Their Obsession

Chapter 22

Chapter 22

The backyard is silent, then suddenly erupts into chaos. The crowed grows louder in chatter with everyone trying to figure out what just occurred. Keshan finally rises and also run inside trying to hide the mortified and embarrassed look on his face. I rush through the chaotic crowd, trying to find my way to the house so I can go find my mom. Jeremy is right behind me, helping me push through the madness. Jeremy and I finally make it into the house, and I close the door behind us.

"What the hell just happened?" I look up at him dumbfounded. "Did my mom just..."

"Yeah."

Jeremy nods his head fervently.

"Oh my god!"

"Ok breath," Jeremy says trying to calm me down.
He grasps my shoulders to steady me while instructing me to breathe in and out slowly.

"You good?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Okay. What's the plan? What do you need me to do?"

"Everyone needs to leave ASAP. I need to go find my mom."

"Got it. I can do that," Jeremy says affirmatively.

"And can you also find Keshan, please. And... I don't know, work some kind of magic on him. He must be devastated right now."

"Of course. Now go! I'll work damage control."
I go up the stairs hoping to find my mom in the bathroom, however, she is not there.

"Mom!" I call out but receive no answer. "Mom!" I shout again, but still nothing.
I poke my head into her bedroom, but I do not see her. I almost leave, until I hear sobbing come from the closed closet door to the left. I close the bedroom door behind me and sneak quietly up to the closet door. Very slowly as not to frighten her, I open the door leading to the walk-in closet. My mom looks up at me with a tear stained face smeared with mascara.

"Mom! Why are you hiding in the closet?"

"I'm not hiding. I was um... looking to something," she says through her sniffling.
She qu9ickly wipes her face, trying to hide the evidence of her crying. I go sit down next to her on the carpeted floor. She does not acknowledge me, but simply stares at the air, her eyes glazing over.

"Mom, what just happened outside.?" I ask while giving her a little shake to hopefully snap her out of her trans state. "I don't understand. You love Keshan. Why did you reject his proposal?"

"Why did he have to propose. Everything was going fine! And now... it's ruined."

"But I don't understand? Don't you want to get married?"

"I.... I just can't. I won't go through it again!"

"Go through what again?"

"The cheating."
She grabs my arm and looks me straight in the eyes with a terrified look on her face.

"I won't!" she says with conviction as if trying to force herself rather than me to listen.

"What? Keshan is cheating on you?"
How could he cheat in her? He loves her.

"No," she admits. "But he will, soon enough. Just you wait. They always do."

"Keshan is not dad mom," I try to remind her.

"Don't you get it April."
She finally looks at me.

"It doesn't matter because they're all the same. They all think the same. Sure, it's good I'm the beginning. But then, they just want more and more. Until one day they decide you can't give it to them, and move on. Leaving you with all alone with a baby."