𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐊𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬 |𝟏𝟖+

Chapter two

To calm my nerves, I called one of my closest friends, Regina.

I can always count on her to answer at any time, day or night.

"Hey. What's up?" She let out a yawn.  "How do you feel?"

I rub my eyes for a moment. "I think I need to clean my room."

She giggles.

I was somewhat excited to see my childhood room after all these years.

The air freshener plugged in the wall filled the room with a sweet scent of vanilla.

It was different from when I left: messy and chaotic. Now, it was more clean and taken care of except for the scattered items on my vanity and dresser and the assortment of clothes on my sewing desk.

"How was your first night back," Regina asked.

Regina was also from Briarwoods. We both live in the same city. I left for school. She left for school and to be closer to her mom. We even lived together at one point. 

"Too familiar." I think back to my previous encounter with Mom. "I'm still processing it."

"How did that go?"

"Well, nobody had to call 911, so it went well," I said. It went better than I expected.

Regina laughs. "Well, maybe this will be good for you. Maybe you two could work things out."

I shake my head. "Putting me aside, what if you came to visit sometime?"

"Umm, I don't know," she hesitated. 

"If I can come here, you can come here."

"I'll see. Talk later?"

"Love you."

"Love you, bye."

—

I head down the stairs and to the kitchen. I find my mom making coffee, eggs, and toast and Ashley sitting at the table.

"Good Morning," I greeted.

"Hey, Jay," Ashley beamed.

Instead of saying hello or good morning, my mom eyeballs my appearance.

"Did you change your clothes from yesterday?" Mom questions.

"I was jet-lagged," I countered.

"You drove."

"Car-lagged then."

She rolled her eyes at me, clearly unamused.

"So, what are you doing today," Ashley asked as she took a bite out of her toast.

I'm going over to Georgina's house," Mom answered.

"I'll go with you," I added.

"Really?" Mom asked. She seems surprised.