Surviving the Harrison Boys (Re-write)

sixty-seven // feelings (reece's pov)

After Aaron and Hunter left, my dad and I walked back inside the Jamieson house. Grandma and Grandpa Jamieson had moved into the kitchen, and Grandma Peters was having a conversation with my mom over tea.

"Everything okay?" Mom asked when she noticed my dad and I standing in the doorway of the living room.

"More than okay." Dad smiled. I knew what Aaron had said meant a lot to him. He was constantly saying how he wanted to do nothing but focus on Hunter and her mental health, but his job and my mom were getting in the way. We had talked a lot about my mom's recent behaviour change towards Hunter. What I really wanted to talk to her about was her little outburst in our hotel room the night before. That really rubbed me the wrong way.

"The talk with Aaron went well?" Grandma Peters asked.

I nodded. "Very well. He's a nice guy."

"He is," Dad agreed, "I hope Hunter opens up to him like she's done to me."

"It seems like she's warming up to him." Grandma Peters said. "I hope they build a relationship, as well."

"Mom, can I talk to you?" I asked. "Privately?"

"Of course." She set her teacup down on the table and the two of us headed outside. We sat on the porch. "What's up, honey?"

"Last night in our hotel room." I began. "That little outburst that you had? What the hell was that?"

Mom sighed heavily. "There's been this vibe between the two of since the day you and your father picked us up at the airport, and I don't like it."

"You don't like it?" I repeated. "What about it don't you like? We just vibe together, Mom. I've never had that with a girl before."

"Exactly!" She stood up. "That's what it is exactly. You've never vibed with a girl like that before. So why her, Reece? Why Hunter? I didn't bring her here to fall in love, I brought her here as a chance to start over."

I scoffed. "You're making yourself sound like Mother Mary, Mom. You're acting as if you did her a favour. And what's so bad about falling in love? Are you not the one always preaching about how love is a beautiful thing?"

"I did do her a favour, Reece. If I hadn't agreed to take her in, she would've gone into the system. Do you know what happens to girls like her in the system?!" She asked. Her eyes were wild. She almost didn't look like herself. This didn't look like my mother. "I took her in because I felt sorry for her. Angelica and I were best friends, Reece. We always promised we'd have each other's backs. Even when she ditched me for the druggie cool kids, I still vowed to keep my promise. I watched her waste her life away. I could've done something to stop her, but I was afraid. Angelica was always bigger and stronger than I was. She had a more commanding and convincing personality. She didn't like hearing anything from anyone if it wasn't what she wanted to hear.

"Now, how many ever years later, I get a call saying that she's been arrested on how many counts of child abuse and that her daughter needs a place to stay. You know I almost said no? Because even though she was my best friend, I was angry and jealous that she ditched me. I was angry that things didn't go as planned in my head. We were supposed to graduate together and be roomies in college and still be best friends until the day we died. But then I remembered the promise, and I remembered who Angelica was to me. What she used to be to me, so I said yes and took Hunter in. It was the least I could do. I didn't expect her to do anything for me in return. How could she? With what she had done to that poor girl, I couldn't expect anything from her.

"And now?" She began to choke up. "And now Angelica's dead. She's dead and she's never gonna get a second chance at life. She's never gonna get to see her daughters again, she's never gonna get over her drug and alcohol addiction, she's never gonna find a job and a good guy to marry. She's never gonna do any of that again, and all because I didn't help her back then. But now? Now I'm helping her by doing the job she couldn't do: raise her daughter. So yes, Reece, I'm acting like I did Hunter a favour because not only did I do her a favour, I did her mother a fucking favour as well."