Not a Reunion

Chapter 29

Thea

I move on from looking at my mom and head up. I put Thomas in his bed, and when I go to pull away from doing so, there is a tug on my hand. I look down to find Thomas looking at me, maybe having sensed that I was leaving.

"I had fun today, sissy," he says with a little smile.

"That's nice, buddy," I tell him with a little smile as I caress his face. "But it's time for sleep."

Thomas yawns, but then his smile turns to a frown as he looks past my arm. I know that he is looking at his door, and my heart starts to stoo when I have a feeling of what this could be about. He tugs on my hand and says, "Can mommy say goodnight to me?"

I give him a smile and say, "Sorry, mommy is busy."

Thomas's eyes glaze over as he whispers, "Mommy isn't going to say goodnight to me?" I don't know what to say to make this better, so I only look at him with an apologetic look. Thomas shakes his head and says, "I miss her. I want her to come say goodnight to me."

"I know," I say, my heart breaking at the fact that this wasn't something I could automatically fix. I lean down and press a kiss on his forehead, then pull away with a smile. "Go to sleep now, Tommy; when you wake up, everyone will be here."

"Mommy as well?" Thomas whispers back. I now and then add, "And Mason."

"Oh, yes," Thomas says with a grin, and then his yawn takes hold of him again. I place the back of my hand on his cheek, run it down his face, and then say, "Goodnight, Tommy. I'll be here if you need me."

"Goodnight, sissy," he whispers back, and because there was a frown on his face, I give him another kiss. This one makes the corner of his lips pull up, and I leave him then. I leave the door slightly ajar and then head down in hopes of catching my mom before the alchohol cussing through her body can wipe her out for the night.

I find that Mason was talking to her, his hand grabbing for the bottle. "You don't need the drink, Jezebel. You're doing great on your own."

My mom pulls the bottle away from his grasp and says, "What do you know?"

Maosn doesn't say anything but stares back at my mom. My mom gives him a scowl and then says, "You weren't here when we experienced the loss. You were off on your quest to become the man you are now. Good job, but you haven't accomplished anything if it meant abandoning my daughter at the time she needed you most."

I feel my heart hammer against my chest because I can't believe my mom said that. I couldn't believe that my mom had snapped at Mason just because he had been trying to help her. Mason had been nothing but nice around her, and I guess my mom remembered the version of him from six years ago. The version that had, in fact, abandoned me.

Mason flinches at my mom's word, and I look at the burt on his face. I want to add the fact that he shouldn't be hurt by my mom's comment because it was true. I wanted to give him a new one, but I knew that wouldn't accomplish anything. I also knew that my mom didn't have the authority to say hurtful things to Mason just because she was drinking.

I walk closer to the scene, and when my eyes catch Mason's, he looks down. I found that there was a line of pink along his cheeks and that his jaw was clenched. He doesn't say anything to me as he moves away from me; his steps are brisk as he goes on his way.

I wait until Mason fully disappears up the stairs before I cross my arms and stare at my mom. She only tugs the bottle up to her mouth and takes a long swig. Then she gives me a look, looking at me as if I were the one who was looking crazy.

I kept my voice low, even though Masn was already up the stairs. "What is wrong with you?"

"What?" my mom says with a little chuckle. "You know it was true."