Hard Habit to Break

Chapter 13

"You should head to bed," Linda told her, peeking over her shoulder at the paper she was working on for her English Lit class. "Don't you have two weeks until that's due?"

"Yeah, but I just wanted to get a headstart on it. I hate leaving things until the last minute."

"I know you do. But with your own course load and all the work you're putting in to help Eddie, you also need to make sure you're getting your rest, honey." Her mom dropped down into the chair next to her, a mug of chamomile tea cradled in her hands. That had been her nighttime routine for as long as Tori could remember. She claimed it helped her sleep. "You want me to make you a cup?"

"No. That's okay. Thanks, though." She gathered up her notecards with a sigh. Her mom was right. The late nights were catching up to her. She was spending so much time trying to make sure that Eddie passed his classes that she barely had time to do her own work, often staying up well into the night to stay on top of everything. "I think you're right. I should probably just try to head to bed and get more than four hours of sleep."

"I think that's a good idea," Linda agreed, her hand covering her daughter's, warm from the mug. "You know, I can always help Eddie out a bit, too."

"Mom, it's been centuries since you've been in school."

Linda scoffed, her mouth dropping open, "Excuse you, young lady. It's not been that long. It's not even been quite two decades since I was inside a classroom and I was pretty damn good at Math and Science. Why don't you let me help him study for that algebra exam next week so you can catch up on whatever you've got to do?"

Her shoulders sagged with relief at the idea. She would never admit it to Eddie but helping him pass his classes was exhausting. Between her job at the video store and her own classwork, she had zero time for herself. They had zero time for each other. It felt like all they did when they were together was math problems, essays, and drills.

"That would be great. Honestly. Dustin is helping him with his Physics test and I just helped him finish his paper for Government. His essay on 1984 isn't due for three weeks and he better be reading it or I am going to kick his ass. If you helped him with this test, I could have a week to get all my stuff done, maybe even get ahead on my readings a bit. Seriously. It would be a huge help. Maybe him and I could actually just hang out for once."

"Aww, Tor, why didn't you tell me how behind you were getting?" her mom asked, sighing. "I swear, asking for help is like pulling teeth with you. You know, you don't always have to take everything on yourself. Eddie isn't your responsibility."

"Mom..." she groaned.

Linda tossed her hands up, "I know. I know you love him and you want him to do well. So do I. I'm not saying we shouldn't but you don't have to do it alone. You don't have to run yourself into the ground, honey. I'm more than happy to help. I never got less than an A minus on any paper I wrote."

"I know but...well, Robin planned on helping with history and government but then she got into Franklin and she's hours away now so that doesn't help. Dustin has got Science and he can help Eddie with math but he's also got school and now he's working part time at the arcade. I don't want to burden everyone."

Her mom sighed, shaking her head, "Tor, my sweet beautiful girl, you're not a burden. Eddie is not a burden. We all love him. We all want to see him excel. But I also want to see you excel. And I definitely don't want the two of you to spend the next six months being miserable because you never get to relax or enjoy life. This time of your life is supposed to be fun. I know Lacy's younger but she's really good at English too. Let her help with some of his papers. If you utilize us, if we work together as a team, then the two of you can actually live life a little too. You've got to stop feeling like you have to shoulder all the burden. It's okay to ask for help. It's okay to say you can't do it all on your own."