Saved By You (18 page)

“I don’t like this,” Aunt Denise said. “Where’s this all coming from?”

“Mom, I’ve been thinking about it for a while,” Sarah said.

Aunt Denise shook her head, quickly, refusing to believe what Sarah was saying. Uncle Larry stared at her. Grandma and I shot looks at each other—her eyes were soft and comforting, as though she’d seen this coming.

Aunt Denise shook her head. “I don’t know what this is all about,” she said. “But you can be sure that you won’t be going to college somewhere
back east
.” She took another drink of her wine. Then, she muttered under her breath, “You’ve never even been
east
—how can you go back?”

“Denise,” Uncle Larry said, trying to soothe her.

Sarah’s face was a bright red, and she stared hatred at her mother.

“I’m going to be an adult, and I’ll do what I want,” Sarah said. “Besides, Maggie’s from
back east
,” she held her fingers up in quotes, “and she seems to like it.”

“Maggie didn’t have a choice in the matter,” Aunt Denise snapped. “I won’t have my daughter running off and abandoning me.”

Sarah threw her napkin onto her plate and stood up.

“It’s not all about you, Mom,” she barked.

She grabbed the plate, and stomped off toward the kitchen, before anyone could get another word in. Aunt Denise’s eyes widened and her mouth dropped open, stunned. The rest of us sat there, too shocked to say anything. Everyone stared at each other, as though confirming what had happened had actually just happened.

“I’ll go talk to her,” I said, standing up.

“I’ll handle that, dear,” Grandma said, placing a hand on my plate before I could take it.

I thanked her, then went chasing off after Sarah.

“Can you believe her?” Sarah said, scrubbing at her plate in the sink. “She won’t even listen to me.”

I gave her a soft smile, but didn’t say anything. She must have wiped the same spot on the plate fifty times before she put it away. “Doesn’t she realize that I’m not going to be her little girl forever? I’m going to have to grow up and do my own thing sooner or later.”

“I know the feeling,” I said, commiserating.

Her eyes snapped to mine, then softened in concern.

“Oh, Maggie, I’m sorry,” she said. She shook her head, frustrated with herself. “I didn’t mean for that argument to take place in front of you. I thought my parents would be more open to it.”

I put a hand on her shoulder, giving a soft squeeze. “Don’t worry about it,” I said. The pain in her face eased. “We’re family—you don’t have to apologize for anything. I think your mom will come around. Just give her some time to get used to the idea.”

Sarah nodded, slowly. I smiled at her, again.

“Besides, you should have seen the look on Grandma’s face,” I said.

A wave of horror passed over her. “Relax,” I said. “I might be wrong, but I think she’s on your side.”

“Are you sure?” she asked.

I shrugged. “I think she would have spoke up if she wasn’t,” I said. “And if she agrees with you, she’ll figure out some way to convince your mom, too. Grandma’s sly like that.”

We both laughed at the thought of it.

“Thanks, Maggie,” she said, after we stopped laughing. “Thanks for being such a good friend.”

I cringed. “I’m the one that should be thanking
you
,” I said. “You’ve been there for me every step of the way.”

Her face brightened, again—back to her normal self. There really was no keeping her spirits down.

“Remember-that’s what family’s for,” she grinned.

We laughed, again, and I helped her clean some of the dishes that had piled up from earlier in the day. After a few minutes, Grandma brought the plates from the table, but there was no sign of Aunt Denise or Uncle Larry. Grandma said she would lay out the linens for me, and I thanked her, again.

When Sarah and I were alone, cleaning the new load of dishes, my thoughts trailed back to Haden. The thought of ending things with him, once and for all, left me feeling sick to my stomach. But I didn’t see any way around it. I knew what Kyle had said was true, and I knew that it would be the best thing for him. I just wished there was some way I could convince myself that it was the best thing for me, too.

“Something bothering you?” Sarah asked. Her eyes studied me intently.

I tried to give her a smile, but my lips barely flinched.

“You’ll never believe who I had a talk with today,” I said. Her eyes narrowed, and her brow lifted. “Kyle,” I said.

“
Kyle
?” she yelled in disbelief. “What in the world were you doing talking to
Kyle
?”

“I was trying to find out where Haden was,” I said. “Kyle said he knew, but he wanted to talk to me first.”

“Some new kind of cruel joke?” she asked.

I shook my head. “Just the opposite,” I said, remembering just how sincere he’d actually been. She frowned at me, and I told her all about what he had said. I told her about what had happened between him and Haden, and why Kyle had been such an asshole to me ever since he came to Green Falls.

“Why did he tell you all that?” she asked.

I let out a soft sigh.

“Because he wants me to end things with Haden,” I said.

She leaned back and smiled like I was making a bad joke.

“He can’t be serious,” she said.

I shrugged. “He is serious,” I said. “And, I can see where he’s coming from.”

“What do you mean?” she said. “You’re not really thinking about breaking up with him, are you?”

“It makes sense, doesn’t it?” I said. “He’s got all of these wonderful possibilities, and he’s throwing them away so he can stay in Green Falls.”

“But he’s staying her for you,” she said. “It’s the sweetest, most romantic thing I’ve ever heard.”

I cringed. “I know,” I said. “But how selfish is it if I just let him throw everything else away? I can’t hold him back from his dreams—I don’t think I could handle being responsible for that.”

Her lips pursed, but the softness returned to her eyes. We continued washing the dishes in silence for a minute before she said anything.

“Life sucks, sometimes,” she said, finally.

I nodded. “Lately it’s been sucking all the time,” I said.

She nodded, and we finished washing the rest of the dishes in silence.

Grandma had laid out the linens next to Mom’s bed. I unfolded them and settled them across the couch, making it as comfortable as it was going to get. Mom was still sleeping when I got there, and I did my best not to wake her up.

It was weird laying in that living room next to her. I listened to the rise and fall of her breathing, hoping it would lull me to sleep—but it didn’t. I had gotten used to Sarah’s room. Switching to Grandma’s little guesthouse left me with a renewed sense of unease. It reminded me that I wasn’t home—I was somewhere else. It reminded me that things were happening whether I wanted them to or not. I wasn’t going to be able to control everything, and Mom wasn’t going to be around to take care of me.

Unable to sleep, I sat up and watched her for a bit. A few minutes passed before I realized that her eyes were open, and she was watching me, too.

“Did I wake you?” I said, quietly.

Her head moved left and right. “No,” she said, softly. “Sleep comes and goes, it seems.”

She looked at me a while longer, then a smile spread across her face. “I’m glad you’re here, though.”

I nodded, and smiled. “So am I,” I said.

I reached up and held her hand. She squeezed mine, softly. Pain was already surfacing in my chest. It occurred to me that, soon, I wouldn’t be able to reach up and hold her hand whenever I wanted. How many more times would I feel the soft touch I had known my whole life?

“How’s Haden?” she asked, breaking the silence.

My eyes darted to hers, wide with surprise. There was no hint of anger, or frustration in her voice. The question was as innocuous as they come—no agenda.

“He’s fine,” I said. “He’s been practicing for the big show in a couple of weeks.”

She nodded, and studied me for a while longer.

“Tell me about him,” she said.

“Mom, we don’t have to do this,” I said. “It doesn’t matter, anyway. I don’t think things are going to work out with him.”

She considered me for a long moment, then frowned. “I thought you loved him?” she said. “Isn’t that what you told me in the car—that you loved him?”

“I do,” I said.

“And does he love you?” she asked.

I nodded my head, slowly. “Too much,” I said, mostly to myself.

She squeezed my hand, gently.

“Then nothing else should matter,” she said.

I bit my lip, nervously. “I wish it was that simple,” I said.

Her look was long and distant, but finally she nodded. “Love is rarely ever what it should be,” she said. She squeezed my hand again. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that—if it’s easy, it’s probably not worth it.”

My eyes locked onto her, frozen.

“You think so?” I asked.

Her head tilted to the side, and her smile widened.

“It’s a hard lesson to learn,” she said.

I bit my lip, nodding. It was almost the exact same thing Haden had told me the first night we’d hung out. We had gone to Huck’s motocross demonstration, and we had talked on the bleachers. It felt like a lifetime ago—a million things had happened since then.

We sat in silence for a long time. Her eyes were more peaceful than I’d seen them in a while. A very long while. I couldn’t remember any time recently when she’d looked so calm. After the move to Jersey, it seemed like it had always been one thing or another that was weighing her down. It was rare that we were able to just spend time together.

“So,” she began. “I still want to hear all about this boy that’s stolen my little girl’s heart.”

I smiled, and a tear bubbled to my eyes. I started telling her about Haden. I told her how we’d met, even though she’d been there. I told her about everything that had happened since then. Well… almost everything. It was like a weight was being lifted from my shoulders. Once I started telling her things, I couldn’t stop. One thing flowed after another, and before I knew it, she was caught up on the whole story. I even told her about the date that we were supposed to go on the next day. She said she could feel my excitement. I told her absolutely everything, save one little fact. I didn’t tell her what would happen next. I didn’t tell her that, despite how happy Haden made me, I had to end things with him. I had to push him away.

“He sounds like someone special,” she said.

I nodded. “He is.”

She gave me a long look, again, and squeezed my hand.

“I want to meet him,” she said.

I frowned, shaking my head. “Mom, you don’t have to do that,” I said.

“But, I want to,” she said. “You’re going out with him tomorrow, right? Just have him swing in for a minute or two when he picks you up.”

I gave her a nervous look, but there was a twinkle in her eye. “I promise I won’t bite,” she added.

I let out a laugh, and nodded.

“Okay,” I said.

She squeezed my hand, again.

“Now, I think it’s time that I get some sleep,” she said. “It seems like I can sleep all day, and still wake up tired.”

I nodded and squeezed her hand soft.

“I love you, Mom,” I said.

“I love you, too,” she said.

I leaned in and gave her a soft kiss on the forehead, and then held her hand until her breathing had resumed its steady, slow pace.

I spent the next day walking around like a nervous ball of energy. I must have checked the clock every five minutes, waiting for the time that Haden was supposed to be there. He sent me a text message to confirm that we were still on, and I had been very tempted to tell him that something had come up and I wouldn’t be able to make it. But, I couldn’t do that. I wanted to see him—I needed to see him. And, I’d promised Mom she could meet him.

Mom was in better spirits all day. Aunt Denise promised her they would get her hair done later that morning if she was still feeling up to it—and she was. The two of them disappeared for a while, and I got a chance to hang out with Sarah. We did everything but talk about the drama that was going on in our lives. And it was perfect.

When Mom and Aunt Denise got back from the salon, they were both radiant. Mom looked like a new person—not because of the hair styling, but because of the huge smile on her face. She was glowing and happy, and it gave all of us hope that she was on the rebound—as futile as that hope might be.

When Haden finally pulled into the driveway later that afternoon, a renewed ball of nerves tightened in my stomach. I’d tried to ignore the nerves all day, pushing them down into some hidden part of me. But, now that he was here, there was no denying them. I was nervous about him meeting Mom—I was nervous about what she might have to say to him—and I was nervous about what I was supposed to do, too.

Haden looked amazing as he climbed out of the Beamer. He was wearing board shorts, and his tight muscles rippled beneath a loose fitting tank top. My body groaned when I saw him, and I blushed, knowing my family was all around.

“You’re beautiful,” he said as he approached, taking all of me in.

I smiled. “You don’t look so bad yourself.” I hesitated for a second, not sure how to approach things. “So, I have someone who wants to meet you,” I said.

His head turned to the side, an eyebrow lifting.

“It’s Mom,” I said. “She asked all about you last night, and said she wanted to meet you.”

The smile on his face widened. “I’d love to meet her,” he said.

I grinned, and some of the tension in my stomach untwisted itself. Haden had already told me he wanted to meet her, but it was nice hearing it again.

“Great,” I said. As I stood there looking at him, I couldn’t keep my thoughts away from Kyle. I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about what I had promised him I would do.

“Is everything alright?” Haden asked, his face darkening.

“It’s nothing,” I said with a wave. “Come on—Mom’s staying in the guesthouse.”

Haden gave me a suspicious look, but followed me around the front of the house to the side gate. Pushing through the front door of the guesthouse, we found Grandma and Mom sitting together. Mom’s hair was still radiant, and her face was still beaming. Both of their faces lit up when they saw us enter.