Finding Home in Redemption

Chapter Twenty-One

A few days later

I lost track of how many days I'd been lying in bed. Sam, Pop, and the unknown number I finally figured out was my mother, continued to call me.

I hadn't heard from Aaron.

The day he left I sat down on my sofa and cried for hours. I'd texted Pop and told him I wasn't feeling well so I wasn't coming back in and he said to tell Aaron to take good care of me.

That made my chest hurt.

Aaron wouldn't be taking care of me. Aaron wouldn't be anything to me ever again, and I had no idea why.

I was in my bed when someone knocked on my door. Pop and Sam had called a few times to check on me, but no one had come over until now.

I made my way to the door and opened it to see Sam standing there with a backpack.

"Hi," I said.

"What's going on Bentley?" she asked. She looked scared. I didn't know what I looked like, but obviously, it was bad enough to frighten her.

I sucked in a breath and started crying again. I was so overwhelmed with my feelings and the thoughts floating around in my head. Sam walked into the apartment and shut the door behind her.

"What happened?" she whispered. She grabbed my hand and pulled me to the sofa.

"I don't even know Sam."

"Well, tell me what you do know because I'm tempted to go get your dad."

"No, I'm not ready to tell him yet." I took a deep breath. "I ran into my mom a few days ago at the store. It was so weird and messed up because when we got home I was freaking out and so was Aaron. By the time I finished telling him who she was, he flipped out and just left me."

"Why did he leave?" she asked, shocked.

"I honestly don't know. That's what I'm trying to tell you, I have no idea what happened, but he left, and now I'm just-,"

"Heartbroken?" she offered.

"Yeah. Heartbroken."

Sam turned the television on and went to get the comforter off my bed. She tucked me in on the sofa and went to the dining room. I heard her cleaning up the few bags I'd left where Aaron dropped them.

While she cleaned the kitchen, I watched a show on television and tried to laugh when the audience did. I couldn't get Aaron and my mother off my mind though.

I was so angry at myself for allowing Aaron into my heart. Not only had I grown to rely on his friendship but I'd brought him onto the Cooper's family. I wasn't the only one who relied on him.

No matter how bad my heart hurt when I thought about him leaving, I still worried about him. It was still so cold outside, and the snow was piling up. I told myself I was a complete idiot for caring, but that was just who I was. I cared about people. Not only had he taken his companionship away from me but he took Dog, too. I didn't think I'd ever been the kind of person to love an animal so much, but I missed his quiet presence.

I was also angry at my mother. Why would she choose such a fantastic time in my life to come in and ruin it? She'd gone so long without me I figured I'd never hear from her again. It brought too many emotions to the surface for me. I thought that I had gotten past the pain of not having a mom, but she completely took away that illusion.

Now I was sitting in my living room wondering why I wasn't enough to make her stay. I couldn't imagine losing a child the way she did, but she had me there.