Looking After You

(43) Ages: 21 & 18

Ages: 21 & 18

The late Saturday morning air left a lethargic fog throughout the Jenson home as every inhabitant found a way to make the most out of a lazy Saturday. Jenny was lying on James' bed, munching on a bag of cherry flavored Twizzlers when her mother stepped inside the room. "Jenny?" She called softly as if not to disturb the silent peace that had consumed the home.

Jenny tore her eyes away from the re-runs of her favorite 90s dramedy and stared back at her mother with a dingy smile. It had been months since the Loren family fell apart and while nothing was the same, many things were slowly finding a new way to be. Alison was finding a new rhythm in her life and day by day Jenny saw a smile light growing brighter inside her eyes.

"I just wanted to let you know that James' Gran is planning on stopping by early tomorrow on her way to Virginia."

 Jenny's eyes widened in excitement as she shoved the Twizzler's to the opposite side of the bed. "Really? That's great!"

Alison smiled at the sight of her daughter's joy. "I thought it would be a nice surprise for you, considering how good you are at surprising people these days." She eyed Jenny suspiciously as she stepped farther into the bedroom that held entirely too much blue. James' Gran had always been like a grandmother to Jenny as well, sometimes James wondered if Gran didn't consider Jenny more of a granddaughter than she considered him a grandson. James had become accustomed to coming in second to Jenny when it came to his family. Everyone loved Jenny and while it was something he didn't understand or take kindly to when he was younger; James found that as time passed, he slowly began to see what everyone else had seen all along.

Pushing herself to a sitting position, Jenny hid her small smirk of amusement.

"You never did tell me how that little devious road trip went, by the way." Alison pried gleefully as she sat down on the edge of the small bed. Marvel superheroes covered every inch of the duvet, but Jenny didn't really mind.

"It was fine. We got the car, came home and that was that." With an ambiguous tone, she shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly, hoping her mother would be content with a lack of information.

"I meant with James." She specified abruptly, her voice serious but cautious.

"I know what you meant," Jenny clarified. Her voice was level and mature - beyond her eighteen years. "Nothing happened and nothing is going to happen. I know how James feels and at one time, it would have been all I wanted but I've grown up a lot in the last few months and if I've learned anything it's that you can't let one person be everything."

Alison quickly placed a hand over her daughter's and finally began to see the darkness that everyone had been seeing for months. The distress and smog that had been consuming Alison for months left her blind to her own daughter and she feared it had taken her too long to see. Jenny had changed. She had changed more in two months that most people changed in two years and in some ways that many people never should. "Jenny, don't let what happened to your father and I dictate how you look at the world. More importantly, don't let it hinder the way you look at people you love. Letting someone inside and caring about them as much as you can doesn't mean you have to lose yourself."

"At least not until they leave." Jenny's harsh words struck a fierce chord inside Alison as she sat in stunned silence, staring back at this stranger emulating her daughter. "You lost everything when dad left, including yourself. I'm not trying to be a bitch when I say this, mom, but that's the last thing I want."

Swallowing back the pain filling her chest, Alison forced a nod of understanding for her daughter. "Okay. Then what's the first?"

"I want to go to college."