Chapter 35

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Sean closes the door beside me and I reluctantly get out of his car. It's been a week since Ken's left and dad has barely changed. We still have to hide Charlie in our rooms so we take turns each night. The boys have been a little depressed, but they seem to be getting better each day. Shelby has video chatted with him twice while the rest of us have done it once all together.

"Come on babe." Sean says. I stand by the door looking at the prison miserably. Sean sees my expression and comes over. He grabs my hand and pulls me towards the place.

"I know you're scared, but it's going to be alright. I'll be right next to you this whole time." He says reassuringly. I sigh loudly even though his talk does help me feel a bit better. The two of us walk into the main building and walk up to the front counter.

"How may I help you?" The officer asks us. Sean gives my mom's name to the officer and we wait in the waiting room for visiting time to start. My foot taps on the floor nervously. I swear my hand shakes in Sean's. He takes his other hand and puts it over his own, putting pressure on my own.

The officer calls for everyone, and we go through the metal detector. He tells us where to go and we walk in together, Sean leading the way. We reach the door and he drags me inside. Literally drags me. And I see her.

Her hair is raggedy with obvious knots in it. She wears a loose orange jumpsuit because of how small she is and has bags under her eyes. Her mouth is curved downward into a permanent frown. Her hands shake on the table.

"Um, hi mom?" I ask, unsure if this woman is even my mom. The mom I know is always happy with a few occasional tantrums. She's always brightening a room with her smile and she's always laughing with her teeth showing. Her hair is always put up into a neat bun with a few stray sways hanging into her face.

She looks up at me as if it's hard for her to do. Her saggy eyes stare up at me, changing little expression. She gives a small smile, so tiny that I have to look for it.

"Nicole." She says quietly with a raspy voice, as if she's old. I smile back at her, sitting down and motioning for Sean to do the same. He looks at me, nervously.

"Mom, this is my boyfriend, Sean."

"What happened to Drew?" She asks me, still looking over at Sean.

"Oh, he broke up with me." I say, shrugging it off. She nods, knowing I don't want to talk about it anymore. I'm pretty sure she's guessed that the baby's not his.

"Nice to meet you Sean." She says, extending her hand. The officer looks over at us, making sure Sean isn't handing something over to her. He sees the officer, and shows the officer his hand.

He shakes her hand and she reaches her other hand to rest on top of his. "Firm grip." She says, smiling weakly. She pulls away, and he does awkwardly also.

"So how far along are you?" Mom asks, turning her attention towards me.

"About six months." I tell her, my hand instinctively resting in my belly. She sees the movement and smiles at my hand.

"I always did the same with you." She says. "I never even dreamed about having twins though." She refers to Kate and me. I smile at her, though she's told me this a lot.

"So how's it going at dad's?" She asks. She sees my sudden change in mood at the word, dad. Not to mention that Sean puts his hand on my back to comfort me.

"What's wrong?" She asks me. I shift in my seat to get comfortable before explaining the story quickly. We do have a time limit. I tell her everything from being kicked out to Kathy leaving with Ken. She listens the entire time with her hand on mine, giving a little squeeze at the hard parts.

"Oh my goodness." She says under her breath, confusingly. "I've never known your father to be that cruel! Do you know what he did to that witch?" She asks me. I almost start laughing at her nickname for Kathy, though I have some other choice words for her.

"No, not at all."

"Well, that is so terrible!" She says angrily.

"It's okay mom. She's gone now."

"But what about Ken?! She just took that sweet boy away with her!"

"Mom, you've never even met Ken."

"But I can tell he is an incredible boy with how you talk about him."

"Well, he is incredible. And he treats Shelby right." I say with a sincere smile.

"Just like this Sean." She leans in and puts her hand around her mouth like it's a secret from Sean. "He's a keeper. I see how he looks at you." She says before winking. I blush, pulling back and ducking my head down.

"Don't be embarrassed about it babe." Sean says smiling down at me. "I should be embarrassed. What if people at school saw me looking at you like you're a god!" He jokes, adding a gasp at the end for extra effect. This makes me laugh quite loudly. The other people in the room, visiting, look over at us with a dirty look. My mom sends an apologetic look, and I quiet down, blushing again.

"Five more minutes everybody." The officer informs us, earning a couple sighs and awes from everybody in the room.

I look over at my mom with a sad smile, who matches it. She's gotten happier as the visit has progressed. Her permanent frown is now a little smile, and her bags seem to have disappeared a little.

"I'll have the boys come here with Kate next time." I tell her. She nods excitedly, smiling at both Sean and me. I get up, motioning for Sean to do the same. She gets up next and we hug. I miss these hugs. She squeezes tightly, as if she's missed them too. I let a tear fall, but discreetly wipe it away so she doesn't cry.

Sean walks up to her and extends his hand to say goodbye. "It was nice meeting you-" Mom interrupts him by ignoring the hand and hugging him.

Sean, surprised by this, awkwardly wraps his arms around her also. He gets comfortable though, and I see him visibly loosen up, and he closes his eyes. I watch him cautiously, and Mom pulls away first. He pulls away also, snapping out of his phase.

"Visiting time over everyone." The officer says.

"I approve." Mom directs towards Sean before leaving the room. Sean stands shocked and I pull him back to reality by kissing his cheek and pulling him out.

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Hey everyone! I thought Nicole should get one of her New Years Resolutions done! I hope you all liked this chapter because I did! Please send suggestions for what should happen next!

What should the baby be named? What do you all think about how Nicole's mom looks? How about how she acts? And why did Sean get so comfortable during that hug with Nicole's mom?

Thank you all so much for reading THIS FAR! Please vote, add to your libraries/reading lists, and comment! Love you all SO MUCH!!!

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