Life as I Know It

Chapter 26

A/N: No excuses are worthy of your patience lol. Just keep reading, and I hope you like it!

LIFE AS I KNOW IT ch 26

Previously...

I locked my phone and looked for something to wear: shorts and an old T-shirt and tennis shoes. I didn't need that much to meditate, and I didn't know what else we were doing, so a T-shirt and shorts were fine. After I changed, I took my empty tray and opened the door slowly. I looked both to the front door and the back, where my mom was. Hopeful that I didn't bump into Corbin again, I snuck quickly to the kitchen to drop off my tray. I left a quick text to my mom so I wouldn't have to interrupt whatever they were doing:

B - Going out with Edward. Seeya later.

Mom - K. Be safe. We'll talk about what you said to Corbin when you get back.

B - Ok.

I knew we would have to talk about that later, which made me hope I'd stay out enough for her to fall asleep. I just didn't want to have to defend my feelings all over again. Shaking those thoughts out of my head, I walked out the door to meet Edward near his car.

~oOo~

**A Few Hours Later...**

When Edward and I came back home, he parked the car in his driveway first.

He turned off the ignition, and a chill came in between us. I sat back in the passenger seat, letting the sound of crickets chirping in the early fall air fill my ears. I never had used to like crickets, but for this moment, right when I was about to walk into my impending doom, they were needed.

I felt Edward's fingers slip into mine, turning me out of my reverie.

"If anything happens, text me, call me, anything," he said.

I smiled, in spite of it all. "It's not like my mom is abusive," I muttered.

"No, but when you two fight, it's a bit of a warzone." He rolled his eyes, but by the lines on his forehead, I could tell that he was being serious. "I just don't want anything to happen to you, knowing that I could have prevented it."

"Well if anything, I'll text you a safe word to let you know if I'm in distress. Like 'banana' or something." I giggled. "I don't know!"

"Yeah and then when you're crying in your room, I'll get a thousand 'banana' tweets and texts." He chuckled, rubbing his forehead, probably thinking about the insanity already.

"Just in case." I ruffled his hair, and he swatted my hand back. The comedic moment died down a bit, and I sighed, looking back to my house across the street. The lights in my bedroom were on, and so were the kitchen lights. My mom's car was parked outside our garage, so my hopes of her being away plummeted even further. I knew she still wasn't happy with me, but I hoped she wasn't too upset.

"Hey," his sweet voice called while he tucked my hair over my ear. "Do you want me to come?"

I nodded. My eyes followed him as he got out of the car and walked around the front to my side. I slowly opened the door and felt around for his hand to pull me up. My heart pounded in my chest as we walked slowly to the front door. I could feel beads of sweat forming on both of my hands, but I didn't dare pull away from Edward's to wipe them off. It felt like a million years until we made it to my front door.

I pulled my house keys, my hands shaking, out of my pockets. I accidentally dropped them, and we both reached down to get them. Our hands touched, and I looked into deep green eyes.

His eyes glanced towards my lips, and he leaned in, pushing my hair back. But before anything could happen, the doorknob jiggled, and we shot back up before my mother saw us out front.

She was in her head wrap, with some tendrils coming out of it. She wore a big T-Shirt, black yoga pants, and green flip-flops. Her eyes were sleepy, but her expression was displeased. Not with Edward, but more so with me. I glanced at him again, and he smiled nervously.

I turned back to my mother when she spoke, "I heard a noise outside, and then remembered you went out. We still have to talk, you know."

I closed my eyes, trying so hard not to roll them. "I know, Mom." I turned back to my boyfriend, who didn't know whether to stay or go. "I'll see you later, okay?" I gave him a side-hug, and he kissed my temple. "Remember the safe word, okay?"

He made a noise in the back of his throat that sounded like a sigh and a laugh. "Yeah, okay." He let go, and looked towards my mother. "Um...goodnight, Renee."

She raised her eyebrows in acknowledgment, but stayed polite. "'Night, Edward."

I watched him walk out the front walkway and into the night to his house.

I turned back and slowly walked inside. My mother's smirk fell as I walked past her.

"So where were you?" she asked, her voice keeping a low level. I took off my jacket and slumped into the living room couch. Not even five minutes back home, and I was already exhausted.

I sighed. "Nowhere, really. He took me to this meadow he found when he was younger with Jazz. We meditated and then went to the arcade to de-stress."

My mother stood before me, her mouth set in a firm line. "I didn't like what you had said to Phil before you left. It was very disrespectful and rude. I know you're mad at me, but don't take it out on Corbin."

I sat up and glanced at the hallway that led to her bedroom. A small pool of light shone from under her door. I could see a piece of her unmade bed. "Is he still here?" I accused.

My mother looked taken aback, but stayed serious. "No, he is not here. He left right after you did. He was wondering if maybe he had did or said something to upset you. He was really worried."

At this point, I started to feel bad. Yes, I was pissed that my mother had brought Corbin over right after Phil and her had had a date. But it wasn't his fault that my mother had issues with keeping men around for longer than a minute. He'd probably didn't know much about us or our life, and it wasn't like I needed a stepfather. I already had a good dad, I didn't really need another one. But my mother's many relationships were the reason why I couldn't have one of my own. She was the reason why it took so long to get with Edward. I wasn't only scared, I was afraid I'd end up alone and needy like my mother.

Of course, I couldn't tell my mother this because I was still mad at her, overall, for bringing some dude over I didn't even know, but still. I sighed and sat back down. "Well, I'm sorry if I hurt his feelings. It was not my intention." Sarcasm dripped from my voice, but then I got serious before my mother got me for that too. "How else was I supposed to feel? You went from Phil to this?"

"I thought you didn't like Phil?"

"I...like him, okay, I mean he's not terrible, but he's...he's..." I stumbled, wanting this conversation to be over already.

"He's not your father." My mother sighed.