Our Lives Need a Rewrite (og; being rewritten)

Chapter 39 - I'd Gathered That My Mom Wasn't a Virgin

Maggie Davis

Cyrus was visibly agitated. "She thinks something's wrong," he kept muttering. "I don't look upset about anything, do I?"

"Dude, what the hell are you going on about?" Mia snapped, looking up from her book. We were sitting in camp chairs at the tracks.

Two days into summer break now.

"Ms. Clarke," Cyrus sighed. "She thinks I need someone to talk to."

"You mean a therapist?" Mia arched her brow. "Hate to break to you, but everyone thinks you need a therapist."

"No," Cyrus stated distantly. "She wanted to know if everything was okay at home."

Mia shared a look with me. "Well, is it all okay?" I asked.

"I mean, no, but how could she know that," Cyrus wondered.

"What do you mean, no?"

"I mean, when is it ever okay?" Cyrus laughed humorlessly.

"Is it your mom?"

"Of course it's my mom," he mumbled. Wyatt furrowed his eyebrows. "Her release is coming up. It's been five years."

"But she's not allowed to see you, right?" Mia pointed out, voice high.

"You know I don't read into the details of that," Cyrus groaned. "I definitely don't want to see her."

I'd personally never met Cyrus's mother. All I knew was that when she was convicted, his dad and him moved across the country to restart. Apparently, he'd memorized when she'd get out.

"Well, you can't be forced to see her," I pointed out. Cyrus didn't seem to hear me. "Hey, it'll be okay. It'll get better."

He gave me a grim smile.

***

"There's no getting out of this," I said. "You promised, and there's no way I was going to forget."

Allie sighed and rubbed her forehead. "I know, I know. What do you want to know?"

I pulled my legs up onto the couch with me. School had ended a week ago and I'd essentially already started living with Allie. "Name?"

"That's a big detail."

"Just tell me," I snapped.

"Okay," Allie huffed. "His name was Connor Manco."

"Was?"

"Well, he's not dead, so I suppose it's is," Allie admitted.

"Okay... what happened... between mom and him, I mean."

"I really think you should ask-"

"Well, I'm asking you," I pointed out.

"Fine."

"Well?"

"This may shatter your fragile image of your mother," Allie continued. "Do you know how humans are made?"

"Well, I'd gathered my mom wasn't a virgin considering the fact that, you know, I'm here," I laughed.

"She was quite a party girl in her first year of college," I admitted. "She got this boyfriend. Dan loved him and so did Dad and Charlie. Mom, Will, and I all thought he was an annoying little- well, you know. But no one ever thought he was a particularly bad guy."

"But he was?"

Allie let out a long breath. "Honestly, I have no idea. And I mean that. Your mom was scared. I wouldn't be surprised if she told a lie or two. But the story she told us was that she was drunk. Not drunk enough not to remember, but enough that she wasn't quite in control of her actions. People at the party were drinking too, underage, and there were drugs involved. And well, Connor left when the cops showed up. She got caught but was spared because there were traces of date rape drugs in her system.