Broken

.20.

I looked around my room and let out a sigh. There wasn't much I could take with me back to the ship. I pulled out a suitcase from my closet and started to pull clothes from my drawers. I folded them tightly and placed them into the suitcase, trying to make sure there was enough room for all of it.

I paused at the knock on my door, my mum opened it with a sad smile. "Hey, sweetie. Do you mind if I help?" She hovered in the doorway her hand on the doorknob as if expecting me to tell her no.

I gave her a smile and nodded quickly. "I definitely could the help." I gestured to the mess I was making in my drawers. She moved into the room with a nod before starting to place things into my suitcase. Silence fell and I handed her another stack of clothes before I turned to my desk, looking at the books I had stacked on it.

"I know for the past few years we haven't exactly gotten along." Her words were quiet and I grabbed a few of the novels on my desk before placing them on the bed beside where she had sat down. She was twisting my shirt in her hands to tightly I was afraid the fabric would rip. "I was a terrible mother to you the past seven years. I was so scared of losing you that I did everything I could to keep you even though some of the things may not have been right." She looked up at me and I my chest ached at the sadness that etched her face.

"It's okay, mum. In the end you were right. I did find my soulmate. It just took a little longer than normal." I gave her a wavering smile and she let out a heavy sigh before slowly untwisting the poor shirt and folding it.

"I denied the possibility of you being recycled and I shut you down when you tried to discuss it. That's not right. I'm supposed to be the person you can talk to about those things and I let you down." She sniffled and I turned back to my desk to grab a few more books. "I never wanted to do that but all I could see was you as a little girl with sticky fingers and pudgy cheeks. I didn't want to lose you so I pretended I couldn't. I shut you out along with the possibilities of what could have happened to you." I turned to look at her, the books in hand before I moved back to the bed.

"Mum, I understand your position but that's behind us now. I'm still here and you were right. Now, how many books should I take?" I lifted the stack of books in my hands and she gave a watery chuckle before wiping her eyes.

"I would think most of them. Need to keep you distracted while your man is gone." She straightened her back and resumed packing my suitcase in an orderly fashion. She tucked a strand of her greying black hair behind her ear. From her position I could understand why my father said I looked more like her than I did him. "He's quite the catch. Very handsome." It was odd to see my mum look giddy but she almost did. "That man cares about you a lot. I can see it, Liv." She gave a wistful sigh and I had to smile as I helped her place the rest of my clothing into the suitcase.

"He's everything I could have dreamed for you, sweetie, but he's far more handsome than I thought." She winked at me and I ignored the flare of embarrassment it brought me.

"Don't say that too loud. Dad might get jealous." I chuckled as she threw a t-shirt at me with a laugh.

"Oh, what your father doesn't know won't hurt him." Her smile was wide. "Don't ruin my fun." Her eyes were bright with happiness. I smiled at her, remembering all the fun we used to have as I grew up. This was the mother I knew and loved. She was a strong woman but she didn't always remember it.

"I love you, mum." As I said the words I watched as her face softened, a gentle look appeared on her face and she held out her arms. I sunk into her embrace trying my best not to cry.

"I love you too, my baby girl. We'll see each other again." Her smile was sweet as she pulled away from the embrace to look through the books. I watched her movements as she placed the books into the suitcase, trying to make them lay flat.