WillyWood Hospital

Chapter 33: Mom Comes Back

I wake up to Martha shaking me. We're in the hotel room. The time is 6:15am. Ms. Robinson and Mark are still sleep. " Martha we still have 3 hours left to sleep " I say turning over trying to go back to sleep. " I can't go back to sleep and i want some company " Martha says. " Why not wake Mark up ? You know i love my sleep " I ask. " I want you not him " Martha says. " Now that's very selfish " I say. " You know what ? Just forget about it. Go back to sleep " Martha says. I sigh and close my eyes. It's very hard for me to go back to sleep after being woke up. I open my eyes to Martha taking the card for our door out Ms. Robinson's purse and leaving the room. I get out of bed and go out the room. Martha is about to go in the elevator so i run up to her. " Where you think you going ? " I ask going in the elevator. Martha pushes floor 1 button and says " I don't know. I just want to get out the room " The doors open and we get out the elevator. The lobby is very quiet and there's an old man at the desk. " Do you plan on going outside ? " I ask. " No. To the cafeteria so i can eat some food " Martha says. " You took some money didn't you ? " I ask crossing my arms. We sit on high chairs at a bar table. " Yes i did " Martha says. A man comes up to us and says " What can i get you ? " " English muffin and hot tea " Martha says. " Coffee " I say. Martha looks at me and says " I said for me to eat something not you " " You have enough money to pay for both of us " I say with a smirk. " I bought $10 dollars " Martha says. " Which is enough. If not i'll make it " I say. Martha shakes her head and puts her chin in her hands. The man comes back with our orders and says " $6.50 " Martha hands him the money. Martha takes a bite of her muffin and sighs. " What's wrong ? " I ask. " Nothing " Martha says shaking her head. " Martha " I say. Martha sighs and says " I only want the single Kayla to know this " " What do you mean the single Kayla ? I'm the same Kayla all around. I'm not divided into parts " I say. " Yes you're. There's taken Kayla, who tells everything to her boyfriend and single Kayla, who can keep secrets and don't have to worry about telling info to her boyfriend " Martha says. " That's what you think about me ? " I ask. " Don't act shocked. What happened between you and Levi was suppose to be info you kept to yourself. You go off telling Mark everything that happens the next day. That makes me kinda iffy on whether i should tell you or not " Martha says. I sigh and say " Martha i promise you whatever you are about to tell me will only be me knowing " Martha sighs and says " I've been thinking more into what Mark said about my mother wanting nothing to do with me. I guess he's right. She hasn't been visiting often anymore. Last time we talked we were on good terms. We always got along with each other. I'm confused now on why i'm even in here. Before i was a mental patient my mom and i always use to go out every Saturday morning to this cafe and get muffins. Those were the times we really bonded. I guess my problem is i want to know why i'm in here. I seem pretty OK to me " I pull Martha into a hug and say " I understand completely how you feel. You're not the only patient feeling this way. My only advice to you is to keep being you. Eventually your parents will realize what a terrible mistake they made for putting you in this place. Nothing is wrong with you. It's something wrong with them. I do hope you get to see your mother soon. But until then, stop beating yourself up about this " Martha pulls away and gives me a smile. I wipe her tears and say " You feeling a little better ? " Martha nods and says " Thanks " We finish drinking our drinks then leave the cafeteria. " It's only 7:23am. The alarm is set to 9:00am. What can we do to make time pass ? " Martha says. " I know the answer to that question " A voice i know all too well says. I turn around and i see Mark. I give him a hug and kiss. " Babe how'd you know we're down here ? " I ask. " All i did was get off an elevator, turn a corner, and bam there i saw you guys. Wasn't hard " Mark says. " Is Ms. Robinson still asleep ? " Martha ask. " Yeah " Mark says. " So Mark, what was your idea on what we should do ? " I ask. " I was thinking Time Square " Mark says. " That's cool and all but i don't feel like being in taxi drama again " Martha says. " We don't have to. I have Anthony's number " Mark says holding an index card. " How'd you get his number ? " I ask. " I asked a guy at the vending machine can i use his phone to contact New Jersey's Police Department. When i called them i asked them for Anthony and they said he wasn't in today so they asked if i wanted his phone number and i said yes " Mark says. " Wow. No privacy at all. So they just give out numbers and don't care who you are ? " Martha says. " They asked me what was my relationship with him and i said i was his nephew " Mark says. " What if he's busy ? " I ask. " Lets find out " Mark says giving me the index card. " Why me ? " I ask. " Because you know him more out of all of us " Mark says. I shake my head and take the index card. " Who's phone am i suppose to use ? " I ask. " I dare you to ask him " Martha says pointing at a tall man, with tattoo sleeves, ear piercings, and a long black beard. He looks like a biker. " OK " I say walking to him. Mark pulls me back and says " He looks like he can kill someone " " Anyone is capable to do that " I say. " Mark stop worrying. He's not gonna do anything to a teenage girl " Martha says. " You don't know that " Mark mumbles. " Guys im going " I say walking to him. I approach and greet him with a smile. He looks at me with no emotion in his face. " Hi. Um, would it be OK if i can borrow your cell phone to call somebody. You don't have to worry about paying for a call, the person is in this city " I say. The biker looks at me emotionless for sometime. After about 5 minutes the biker pulls out his phone, unlocks it and gives it to me. " Thanks a ton " I say taking the phone. I open the phone app and call the number on the index card. It rings a couple times before Anthony answers. " Hello " Anthony. " Hey " I say. " How'd you get my phone number ? " Anthony ask. " Mark called the New Jersey's Police Department and asked for you. They told him you weren't there and asked him if he wanted your number. He said yes and told them that you're his uncle " I say. " What do you want ? " Anthony ask. " Can you come by at Holiday Inn ? " I ask. " Sure. I'll see you soon " Anthony says hanging up. I give the biker back his phone and say " Thanks again. Have a lovely day " He doesn't respond and i walk away. " That was awkward " I say. " I know right. He didn't talk at all " Martha says. " When you were on the phone he just stared at you " Mark says. " I'm glad i'm away now. Anyway, Anthony said he's coming here but i didn't tell him why " I say. " OK that's good " Martha says. We just talked in the lobby the whole time until Anthony came at 8:10am. " What did you guys do this time ? " Anthony ask. " Nothing. We just needed a ride " I say. " To ? " Anthony ask. " Time Square " Martha says. Anthony sighs and says " Ms. Robinson knows nothing about this, does she ? " We all shake our heads. " What do you guys need to go to Time Square for ? " Anthony ask. " Just to tour " Mark says. " No " Anthony says. " Oh come on please. Ms. Robinson's not waking up until 9:00am and it's already 8:15am " I say. " Which is more reason why we shouldn't go. Traffic will take to long. If we left now we'll arrive there by 9:00am " Anthony says. Martha slouches in her chair and says " Fine but i still wanna do something before we leave " Anthony sighs and says " Lets take a trip to the library " " NO ! " Mark and i say in harmony. " I wouldn't mind going " Martha says. " That says a lot and i was joking Martha " Anthony says. " Come on we're wasting time " Mark says. " Do you guys have the room card ? " Anthony ask. Martha takes it out her pocket and says " Why ? " Anthony takes it and says " Lead me to your room " " Why are you telling on us ? " I ask. " I'm not. I'm returning her card and writing her a note telling her that you guys are with me " Anthony says. " Then i'll proudly lead the way " Martha says getting out her chair and leading us to the elevator. We go inside and push the third floor button. " So how long are you staying down here ? " Mark ask. " I'm leaving today " Anthony says. The elevator door opens and we go out into the hall. Martha leads us to our door. Anthony puts the card in the knob and opens it. Ms. Robinson is still sleeping. Anthony puts the card on the dresser and writes a note. Martha slides in and puts $4 in Ms. Robinson's purse. We go out the room and close the door lightly. As we walk back to the elevator Anthony says " I saw you slide the money in her purse Martha " We go in the elevator and push the first floor button. " Yeah, that money was for buying Kayla and my breakfast " Martha says. The elevator doors open and we go out the hotel. " Where are we going ? " I ask. " Time Square " Anthony says opening his car door. We get in with me up front and Mark and Martha in the back. " I thought you said there wasn't enough time " Martha says. " On the note i wrote i said that'll be back by 11am so that's enough time to do whatever " Anthony says starting his car and taking off. " What do you guys wanna do at Times Square ? " Anthony ask. " What can we do down there ? " Mark ask. " There's shopping centers, food courts, museums, and Broadway shows " Anthony says. " I wanna see a Broadway show " I say. " Is that alright with you guys ? " Anthony ask. Mark and Martha nod. We arrive in Time Square in about 16 minutes. We park in front of a theater. We get out the car and look at a board on the wall showing what shows will be playing today and the times they start. Anthony looks at his watch and says " It's 8:36am now. The next show that'll be playing is at 8:50am and that show is The Lion King. You guys up for that ? " " Oh my gosh ! That's our childhood ! Of course we're up for it " Martha says. Anthony smiles and says " Alright lets go " We go in the theater and get in line. " It's so busy down here " Mark says. " New York is a busy place because of it's attractions " Anthony says. We move up in line and get to the lady behind the counter. " Welcome to Broadway Theater. How may i help you ? " The lady says. " We would like to buy tickets to see The Lion King " Anthony says pulling out his wallet. " How many kids and adults ? " The lady ask. " One adult and three kids " Anthony says. " $355 " The lady says. Anthony gives her his credit card. She slides it in the machine and gives it back to him. She grabs four tickets and gives them to Anthony and says " Enjoy the show " " Thank you " Anthony says walking away. Mark's stomach growls and we turn to him. " Would you like something before we enter the show starts ? " Anthony ask. Mark shakes his head and says " I'm fine " Mark's stomach growls again. " What would you like ? " Anthony ask. " No. It's fine. You already paid enough " Mark says. " Mark that's nice of you to take into consideration how much money i'm spending but it's ok. I can pay for a snack. I knew before i came here that i would spend a lot. Everything in New York is expensive " Anthony says. Mark smiles and says " A large popcorn that we can all share " Anthony nods and gives us our tickets and says " I'll go in line while you guys go head and wait outside the room. I'll catch up with you guys " We nod and walk to room 13. We stand outside the door and wait for Anthony. " I've never been so happy " I say. " Why are you happy ? " Martha ask. " I'm finally outside in the real world and in a different state too. Makes me even happier that i'm sharing this experience with the people i love " I say. I pull Mark and Martha in for a group hug. " What are we hugging about ? " Anthony ask holding a large popcorn container. " I let go and get out my group hug to hug Anthony. " Thank you. You don't know how much this means to me " I say. Anthony hugs me back and says " I'm just trying to make your experience enjoyable " " I hate to interrupt such an emotional scene but the time is 8:48am " Martha says. I pull away from the hug and we go in the room. We give the man at the front of the door our tickets and find our seat, which is nosebleed seats. " I'm getting sick of going in high places in New York " I say walking up the steps. " Sorry. I had no control in that. Plus the later we buy tickets the further away from the stage we are " Anthony says. We sit in our seats. Martha at the end beside Mark with me beside him and Anthony at the end beside me. The room's lights dim and the show starts. Mark grabs my hand and i look at him. He looks at me and gives me a smile. " Are you alright ? " Mark ask. I smile and say " Yeah. Why wouldn't i be ? " Mark shrugs and says " Just checking " I lean in to kiss Mark. It was a passionate kiss. Mark leans in to me a little more. Our lips moved perfectly with each other. Eventually we pull away from each other. I giggle and say " I know i should be use to that by now but i'm not. Every time we kiss i have to blush " " I thought i was the only one feeling the same way " Mark says. I smile and lean my head on his shoulder and watch the show. When 10:30am hit we unfortunately had to leave even though the show was still playing. We get up and duck in front of people to the door. When we leave the room Martha sighs. " What's wrong ? " Anthony ask. " I would've loved to see all of it " Martha says. " All of us would've but cheer up. We still had fun " Anthony says. Martha was still feeling down but trying to cover it up with fake smiles. Mark knew something was wrong too but did not say anything. " Do you guys like Ferris Wheels ? " Anthony ask. " Martha and i do " Mark says. " Wanna go ? " Anthony ask. " Love to " Mark says. We get into Anthony's car. We stop in front of Toys R Us. " Are you at the right location ? " I ask. " Yep " Anthony says getting out the car. We get out and follow him inside the store. " He's lost and asking for help at a friendly store " Mark whispers in my ear. I laugh and shake my head. As we walk deeper into the store we approach a giant Ferris wheel. " Told you i wasn't lost Mark " Anthony says crossing his arms. Mark's jaw drops and he says " How'd you hear my comment. I whispered that " " Police need to have good ears " Anthony says. " I'm not going on " Martha says sitting down on the bench. " I'm with her. Mark you'll have fun with Anthony " I say sitting next to Martha. " Nope. Your going on " Mark says pulling me off the bench. " Anthony stop him " I plead. " You guys have fun. We'll be down here " Anthony waves and sits down. " ANTHONY ! " I say. Mark pulls me with him to the ticket booth. " Welcome to Toys R Us Ferris Wheel. May i get your ages ? " The lady says. " I'm 17 and she's 16 " Mark says. " Alright that'll be $26 " The lady says. Mark hands her the money and she gives us the tickets. " Have fun " The lady says waving at us as we go in line. " Mark i don't wanna go on. Why are you forcing me ? " I say. " I don't wanna go on by myself and i wanna talk to you " Mark says. " Can't we talk in a less scary place ? " I ask. Mark shakes his head and takes my hand. The line moves up and we're next. We give the man our tickets and get in the cart. We sit beside each other, me on the right and Mark on the left. " I'm so scared " I say. " You been higher " Mark says. " I was in a statue which is more stable unlike this wobbly thing " I say. Mark puts his arm on my shoulder and pulls me to him. We start to go up. " I thought it went faster than this " I say shocked. Mark shakes his head and says " See. Nothing to worry about " The Ferris wheel stops. " Why'd we stop ? " I ask worried. " Relax. They are letting someone get in a cart " Mark says. I sigh and put my head in Mark's chest. Mark chuckles and says " Everything's alright " I lift my head up and say " What did you wanna talk to me about ? " " Martha. Something's wrong with her. Has she told you anything ? " Mark says. I sigh and say " Yes she has but she didn't want me to tell you " " Why ? " Mark ask. " I don't know but it's not just you she hasn't told. She plans on telling no one else too. She just wanted me to know " I say. " She doesn't trust me ? " Mark ask. " I don't know. I would like to think she does. Do you want to know my opinion on this ? " I say. Mark nods. " I know this is bothering you why she didn't tell you so i suggest you go ask her yourself why and hopefully her answer satisfies you or she'll just tell you " I say. " OK i will. Thanks " Mark says. I chuckle and say " You wanna know something weird ? " Mark smiles and nods. " I'm actually pretty comfortable up here. I don't ever wanna get down. Don't get me wrong though, i still hate heights but with you here i guess it calms me down " I say. " Aww that makes me feel good. You wanna know something weird ? " Mark says. " What ? " I ask. " That picture you drew of the waterfall that you gave to me. I taped it onto my ceiling. Every night before i go to sleep i just stare at it and eventually i'll fall asleep and have a dream that takes place at a waterfall. It's always a good one too " Mark says. I smile and look into his eyes. We lean in to each other and our lips connect. I felt butterflies all in my stomach as we kissed. I pull away from the kiss and say " I wish i could start a family with you someday " " My wish is the same as yours. Maybe it'll come true " Mark says. " How ? We are stuck in there for life " I say. " Things can change " Mark says. " Even if a miracle happens and we do get out. Who would take care of us ? Our parents disowned us " I say. " We would most likely end up in a foster home " Mark says. " Our lives will never be normal " I say putting my head down. Mark pulls me to him and i lay on his shoulder. Our cart goes back to the ground in front of people who are waiting to get in. We get out and go back to Anthony and Martha. " You guys had fun ? " Anthony ask. " Yeah. Surprisingly i did " I say. " That's good. We need to go now. It's 11:00am " Anthony says walking to the door. We follow him outside and get into the car. " Thanks a lot " Mark says. " No problem. I hope you guys had fun while down here " Anthony says pulling off. " I did " I say. Martha was still being silent. We arrived at the hotel at 11:16am. Ms. Robinson was in the lobby sitting in a chair with her suitcase beside her. " They're back safe and sound " Anthony says. " Thank you. I hope they didn't interrupt anything you were doing " Ms. Robinson says. " No. I was just chilling in my hotel room " Anthony says. " OK that's good. You guys ready to go ? " Ms. Robinson says. Mark and shake our heads. Ms. Robinson laughs and says " I knew you would do that. Well we have to go. I have to get back to my job and you have to get back to the hospital " Ms. Robinson gets up and walks to the door with Martha and Mark behind. I stayed in my same spot. " Kayla, what are you doing ? " I hug Anthony and say " I don't wanna go " Anthony sighs and says " I know that but you have to. It's just how things are for you. I'll visit you soon. I promise " " Kayla ? Is that you ? " A voice says that i haven't heard in 9 years. I pull away from the hug and turn around. There i saw is my mom. She had black hair that was styled in a bob cut, about 5'6, very slim, and was pale. She was wearing a gray turtle neck, black leggings, and black leather boots that stopped under her knee. She had a suitcase beside her like she just checked in. I just stared at her, didn't say a word. I saw not too far behind her Ms. Robinson, Martha, and Mark at the door waiting for me. " Just leave. I'll take her there " Anthony shouts to them. Ms. Robinson nods and leaves. I start walking to the door. " Kayla don't be like that. I'm your mother " Mom says. I stop walking and turn around. " No your not. Biologically you are but mentally no. Anthony lets go " I say. " Kayla, i need to talk to you " Mom says. " About ? " I ask. " Please don't do this here. Over coffee ? That's if you like coffee, we can go somewhere else " Mom says. " Starbucks " I say walking out the door. Anthony catches up with me and says " Your riding with me " " Why ? " I ask. " Yeah she's your mom but you don't know her and neither do i so your with me " Anthony says opening his door and going in his car. I go in the car and shut my door. " What are you waiting for ? " I ask. " For her to get in her car " Anthony says. Mom pulls up beside us and winds down her window. Anthony does the same. " You follow me or i follow you ? " Mom ask. " Doesn't matter. I think you should go head since your already out the parking lot. We'll catch up " Anthony says. Mom nods and drives off. Anthony looks at me and says " I'm not saying have her back in your life but just listen to what she has to say. That's your choice to let her in or not " " Just drive " I say looking out the window. How can such a fun day turn into a horrible one ? Anthony starts the car and drives. The ride was silent. We arrived at Starbucks in 10 minutes. We get out the car and into Starbucks. Mom was already sitting down at a table. " Is this spot fine ? " Mom ask. I don't say anything but sit down across from her. " I'll buy your orders. What do you guys want ? " Anthony says. " No, you don't have to. I'll buy our orders " Mom says. " No. I insist " Anthony says. " Thank you. Vanilla Latte " Mom says. " Flat white " I say. Anthony nods and gets in line. I look out the window. Light snow started to fall. " Kayla, how have you been ? " Mom ask. " Why are you acting like we're on good terms ? You know you hate me. That's why you put me in that crazy house. Last words that came out of your mouth is i'm glad you won't be with me anymore. Now you see me at a hotel and wanna talk to me " I say. Mom sighs and says " I'm sorry. I'm really am. For the past 4 years i've been beating myself up over this. There was times when i went to WillyWood and stayed in the parking lot crying. I just couldn't ever have the strength to face you " " Why do you wanna talk to me ? You tried so hard to get me out of your life and it worked. Now your trying to get back in my life " I say. Anthony comes back with our orders. " I'll be over there " Anthony says pointing at a table in the corner on the other side of the room. Anthony walks over to the table and i take a sip of my drink. " I wanna make things right between us. No mother and daughter should ever be like this. Your my daughter my blood, i wanna be in your life " Mom says. " Well i don't want you to be in mine " I spat. " Why do you hate me so much ? " Mom ask. " You disowned me. Yeah i had problems but you as a mother did not do your job of taking care of me. You were suppose to deal with me and be there for me instead of giving me away. Instead of handling your problems you ran away from them. I was only 8 when you gave me away. 8. I didn't know better then. You were suppose to teach me and love me but you didn't. You didn't even want me " I say. " That was a mistake i made. Everyone makes them. I'm trying to fix my mistake and you don't even want me to " Mom says. " Where's dad ? " I ask. Mom looks down and stares into her Vanilla Latte. " He's dead isn't he ? " I ask. A tear falls from mom's eyes. " He died 5 years ago from cancer. He didn't want me to come back in your life. He was the one who said give you away. At first i said no but eventually you became such a handful i wanted to give you away. You actually scared me " Mom says. " I told you before and i'm telling you again, i don't wanna be in your life. When i was with you i wasn't happy but now i'm somewhat am. I wish you nothing but good things in life. Goodbye " I say getting up and walking outside. I sit on the curb and stare up into the cloudy sky. Snow hits my face causing my face to get colder than it already was. I open my mouth so i can taste the fresh snow. Some fall in my mouth melting into water as soon as it hits my tongue. Anthony goes outside and sits beside me on the curb. " You OK ? " Anthony ask. " I will be as soon as i get out of New York " I say. Anthony sighs and says " Your mother still wants to talk to you. She said just give her some more time. You will never see her anymore after today. She would like to go ice skating with you. What do you say ? " I take a deep breath and say " Fine " Anthony smiles and says " You're doing the right thing " I roll my eyes and look back up at the sky. Anthony goes inside. Anthony and mom come back outside and they get in there cars. I go in Anthony's car. " You know how to get there ? " I ask. " No but your mom does so i'll be following her " Anthony says. Anthony starts following mom. " Why are you fond of her ? " I ask. " I'm not but i don't hate her either. I don't know her. I know you guys have bad blood but why should that affect how i treat her ? " Anthony says. I sigh and look out the window. " Are you mad at me ? " Anthony ask. " No. I'm mad at her " I say. " I see why but are you going to continue being angry at her forever ? " Anthony ask. " What would you do in my situation ? " I ask. " I would give her a second chance. That's if she's willing and passionate about being my mother again " Anthony says. I sigh and look out the window. We arrive at this place called Sky Rink. We get out the car and go in the building. " I'll be over here " Anthony says sitting at a table beside an arcade area. Mom and i get in line to rent our ice skates. " Thank you so much for agreeing to this " Mom says. " I thought you wanted to talk " I say. " I do but why not do an enjoyable activity while talking ? Talking itself didn't go well for us " Mom says. The line moves up putting us up front. " Welcome to Sky Rink. What're your sizes ? " The man says. " 8 " Mom says. " Same " I say. Mom looks at me and smiles. I see i take my smile from her. The man takes 2 pairs of size 8 ice skates off the wall. " $6 " The man says. Mom takes out some money from her pocket and gives it to the man. " Enjoy " The man says. We take our ice skates and sit at a table to put them on. We leave our shoes at the table and go in the rink which is crowed. " Take my hand so we don't lose each other " Mom says holding her hand out. I look at it and sigh. I take her hand and say " Only so we don't lose each other " We start to skate. " Have you ever been skating before ? " Mom ask. " Yes but not at an actual rink " I say. " Have you been released from WillyWood ? " Mom ask. " No. You signed me in there for life, remember ? " I say. " So why are you in New York ? " Mom ask. " My friends and i came here with our warden without her knowing " I say. " Who's the guy that your with ? " Mom ask. " A friend of mine " I say. " How long have you guys known each other ? " Mom ask. " Mom, i thought you wanted to talk to me " I say. Mom sighs and says " Yes i do. When you walked out on me at Starbucks i sat there thinking about what you said. Your right. I shouldn't be apart of your life. I'm too unfit to be a mother. I don't know what i was thinking. A month after i signed you in to that place i became a cocaine addict. Last year i almost died from overdose but the doctors saved me just in time. Your grandma found me passed out in my room and called the ambulance. After that day i quit. I was going to therapy sessions to help me. I don't need to go to them now anymore since i'm stable " I let go of her hand and say " What's your point in telling me this ? Is it to make me feel sorry for you and let you back in my life just so you can ruin it again ? " " No Kayla. The point was to prove that your right. I don't need to be in your life. I can barely take care of myself how am i suppose to take care of someone else ? " Mom says. " You wanna go get some hot coco ? " I ask taking my moms hand again. Mom smiles at me and says " I would love too " We skate to the food stand. " What would you like ? " The lady ask. " Two cups of hot coco " Mom says. " $4.50 " The lady says. Mom gives her the money. The lady fixes our cups and gives them to us. " Thank you " Mom says. " Thank you " The lady says. We skate out the rink and sit at a table. " Thank you " I say sipping my hot coco. " No problem " Mom says. " Sorry for being such a brat " I say. " I understand why you acted the way you did. I would've acted the same way " Mom says laughing. I smile and drink my hot coco. " Do you still draw ? " Mom ask. My eyes widen and i say " How'd you know i draw ? " Mom laughs and says " A pencil was the first thing you picked up as a baby. You've been drawing since you were 4 " I laugh and say " Yes i do " Mom opens her purse and takes out a small notepad. " Can you draw me something ? " Mom ask putting the notepad in front of me. " Sure. What do you want me to draw ? " I say opening the notepad. When i opened the notepad i saw pictures of animals, houses, trees, rainbows, and so much other stuff. They were pretty good. " That was yours when you were 4 and you continued drawing in it until, well you know " Mom says. " Wow. I didn't know you would keep this " I say. " That's the only thing i had of you to keep. Your dad threw out the rest of your stuff " Mom says. " Seems like dad was the one who hated me not you " I say. Mom looks down and drinks her hot coco. " Why did he hate me ? " I ask. " He didn't want kids. He thought it was a mistake when i became pregnant. It wasn't for me. The night that we conceived you i threw away the condoms. He didn't want to have sex with me without them. So i did what i had to do to get him in the mood. While we were in action he was gonna do the pull out move but i stopped him by pushing him into me. When he figured out i was pregnant he wanted me to abort you. Obviously i didn't. Not just because i wanted you but also because i don't believe in it " Mom says. " Oh. Thanks " I say. Mom laughs and says " Thank you for drawing whatever you are about to draw " " Eiffel Tower " I say. Moms eyes widen and says " What made you wanna draw that ? " " I'm guessing you like Paris since your wearing a Paris theme charm bracelet " I say. " Oh. Well your right " Mom says. " You have a pencil ? " I ask flipping to a clean page. " Oh yeah. Sorry " Mom says going in her purse and handing me a pencil. I smile and take the pencil. " Do you need silence while you work ? " Mom ask. " No. It's alright if you talk to me. Even if i did need silence i couldn't get it. We're at a skating rink " I say starting to draw. " I'll be quiet anyway. People work better when there is silence " Mom says. I smile and continue to draw. About 30 minutes went by when i was finished drawing. " Done " I say smiling and handing mom the notepad. Mom's jaw drops and says " This is beautiful. Looks exactly like it " " Thank you " I say. " Your a first in the family to draw " Mom says putting the notepad up. I hand her the pencil and say " The last one too " Mom puts her head down and drinks her hot coco. I drink mines also. " Have any plans on Valentines day ? " I ask. " No. I'll just be home. You ? " Mom says. " The hospital will most likely be doing something special for it but whatever it is i'll be with Mark " I say. " Is that your boyfriend ? " Mom ask. " Yes " I say. " How long have you known him ? " Mom ask. " We've been friends since Pre-K and dating for a month " I say. " Wow. That's a long time you've known him " Mom says. " Yeah " I say. Anthony comes over and says " Sorry to interrupt but it's 2:00pm, you have to go back to WillyWood " My smile disappears and i nod. Mom and i take off our skates and put on our shoes. We return the skates to the man and leave. Anthony pulls me aside and says " Say what you have to say now because this is your last time seeing her. We have to go in different directions " I nod and go towards mom. " I guess it's goodbye now " I say. " I'm so glad that i got the chance to see you again. Makes me feel so much better knowing that you're ok " Mom says. I smile and say " I'm glad to know that you're doing well too. Keep being strong. I know you are a strong women just by looking at you. There is lots of bad in this world but keep your head up and stay away from those drugs you'll be fine. Take care " I turn around and walk towards Anthony. " Kayla ? " Mom ask. " Yes " I say turning around. " Can i get a hug ? " Mom ask with open arms. I smile and run into her hug. I wrapped my arms around her so tight like she did me. I don't know why but i started crying. I guess i'm crying because ever since i was 8 i've been hating my mother not knowing all of the story. I pull away from the hug and see that mom was crying too. I laugh and say " Why are you crying ? " Mom laughs and says " Because i never thought that i would get the chance to see you again. I let you go at first then years later see you again and think she's never getting out my life again few hours past now i feel like it's best for us not to see each other again. Why are you crying ? " " Because i've been hating you for as long as i could remember but not having a good reason to. Now that i know the story i feel bad for treating you so bad when we reconnected at first " I say. " Kayla it's alright. I'm not mad at you. Now go on. The longer you stay the more it'll be harder for me to let go " Mom says. I smile and kiss my mom on the cheek then walk to Anthony. We walk to the car. I open the door and look at my mom. " Will you be ok going back to the hotel ? " I ask. Mom nods. I smile and give her a wave which she returns. I go in the car and look out the window. Anthony gets in and looks at me. " You ok ? " Anthony ask. I nod and smile. Anthony starts the car and drives off. " You might wanna take a nap. It's a long drive back to Jersey " Anthony says. " Night " I say closing my eyes eventually falling asleep.