Life as I Know It

Chapter 24

Previously...

"Um...ehh. I wouldn't call it love, yet, but I like him a lot. I've liked him forever. So it'll be there one day."

We kept talking for another hour until my battery was at 20%, so I told her bye and we hung up. We'd have to do something on the weekend to make up for my birthday. I just hoped it wasn't anything extreme; Alice liked extreme.

~oOo~

Luckily, my birthday came and went, just like all the others. Mom came home and we went out to Olive Garden for dinner and cake, then we drove back home for her to get ready for another one of her city parties.

But things felt odd the next morning.

When I woke up, the sun was shining, birds were singing, the blue sky shone from my window. And I heard a deep, manly voice talking with my mom's open, friendly one. I sat up in bed and checked the time. It was past 10 am, and my mom couldn't wait to get into it with another guy? I slid on my pants and found a more comfortable house bra to wear. Mom was lucky I was what I was considering to be dressed up in the house, or else I wouldn't have cared. Any other day it wouldn't have mattered; at least she had the decency to wait to bring a guy home after my birthday. Annoyed, I got up and turned on the TV to drown out the noise; good thing Harry Potter Weekend was still on Freeform. I went outside to brush my teeth, wash my face, and see what quick, easy breakfast I could find.

I saw Mom come out from her room from the little kitchen window. She wore a pink top and even pinker shorts, face full of makeup and curly hair. I sighed, not really disappointed. More annoyed, because she was just with Phil last week, and now someone new this week, on my birthday week? She couldn't hold it in for another week? It just got on my nerves that she couldn't stick to one good man. First, Rosalie's dad Chris, then my dad Charlie, then Isaac I remembered from high school, then Phil last week. Now this new guy? No wonder I had trust issues with men and boys; 'cause I had a mom who wouldn't stick to one person.

Mom came around me and hugged me while I was making toast, strawberries, a banana sliced into two, and tea. "Hey, babe." She smiled.

"Hey. Who's the..." I nodded to her room.

"Um..." She could hardly keep the smile from her face, but said, "He's just a dude I met from the party. We've been friends for a while. And he has the same name as your grandfather, Corbin. Isn't that nice?"

I rolled my eyes. "Oh yeah, so nice. But why'd you bring him here? Right after my birthday?"

She shrugged sheepishly. "It was late, we were tired. He lives all the way out west. I couldn't send him home after."

I stopped mid-chop of a strawberry and turn to her. "So, after we went out, you came back with some dude I don't even know? Some dude you don't even know? What about Phil?"

"He's out of town. And it's not like we don't see other people. He's in Italy right now, probably sporting someone else, but you know what? We're not exclusive, so it's okay. He'll be back though."

I stood there, aghast, and put down the knife. I made my tea with sugar and half-n-half milk in a rush, before I could say something I would really regret. "You need therapy, you know that?" I said. As I turned back around, my tray almost bumped into Mr. Mystery Man himself. He had hazel eyes, a bald head, a tall, bulky frame, and looked like maybe in his early 50's, way younger than my mom. He had salt and pepper scruff on his chin which made him look even nicer. I stepped back and mumbled an, "Excuse me."

"Sorry, hon. Didn't see you there." Mystery Man smiled.

"Corbin, meet my youngest daughter, Bella. Bella, Corbin," my mom spoke from behind me.

"Oh, so you're Bella. Yeah, hi, I've heard so much about you," he greeted.

"Oh, really. I've heard absolutely nothing about you." Sarcasm dripped from my mouth as I kept my best smile up front. His smile fell, and his eyes glanced to my mom.

"Bella!" my mom chastised, but I didn't care.

I walked out with my breakfast. "Excuse me." I almost ran into my room, locking the door behind me. The TV was still on, but I didn't care for it. I only ate in silence, the food tasting more and more like cardboard each minute. I grabbed my phone and texted Alice, Edward, Angela, basically anybody to get me out of this house:

B – Hey, wanna hang out? Tired of being in the house all day.

I threw my phone back on the bed and lay my tray on the bedside table, waiting for someone to respond.