Not a Reunion

Chapter 16

Thea

After Mason and I both drop off the kids at their school, the both of us head back home. I had driven my mom's car with Mason sitting in the passenger seat, making conversation with the little kids the whole time. I didn't even know how they all had the energy to be this hyper in the morning, but they were. I don't think I've ever heard Harry talk this much in his life.

Harry is a quiet kid; he talks at home, but anywhere beside that, he is as quiet as a mouse. That was in contrast to how Nat and Thomas were. The siblings were both full of energy and needed to be social with everyone. It didn't matter if we were walking around the park, and they would never see the strangers again; they still chatted with them. It was scary how much they didn't fear the unknown. We had to watch over them just so they wouldn't start to befriend a kidnapper. That wouldn't bode well.

Once I turn off the car, Mason speaks from beside me. "Do you think maybe?" Mason starts, his eyes glancing around at the guy before turning back to me. "I hope that it doesn't come off offensive, but can I take this car to a car wash?"

I look around the car as well, at the little miscellaneous toys all around. There were a few incriminating spits on the floor that would need to be looked at. Overall, my mom's car was messy, which made sense since she had three kids in here every day. It was bound to get messy, and with my mom not doing well, it was even worse now.

I give the car one more glance before saying, "Yeah, this car would need a wash."

"I'll do an inside check with the supplies as well," Mason says with a little smile. He then holds out his hand and says, "Keys."

"Right," I say, grabbing the keys out of the ignition and then popping the door open. I head out of the car quickly and then hand Mason the keys. He takes it from me as he moves from the passenger's side seat to the driver's one. He palms the keys up and says, "Okay. I'll be back in an hour."

"Yeah," I say softly, and then close the door. Mason starts the car back up, and as I head back into my house, I hear him pull away. Once I get into my house, I find my mom sitting up in her spot on the couch. She is rubbing at her eyes, but when she sees me, she gives me a small smile before her mouth contorts into a scowl once the aftermath of being drunk hits her.

"Oh no," she whispers after placing her face in her hands. "My children. They can't miss school again."

"They haven't missed school today," I say with a voice more hard than I had expected. I cringe at my tone, and then I walk over to the couch. I take a seat on the coffee table with a sigh and look at my mom. I didn't know what to do with my emotions; I knew for sure that I didn't want to feel them. I didn't want to feel disappointed in my mother. That was wrong of me, and I couldn't deal with the heartache that this would bring.

"Mom," I say to her, and then place a hand on her shoulder. She looks up at me, and for a second, I feel as though she can read my emotions, which I'm keeping at bay. I think that she can see the resentment I feel for her for a second. I couldn't deal with that, so I averted my gaze. Instead, I pull up the neckline of her shirt and train my eye on it.

"I want to talk to you," I tell her. "But I need you to get cleaned up, okay?"

My mom turns her head away from me and starts to pull back. I shake my head and say, "No. Mom, please. Go upstairs and take a shower. Then we can speak."

"Don't speak with me that way, baby," my mom says with the saddest voice I've seen anywhere other than with my little siblings whenever they want something. I feel a piece of my heart, honestly, ripping away from my chest so slowly. If it were there, it's the slowness of it that kills me inside.