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29

Two weeks had passed since Charlie and I began dating and I couldn't be happier. It was also the day my mother was supposed to return from her and Andrew's anniversary cruise. Despite the numerous calls I made to my mother, she neglected to answer every time, leading me to believe she no longer wanted me in her life. I knew it was coming but it's still a shock because you never know when you'll see someone for the last time.

I decided I would call her one last time and if she didn't answer, it was up to her if she wanted to reach out to her own daughter or not.

The phone seemed to ring forever and just as I was about to hang up, my mother's voice came through the line. "What do you want?"

After talking on the phone for a half hour with my mother who was being anything but nice, I was invited to Andrew's apartment tonight to have dinner with both of them. They had some big news that apparently involved me.

My first guess was honestly gonna be that Andrew finally popped the question but they had been dating for so many years and if he didn't ask in that amount of time I figured there was no hope for that.

~

A few hours later, it was almost time to leave for the dinner and I just finished getting dressed. I wasn't wearing anything fancy, just a pair of light blue jeans and a black sweater.

I made my way downstairs and to the living room to find Charlie lounging on the couch with a big bowl of popcorn in his lap. He was watching a marathon of Modern Family episodes and every so often, a laugh would escape his lips. I rolled my eyes at him but deep down, I secretly wished I was staying here with him to watch my favorite tv show instead of going to dinner.

I let out a loud sigh that caught Charlie's attention as he looked at me. "I wish I could come with you." I gave Charlie a pointed look as he laughed. "I'm just kidding, I would hate to be going to this dinner." I laughed but the little burst of joy I just had faded as I remembered that I still had to go to this dinner. "Don't worry, it'll be fine." Charlie grabbed my hand and squeezed it, trying to comfort my negative thoughts.

I could only hope he was right.

I arrived at Andrew's apartment a half hour later but as I stood in front of his door, I couldn't bring myself to knock. I didn't want to see him or my mother and I knew they didn't want to really see me either.

Pushing my nerves aside, I lifted my hand and  taking my knuckles, I hit the door three times. I thought no one was home as it took a full minute of silence before the door finally opened, revealing Andrew looking rather irritated by my presence. "Ugh, she's here."

I walked into the messy apartment to find boxes everywhere. Andrew seemed as though he wasn't ready for me to arrive as he called out to my mother to ask her where his watch was. When she answered, not knowing where his watch was, Andrew sighed and called back to her. "It must have been during the holidays. We were so busy preparing for the cruise and packing up, I must have misplaced it." I looked at Andrew in confusion. Why would he be packing up? Was he going somewhere?

I didn't have time to think about it as my mother walked into the living room and we got straight to dinner. I couldn't be more thankful considering I wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

Silence quickly became the main form of entertainment as we ate and it wasn't until everyone was finished eating, that my mother finally spoke to me as she announced her news.

My mother went on to explain to me that she and Andrew were getting married and moving immediately. Oh, that would explain the boxes. Before I could say anything she cut me off. "Why don't you go stay with Charlie's family it seems like your pretty comfortable over there considering that's where you've been living for the past couple of months." How did she know about that?

I looked at her and then Andrew who gave me nothing but glares in my direction. If they hated me this much, I should have checked my food to see that they didn't just poison me.

As I began to open my mouth and speak, I was cut off again. "We put the house up for sale and someone has already purchased it. They are moving in next week so I suggest you take all of your stuff. If you don't, I have no problem throwing it out." Ouch, that hurt. I knew my mother wanted nothing to do with me at this point but it still hurt to know that the woman who gave birth to you thought you were worth nothing.

~

I returned to Charlie's a little over a half hour later in a sour mood. I had hoped at dinner my mother would at least be civil but it was the total opposite. After I told her I would come back later in the week and return the key to my childhood house, she went on to tell me how much of a disappointment I was in her life.

As I shut the front door of the Adams' household a little to loud, Charlie came out of the kitchen towards me. "So I'm guessing things didn't go well?" I shook my head and began to tell Charlie what happened.

When I had finished telling Charlie of what occurred during dinner, he turned to me with a weird look on his face. It seemed as though he was embarrassed to speak as if I would get upset with him. "I want you to stay here. I know that sounds stupid considering you've been living here since November, but I mean permanently. No matter how many years go by, I want you to always know this is your home." I shook my head as I looked at Charlie. "I can't make you do that. I'm a burden to all of you already. I don't want you or your parents to feel like you have to do things for me. You've already done so much." Before Charlie could speak, a voice came from the living room.

"You were always like a daughter to us, Aubrey. You were and never will be a burden and Charlie is right you can always call this your home." Before I could thank Mr. and Mrs. Adams, Charlie spoke.

"You were eavesdropping on us?!" Charlie pointed an accusing finger at his parents while they laughed. "Well it's kinda hard not to considering we were right here on the couch. If you didn't want us to hear you, you should have gone somewhere else." Mr. Adams argued, only for Charlie to fire back at him. "How were we supposed to know you guys were right there?" I rolled my eyes at the scene in front of me as they began to bicker back and forth like five year olds.

Mrs. Adams got up off of the couch and motioned for me to head into the kitchen. They boys would be bickering for quite some time and while it was amusing to watch, Mrs. Adams felt we could be spending our time doing more productive things like watching a movie, eating popcorn, and drinking hot chocolate.