Beyond the Black Curtain

Chapter 24 - The Mom Situation, pt. 2

A/N: Hello! Apologies for the longer interval between updates. I've been caught up with other RL stuff, but rest assured this story is being taken care of! I really, really appreciate you who keep coming back to this and voting and reading and I hope you don't stop! :)

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Rae

I yelped as soon as my eyes focused on the smiling face of Georgeta Orlovschi. I have never been more thankful for Josh who broke my fall. To say that I became a bumbling, clumsy mess after that would be an understatement.

After the perfunctory introductions, I decided to let the mother and son duo catch up first before anything else. Georgeta insisted I stay in the room, but I told her that I'd be okay with hanging out with Josh for a while. Ann and Leslie had already been dropped off at their hotel so it was just me and my male's trusted assistant slash friend lounging in the hospital cafeteria, sipping on bland hospital tea and eating equally bland vending machine crackers.

"I should have ordered take out while waiting for Georgeta. This is just downright abysmal," Josh quipped as he took another sip of his tea. I kept my gaze trained towards the hallway that led to Sebastian's room, my chin resting on my hand.

"What do you think they're talking about, Josh?" I asked absentmindedly while letting out a sigh.

"Jeez, Rae, relax, it's probably the usual mom and child stuff, Seb hasn't had the time to visit Georgeta and Anthony in Rockland County," Josh responded. "That, and she probably is biting his head off right now for being so reckless about his health. You probably already know Anthony is sick too, yeah?"

I nodded, my eyes not leaving the hallway. "Do you think she'd like me?"

"Oh for fucks sake, Raezelle, not this insecure bullshit again, girl!" Josh said exasperatedly, pulling the arm that was holding my face up. I flinched as I heard him use my full name, clearly understanding I've pissed him off somehow.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled, keeping my head low. "I don't have any track record in terms of meeting the parents, or even meeting the mom. I just always thought there was something wrong with me that none of my exes thought I'd be okay meeting their family. They always thought I'm this delicate, porcelain doll with a fucked up past, and no family of her own to understand how another family would fit in her life."

"Jeez, Rae, how long has it been since you've been in a relationship?" Josh asked and I can tell there are hints of worry and concern in his voice.

"Way too long," I say quietly. Just then, the memories of my last relationship slowly came back to consciousness one by one, none of them pleasant memories I could find some sort of relief with.

I met Reggie at my first job being a content writer for a multinational oil firm's official website. He was the more senior employee at the time and I'd been assigned to shadow him during my first month. Sparks immediately flew between us and we got together even before my sixth month on the job. At the time, he was the perfect boyfriend anyone could have asked for. He was sweet, attentive and supportive of me until I got my first and only promotion.

I guess you could say things went south after that. We'd argue more often about the workload I was taking, claiming that I was purposefully doing so to one up me. He even wanted me to stop about the new side project I had at the time, which was the now demised Escape the Bullshit, but I put my foot down and told him no. He eventually warmed up to the idea of my little online magazine and not too long after, we were okay again.

I didn't know then that another shit storm was brewing in the horizon, far worse than our boyfriend-girlfriend spats.

By the time I was four years into the job, my adoptive family would have been gone for the same amount of time. Every year, during their death anniversary, I would take the day off and spend the entire day at their graves. I'd have food with me to last me the whole day and I would just sit there talking to them as if they were still alive. It was what kept me from going off the deep end and a reminder that I can still keep them close while I go on with my life.