture was a picture from when we were all in Florida. Austin stood in between Deni and I, that big beautiful smile plastered across his face. I smiled bigger when I realized what day this picture was taken. It was the day we lost our virginity. We snuck away from our families and had sex in the ocean.

Mom chuckled. "I remember that day. Austin got stung by a sting ray."

I held in my laugh. "Yeah, I remember."

My phone buzzed in my pocket. It was a text from Austin.

"Hey, pretty girl. When r u coming home? I have a prize for u(;"

I smiled and typed, "Soon."