The One You Can't Forget (The One, #1)

twenty-five

Emyln

I find my mom sitting at the kitchen table, surrounded by a pile of paperwork and files and a calculator. She must be doing the taxes or some other shit like that. Math isn't really my style, so instead of saying hi like I've gotten into the habit of doing when I arrive home, I try to sneak off to my bedroom.

"What took you so long?" Mom calls down the hallway. "Thought you were coming home right away."

I freeze, cringing at the fact that she's attempting to act like a mom. It's a rare moment to experience. It's like seeing a cat walk on its hind legs. And I gotta say, I'm not a fan. If she's trying to make up for the time she's lost with me, she needs to understand that ship sailed a long, long time ago.

"What does it matter?" I counter, channelling my defiant side. "You don't give a shit about me, remember? I'm a bitch." I don't know why I bring it up. Maybe it's because the story is once again fresh in my mind from telling Hainsey.

I hear the sound of a pen being dropped to the tabletop, and then some footsteps. I stay rooted in place. No way am I backing down and running to my room like a scared little girl.

"Emyln," Mom says softly. "Can we talk about that?"

"No," I say, finally turning around to face her. I didn't realize how much I tower over my mom until now. Part of me likes it – I feel a certain power having height on my side. Yet I can't stop myself from wishing I was a little girl again, running up to her and wrapping my arms around her thigh when she arrives home from work. "The fact of the matter is that you said what you said, and obviously meant it. Your apologies are worth nothing to me. I tried, Mom – I tried to repair the broken relationship, but you had your new hubby and kids to take care of, right? Didn't want me, Emyln Juliette Walker the Bitch, coming in and fucking things up, right? Am I right?"

Mom's face is filled with devastation and hurt. Good. She deserves to feel just as much pain as I did.

"Emyln..." she tries again.

"No," I snap. "Leave me alone. And if you must know, if it will get you off my back, I'm going out with Rosa, Hains, and Val tonight for dinner and some drinks. Don't wait up. I might stay at Val's or maybe even Hainsey's. Who knows? I'm nineteen now. In case you didn't notice, I've grown up."

Mom grips the railing of the stairs like she's about to lose her balance. "Rosa is here?" she whispers.

"Yeah," I shrug. "Came to see me, Hains, and Val. Just like I said."

"Where is she staying?"

"Not here," I scoff.

And with that, I head to my bedroom; pushing away what just happened so it doesn't ruin my night. I'm not going to let some toxic person steal away the good feeling that's been occupying me for the past couple days. And no way in hell am I going to let her infect me and my friends. Especially Hains. He's dealt with her enough for the past five years.

It's time for us to enjoy life the way we should have.