Lesson Learned {Student Teacher Romance}

Chapter 15

My mom and I spent a delightful evening on the couch watching movies and stuffing ourselves with pizza. 

We've never been capable of 'girl talk' like typical moms and daughters on TV, but I think I understand why. 

For as long as I can remember, my mom's been fighting other demons. Her sobriety is a daily physical and mental struggle. It's hard for anyone outside of our situation to understand what she's going through, but she has to take things day by day. 

Essentially, just because she has a bad day doesn't mean that she's a bad mom. 

It's most important to remember that we all have day days, and none of that equals a bad life. 

What matters is how you show up for the people that matter to you, and I want to be there for my mom. How she copes with the highs and lows of her life, however, is literally a life-or-death decision.  

Over the next few weeks, life pretty much went back to normal. I worked my shifts at the diner, I went to school, and I spent as much time as I could with my mom. 

Even more exciting is the fact that my mom seemed to be doing better, too. 

She was going to meetings with her counselor Tom and she was throwing herself into searching for a part-time job. 

My mom hadn't landed any interviews, but she told me that she was getting more comfortable with the process, which sounded hopeful. 

Keira and I found time to hang out, too. 

We managed to schedule a coffee chat on campus where we found out that Keira and I had tons in common. Turns out, Keira had a very similar history to Keri and she was a fan of vintage fashion (like me).  

Just like my bestie, Keira was a single mom to an adorable little boy. Plus she knew all the best second-hand stores in Auburn, which made her the best shopping partner alive for vintage fashion.  

So, we all started getting together at least once a week. We always chose local parks and we looked for a space with a playset, preferably with monkey bars and a swingset because that's what the boys preferred. 

Joey and Markus attended different preschools in Auburn, but they were becoming fast friends thanks to our weekly playdates.

All the while, Rory kept up his silly texting barrage. 

It was pretty obvious that he was using Keri's health scare as an excuse to hit on me or to ask me out. I ignored his silly texts, of course, but the sheer volume of his communications was alarming. 

In my opinion, Rory is a self-absorbed jerk that probably thought his persistence was cute. 

Spoiler alert, that couldn't be further from the truth. 

It really freaked me out that someone at Boondocks (maybe even one of Rory's douchey friends) could have slipped something in Keri's drink. No amount of pithy remarks could make up for something as serious as a potential sexual assault.

I saw Mr. Benedict in class, of course, but I made sure that we didn't speak much. 

He lectured and I listened. 

Over the weekend, I rewrote my paper and made sure to follow his syllabus (to the letter).

Every so often, I'd catch Mr. Benedict looking at me in the middle of a lecture like he was trying to understand what happened between us. 

Honestly, I was too. 

I cried in front of him and walked out on our talk, so I couldn't blame him.