Teachers Pet

76: Sea Glass

        "Yes, everything is fine. I promise. There's nothing to worry about. I'm fine." Layla gave me a thumbs up in encouragement when I turned to pace in her direction again. I feigned a smile because it would be so easy to tell my mom to just come and get me. That I didn't feel comfortable where I was or that there were men here at the house and it made me feel uneasy. My mom would race here to get me, I know she would. But I didn't say any of those things.

       Instead, for the past ten minutes, I've been reassuring her that everything was okay and that I was indeed safe. I've been pacing back and forth in the bedroom while Layla waited patiently. I've told my mom at least twelve times that she didn't need to get me. She's asked me the same questions multiple times trying to understand. Why did I need to be here for three days? Why wasn't this information explained better? She complained about how Principal Morris was an actual idiot and that she would be calling him after she got off the phone with me. I could imagine the ear full she would give him. He had no idea what was in store for him. I almost felt sorry for the man.

       But I honestly agreed with my mother. Our staying here for three days straight had not been explained properly. David himself hadn't even explained it to us. Part of me wonders if that had been on purpose or if it really had been just a big miscommunication. My mother wasn't going to be happy until she made it very clear to Principal Morris that she wasn't happy with this arrangement.

       After letting my mom get it all out of her system, I realized that I was smiling. I was smiling because for so long my mother has been forced to keep all of her anger inside and forced to keep her mouth shut. Marcus broke my mother. It took a while, but he broke her and then kept breaking her. For twelve years my mother was a pile of glass. When I was younger, my mother said something I will never forget. She said that she was made of sea glass.

       I didn't know what she meant so she explained it to me. She said that a long time ago, she was whole. She was beautifully whole before someone came along and broke her. And no matter how many times she tried to put herself back together, there were just too many broken pieces. With time, those sharp pieces became smooth. She was still broken, but the pieces weren't as sharp. I wondered if she still felt that way. I think I felt that way.

       "Can you at least have David call me later? I don't want to speak to whoever that girl is. I want David to tell me himself everything going on over there." I sighed heavily. I somehow felt relieved and anxious at the same time with how this phone call went. I told my mother I would tell David to call her as soon as he could. Telling her that David was here and that this was his family's ranch had been what calmed her down. She was confused like I was but having someone here that we both trusted seemed to really help.

       She'd asked how many other males were here and if any of them have made me uncomfortable yet. I told her my honest answer which was no, but I only met one other male. Dallas hadn't seemed threatening in the least bit. If my mother had asked me about David's older sister, Dani, I would have told her a different story. I left it alone though. When I was finally able to get off the phone with her, Layla clasped her hands together and smiled.

       "That went well?" All things considered, the conversation with my mother actually had gone well. She handled everything better than I thought she would. I know that having me away from her for this long was a big thing. My mother was scared to let me out of her sight most days. Ever since she found out about Nolan, she's been in full mama bear mode. I don't blame her. I expected nothing less.

       "Yeah. It honestly did. She just wants to talk to David later." Layla nodded as she let out a small squeal. I made a face but tried to hide it with a smile. I'd have to get used to Layla as a whole. I wasn't accustomed to someone so... bubbly. Jill wasn't bubbly. Dean wasn't bubbly. Tanya wasn't bubbly. Cassie was anything but bubbly. Layla just seemed to be radiating sunshine and rainbows. I haven't been around her long enough to make that judgment so soon, but it felt right.