Changed

Chapter Twenty Five

KYLEIGH'S POV

Well, this is awkward. Like… beyond awkward. I chewed in silence on a bite of green bean casserole-delicious, by the way- as mom took a bite of turkey leg. 

“So… how is school going?” she asked. I swallowed my bite.

“Well, I’m passing all my classes pretty well… almost all A’s. I’ve made some friends… Adam and Lisa. They’re really cool, and really nice.”

“That’s good, that’s good… what are they like?”

“Well, Adam is kind of shy, but not really… he can’t decide whether he wants to be or not. Lisa is really upbeat… excited about everything.”

“That’s nice. They sound really nice.”

“They are. They’re really great,” I told her. I watched her as she ate, and wondered about things. Were we ever going to be like a family again? I knew it was always going to be just me and her from now on, there’s no way she would date anyone else again… but would me and her ever be close like we used to be again? 

I watched as her short her swayed when she leaned in towards the fork. I got most of my looks from her. We had the same wavy black hair, only hers was cut short, to her shoulders. We had the same eyes, big and wide, and framed with dark lashes. Mine were more mixed between gray and green, while hers were mostly green. Our skin had the same smoothness, though I got my tan tone from my dad and the sun. I got my nose from Dad, too, though I got my lips from Mom. She was in her thirties, but she could easily pass as a twenty something year old… we had the same build- tall, lanky, skinny, and muscular. We were both fit- we would work out together all the time at the gym when daddy and I weren’t training for MMA. 

“So, how’s work been?” I asked her.

“Busy, pretty busy,” she replied. I nodded. 

“I got a job, too.”

“Really? Where?”

“At the tattoo parlor… I’m a tattoo artist now,” I told her. 

“Wow, Kyleigh, that’s… that’s really cool. That sounds like a fun job,” she told me. I nodded in agreement. We finished dinner in silence, then went to clear the table. We put the leftover food in the refrigerator, and washed the dishes. In silence, of course. Awkward, awkward silence. 

“Kyleigh…” mom said suddenly.

“Yeah?”

“I… I love you. You know that, right?” 

“Yeah, of course I do. Why?”

“Well, I just… I know I’m at work a lot now, and I know I leave you alone a lot… and I don’t want you to think that it’s because I don’t love you anymore. You’re my daughter, and I will always love you.”