BOUND 2 (GxG)

Miss Me, Babe?

Upon waking up in a hospital bed, and processing everything that had happened prior, I felt shocked and confused.

Shocked that I even had a seizure.

And confused with everything that led up to it—the entire day felt like a blur, almost like a dream that I just couldn't quite remember.

I think mentally, I had checked out when my mom arrived back in town.

And then when Tate showed up at school... yeah, that definitely did it.

Honestly, right now, the only person I wanted to see was Karter.

So when the door opened gently and the doctor walked through, I felt my heart leap, but upon seeing it was my mom, it quickly sunk back down.

I was definitely disappointed.

"Hi, ladybug," my mom said, her voice gentle and in a whisper.

I played with my hands in my lap, "Hi."

My mom gently sat down beside me, placing a gentle hand on my leg, "How do you feel?"

I laughed awkwardly, "Not that great, honestly."

My mom shook her head to herself, "Sorry, that was a dumb question."

I shrugged, "Not really, you're just checking in," I said, which easily earned a nod from her. I took in the thick silence and the way her eyes avoided mine, oh no... is she leaving again?

"Look, ladybug, I wanted to talk to you about—"

"You're leaving again?" I cut her short, blinking a few times.

My mom shook her head, "No, no, I actually wanted to talk to you about staying."

My brows raised slightly, did I just hear her correctly?

It was such an easy sentence yet it was what I wanted to hear from her every single time I talked to her.

My mom spoke again, "After your dad died..." she trailed off, pursing her trembling lips, which easily made me grab her hand for support. My mom smiled slightly, looking at our hands, "After your dad died, it just got really hard for me, after finally getting through the grief, I realized I had an entire child to take care of—and somewhere along the way, the night shifts at the hospital turned into me traveling just to provide as much as I could for you."

I felt tears grow in my eyes, nodding a few times as I swallowed the lump in my throat.

"I just... all I ever wanted to do was provide for you. I just wanted you to be happy—to live the best life that you possibly could," my mom's voice wavered as she sniffled. "I'm really sorry, Sloan."

Suddenly, the tears fell from my eyes, streaking my cheeks, which caused my mom to pull me in for a hug.

"It's fine," I forced out. "You're here now, yeah?"

My mom nodded a few times, clearing her throat, "Yes, my next assignment isn't for another three months."

I pulled back from the hug.

Oh, so she's not stopping? She's just going to keep leaving?

I shook my head, "So you are leaving again?"

My mom nodded hesitantly, "But I'll be staying for longer increments of time and I'll make sure to be present during the holi—"

"What aren't you getting?" I cut her short, my voice higher in volume and laced with subtle anger.

"Ladybug—"

"No, no seriously, is me being in a hospital bed not enough for you?" I asked, feeling tears weigh down my eyes as I leaned as far away from her as I could.