Life as I Know It

Chapter 27

I forgot to add this chapter on Wattpad lol. Oops! But here it is!! :)

Previously...

"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.

~oOoOo~

I froze when she'd said that. I thought about how my dad would think about Mom's relationship issues, but then again, he was with her for years, even after I was born. So he knew how she was. But at the same time, it wasn't about him not being with my mom now. It was about her issues blending into my own. Tears pricked at the corner of my eyes, and I quickly brushed them away, looking at anything but my mom right now.

"Honey, it's ok..." Mom came over to hug me, but I pushed her away.

"No, it's not...it's not just about Dad. Yeah, he's not around all the time, but it's not about that..." I sniffled into my sleeves, trying to get my thoughts on straight. Then, it all came tumbling out. "I don't like how you jump from one relationship to the next. I meet the guy you're with one minute, then you toss him out in the next. And it's usually for some petty, picky reason. I know you're grown and you can make your own choices, but do you ever think about how that makes me think? How that makes me look? You never thought to consider how I took so long to get together with Edward without thinking something in the universe was wrong with him, or me? That's how you think with guys, and I don't want to think that way anymore."

Mom just stared at me, her eyes darkened in a somber expression. The anger and annoyance in her face melted away as she thought over my fumbled, tearful speech. She looked down and began to pick at the hem of her big T-shirt. "I..." she paused and sighed, probably getting her thoughts together too. "I'm sorry if I made you feel like you couldn't be who you wanted to be. I never meant....I've been hurt by guys too, but I didn't think about how you...." She sighed again, tears shining in her eyes. She turned around and sat down on the living room couch.

Wiping my eyes, I sat down on the other end of the couch, not reaching her eyes. I wasn't ready to talk yet. My mind was beginning to fill up again of past memories of my parents fighting when I was a kid, meeting my mother's many boyfriends and dates, and escaping to my room while she and her dates had candle-lit dinners in the living room. I remember one night when I was about 15, I escaped and turned all of the lights off in my room, and looked to see Edward coming into his room right, across the pathway. I could have waved or did something to grab his attention, but I just watched him roam around in his room doing different things. He would be very domesticated, like watching TV, or reading, or playing video games with his brother, then-11-year-old Jasper. I felt an attachment to his connection to his brother, most of all. And that scared me because it brought me back to my mother.

I felt my mom scoot closer to me and tentatively place a hand over mine. "Maybe I should have talked to you about these guys earlier. I didn't think how they would affect you because of how introverted you are, and how much you keep to yourself. I didn't even think you were thinking about having a boyfriend or anything like that, until Edward came along." She glanced at me, and I smiled a bit. "But anyway, I'm so sorry I've made you feel that way."

I nodded, placing my hand on top of hers. "It won't make up for everything, but thanks."

She hugged me, and I almost didn't hug her back. But I slid my arms across her slowly. A few years of my mother prancing around with so many guys wouldn't be fixed with one talk and a hug, but at least she knew her actions were wrong. What could be done next, I wasn't sure.

A/N: Sorry this is so short. I'm away on vacation with my family in Florida, and I thought I'd give this story a test run again. Guess my boredom came in handy after all! ;) Let me know what you think?

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Thanks for reading! :)