I'll look after you

07

~S P E N C E R~

"Is everything okay?" My mom asked me, her brow furrowed with concern. Her question caught me off guard.

"Yeah, why?" I replied.

She raised an eyebrow "it's just, you haven't begged me to call you sick for school." She said, as she took a bite of her pasta.

I shrugged as I looked at my food. She was right, I used to do everything to avoid going to school. But things were different now.

"I don't know, I guess it's not so bad anymore." I said, keeping my voice casual.

She glanced up from her plate, a hint of surprise in her eyes. "Really? Well I'm proud of you."

I looked down, feeling a warm flush creep up in my cheeks. It wasn't often she said things like that, let alone have dinner together.

"Thank you." I mumbled.

She set her fork down, her expression softening. "You've come a long way, you know that? New school,  new people it's not easy. But you're handling it like a champ"

I've told her about Skylar, Asher, Theo and Roman. "Speaking about new people. I was at the diner with my friends. I uhm saw Sierra."

As soon as I mentioned Sierra, my mom's face changed. She put her fork down, and leaned forward.

"You saw Sierra? At the diner?" Her voice had a hint of panic, which was understandable. I nodded feeling the tension rise in the room. "Yeah, but it was no big deal nothing ha-"

"But Spencer honey, you know what those girls have put us through." She pressed her lips in a thin line.

"I know, mom. But I can assure you I'm okay. Nothing happened." I said, trying to keep my voice steady.

She shook her head, like she couldn't believe I wasn't more affected. "It's just, I remembered how broken and scared you were. You were deadly afraid to go to school, just because of her. I can't go through that again, and neither can you."

I swallowed, a wave of memories rising in my chest. "Mom, everything is different now."

"I know and I'm happy for you. I just don't want to see that happiness get taken away again."

"It won't."

After our conversation, we finished up dinner in an understanding silence. When we were done, she glanced at the clock and sighed. "I've got to go, are you going to be alright?"

I nodded, giving her a reassuring smile. "Yeah, mom. I will be don't worry."

She gave me a tight before grabbing her coat and keys. "If you need anything, call me."

"Okay, I will." I promised, watching her as she left the house.

As soon, as I was alone. The house felt strangely quiet. With a deep breath, I grabbed my phone and scrolled through my messages.

I saw that Skylar had called me and messaged me, her texts full of typos and frantic questions. I immediately called her and she picked up on the first ring.