𝐒𝐓𝐔𝐂𝐊 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐈𝐃𝐃𝐋𝐄 - 𝐫𝐢𝐨

𝐁𝐚𝐫

A MOVIE played in Malina's living room. it was more for background noise, and no one was actually watching it.

Malina stood next to her mother in her kitchen, a small smile on her face as she listened to her mom speak.

the two women were baking cookies.

Malina was happy her and her mom were doing something together, actually bonding in longer than she could remember.

her mother talked about old times when Malina was little, and their family would all spend time together.

she asked if she remembered certain things, and Malina would nod.

Malina rolled cookie dough in her hands, placing them on the cookie sheet in front of her, laughing at a memory her mother talked about.

Malina felt almost warm. her heart was beating slightly fast, and her stomach would occasionally turn as she continued to listen to her mother speak.

it had been so long since she had even had a conversation with her mother, let alone hangout with her, that it felt really nice.

she just wanted to soak up the moment.

feel the genuine happiness.

but another part of her didn't want to let her guard down, and end up getting hurt if her mother decided to leave at any moment after this.

she couldn't get that thought out of her head, no matter how many times she tried to just be happy next to her.

once the cookie sheet was covered in small balls of dough, her mom placed them in the oven carefully before turning to her.

she leaned against the counter, giving Malina a small smile.

Malina wasn't the only one feeling a bunch of emotions and having many thoughts.

her mother felt guilty. a part of her knew Malina was enjoying the moment they were spending together, and another was skeptical.

it hurt that her daughter couldn't fully trust her, and that they couldn't share a moment together fully.

but she understood why, and she would never make Malina feel bad about it.

she knew it was her fault.

"how's Beth?" her mom asked, glancing at her. "you two still friends?"

Malina smiled at the thought of her close friend, "yeah. she's good."

"and her husband?"

Malina but onto her lip, her mind almost having a battle between deciding if she should tell her about Dean cheating or just lie.

"uh, Beth found out he was having an affair."

her mother raised her eyebrows, "really? they seemed so in love."