Small Town Girl (21 page)

Piper shrugged as if she didn’t care that
Luke did those things.

My jaw dropped. “Is this for real? Are we
really having this conversation right now? Is this really how it’s going to
be?”

“You can’t call dibs on people just
because you like them, Brynn,” she said. “In high school, you obsessed over
Luke just like all the other girls that wanted to be with him. Well, I wanted
to be with him too. I just never told you because I was a good friend.”

“I never knew that,” I said.

“I’ve loved him since we were kids,” she
sighed.

I huffed. “You had a crush on him in
sixth grade. I would hardly call that love.”

“It was love,” she said as she nearly
stomped her foot. “I always knew I could treat him better than you ever could.
When you became obsessed with him in high school, I didn’t have the heart to
tell you I felt the same way.”

I had heard enough.

“I’m done here,” I said to her as I spun
around. “Glad you got what you wanted, Piper. Congratulations.”

By the time I’d walked inside, Luke was
gone and Hudson was just sitting at a table, sipping a coffee drink.

“You okay?” he asked as he stood up.

“No,” I said. “Let’s get the fuck out of
here.”

He followed me out to my car where I
refused to shed a single tear over those assholes, though I wasn’t sure how
much longer I could fight it. I’d never felt so betrayed in my life before, and
by the two people I least expected to ever hurt me.

I managed to contain my emotions until
the second I stepped foot into my apartment. I fell apart. I crumbled to the
ground.

“I don’t understand,” I wailed. I didn’t
care that Hudson had never seen me so weak and vulnerable.
I
let loose.

He crouched down and helped me up,
leading me over to the sofa where he sat me down and wrapped his arms around
me.

“Piper said they’ve been hooking up for
months,” I cried. “Since before I met you.”

“That must really hurt,” he said.

“How could they do that?” I cried. “Who
does that to people they love?”

The irony was not lost on me, and Hudson
wisely chose not to answer.

“I guess this is my karma,” I sniffed.

“No,” he said. “They’re just assholes.”

“I don’t belong here anymore,” I said.
“Everything I thought I had, everyone I thought I knew, it’s all gone.”

“I know you’re hurting,” he said. “But
this is still your home. Your mom is still in town, right?”

“Yeah,” I sniffed.

“Then come back whenever you want and spend
time with her,” he suggested. “Just ignore Luke and Piper. Be done with all of
that. Move on.”

“I don’t ever want to hear their names
again,” I sobbed. “They’re dead to me.”

“Okay, I won’t ever talk about Tweedle
Dee and Tweedle Dum ever again,” he teased.

He managed to get a short laugh out of
me.

“I guess I’m used to the constant lying
and backstabbing,” he said. “It’s just how a lot of people are in my world. But
I know this is new to you. I can’t imagine how bad it hurts.”

I buried my face in his chest and
breathed in his exotic, musky cologne. He was home to me now. Not Rock River.

“Some people will do anything just to get
what they want,” he added.

“I’m just sick of fake people,” I said.
“You’re the only person I can trust, Hudson.”

“That’s partly why I was drawn to you,”
he said. “You seemed so genuine.
So trustworthy.
You
had that sweet, small town innocence about you. That’s rare where I come from.”

I’d always wondered why he was so drawn
to me, but after experiencing what I’d just experienced, it was all starting to
make sense. Hudson didn’t want to hurt anymore. He just wanted to love and be
with someone who was real. I could never blame him for that.

My arms squeezed him even tighter. I was
pretty sure I loved him, but I didn’t know how to say it. I hoped he knew it. I
hoped he could feel it. I hoped he’d say it first.

“So we have the whole rest of the
day
…” he said. “What do you want to do?”

“I don’t know,” I said. I didn’t want to
think about it. I thought I was going to be hanging out with you and Piper
today. I didn’t think about anything else.”

“Why don’t we go visit your mom?” he
suggested. “We can spend time with her tonight and then tomorrow we’ll get on a
plane first thing in the morning and go home.”

I nodded and relaxed in the safe comfort
of his arms. At least I could rest assured knowing that the last time I saw
her, she was doing better. She wasn’t going to be an embarrassment to me. Her
place wasn’t going to reek of dirty cat litter and stale beer. I would just die
if Hudson saw the way I’d grown up.

“Why don’t you take a little nap?” he
suggested as he ran his fingers through my long hair. “It’s been a long flight.
A long day.
A long afternoon.
You’re probably drained.”

I closed my eyes and tried to clear my
mind as we settled in side-by-side on my sofa for a sweet afternoon nap.
Hudson’s arms were where I belonged and his arms were where I’d stay.

***

I treated Hudson to some greasy pizza
from the one and only gas station in town. It wasn’t organic or gourmet by any
means, but he didn’t complain once. I didn’t dare set foot into the Brown Bag
Diner. I was sure Marge would have my head on a platter if she ever saw me
again.

“Ready to go to my mom’s?” I asked as he
wiped the grease from around his mouth and chewed his last bite of pizza.

“Yeah,” he said. He seemed genuinely
excited to meet her, which was sweet.

As we buzzed across town to my mom’s
little house, I felt the need to prep him before we got there.

“Now, don’t expect anything fancy,” I
said.

“Okay,” he laughed, probably confused as
to why I’d even say such a thing.

“My dad died when I was little,” I said.

“Yes, I remember you telling me that
once,” he said. “I’m so sorry.”

“It was just me and Mom,” I said. “We
lived in this little house. Money was tight. She was, still is actually, a
laborer at the appliance factory.”

“Okay,” he said. “I think that’s great
that she took on whatever job she had to to support you.”

I bit my tongue. I wanted to tell him she
was an alcoholic and she was never there for me. I wanted to tell him she
wasn’t capable of raising a child, but she did the best she could. I couldn’t
manage to get the words out. I just hoped to God her house was still in the
same condition it was the last time I saw it. I prayed she was still with Tom
and still sobering up.

“I just don’t want you to have high
expectations,” I said.

“Brynn,” he laughed. “You’re overthinking
this. It’ll be fine. I’ll love her no matter what. She’s your mom.”

We pulled into the weeded, gravel
driveway of my childhood home. Right away I noticed the yard hadn’t been mowed
since I’d last seen it. Foot tall weeds poked up sporadically and the flowers
I’d always watered for her in the
flower beds
were
brown and dying. It wasn’t a good sign.

I didn’t see Tom’s car there, but I knew
she was home.

“Maybe now’s not a good time for you to
meet her,” I said.

“What? No, we’re here. I want to meet
her,” he said. “I don’t know why you’re being like this. Moms love me.”

“I’m not worried about her liking you,” I
said. “I know she’ll love you.”

I wanted to add, “If she’s sober and
coherent enough to remember meeting you” but I didn’t.

I took a deep breath and crawled out of
my car, dreading each step to the side entrance door. Hudson was a step behind
me the entire way with his hand on my lower back. I opened the creaky door and
was immediately punched in the face with the overpowering stench of dirty cat
litter. I glanced over to my left to see empty beer cans
lining
the side of the sink. She had reverted back to her old ways.

Hudson stepped inside after me but said
nothing, thank goodness. He was too polite, but I knew he noticed. There was no
way he couldn’t have noticed.

“Mom?” I called out.

I didn’t hear the T.V.
blaring
which
meant she was either in her room sleeping or passed out drunk
somewhere around the house.

“You can have a seat in there,” I told
him as I pointed to the living room.

I wandered back to her bedroom where I
lightly rapped on the door.

“Mom?” I called out. I waited a minute or
so before opening the door. She was spread eagle, passed out and snoring on her
bed
all alone
.

I walked up and sat next to her, gently
shaking her arm.

“Mom, wake up,” I said. “It’s Brynn.”

She was sleeping hard, so I shook her
even harder.

“Mom!” I yelled. I was beginning to
worry.

I waited and watched as her eyes began to
flutter and she startled awake when she saw someone else was there.

“Tom?” she called out.

“No,” I sighed. “Brynn. Your daughter.”

Her eyes fluttered open the rest of the
way as a drunk, sheepish smile spread across her lips.

“Hi, honey,” she said as she attempted to
sit up in bed. “I didn’t know you were coming home.”

“Are you okay, mom?” I asked. “You seem
different from last time.”

“I’m fine,” she said.

“Where’s Tom?” I asked.

“Bastard left me,” she said. “Said I
drink too much or some bullshit like that.”

“I thought you were sobering up,” I said.
“You seemed so much better last time.”

“He didn’t even want me to have one drink
with dinner,” she muttered. “He said it would lead to another and another. I
don’t need a man like that controlling my life.”

“How much have you had to drink tonight?”
I asked her.

I glanced at the alarm clock. It was
nearly eight, and she’d been off work since three. It was hard telling just how
many drinks she’d had.

“Just a couple,” she mumbled. I didn’t
believe her for one second.

“Do you think you can get cleaned up and
meet my friend?” I asked her, crossing my fingers she could understand how much
that would mean to me.

“Your friend?” she asked.

“Yeah, Hudson,” I said.

“Oh, the movie star,” she said. Her
drunk
eyes lit up. “Yeah, give me a minute.”

She sat up and steadied herself on the
bed before dipping one leg at a time over the edge. I grabbed her elbow and
helped her up. She was a skinny little thing but she always had been. She
rarely ate. Her dark hair was in desperate need of a trim and color as nearly
two inches of gray was growing out. Alcohol was the only thing she ever really
cared to spend money on.

“Let me walk you to the bathroom,” I said
to her.

“Nah,” she slurred as she tried to push
me away. “I got it. Stop taking care of me so much, Brynn. I’m the mother.”

Her words bit me like a bullet in the
leg. She was right. She was the mother. If only she’d acted like it.

I watched her make her way to the
bathroom and then went out to where Hudson was sitting in the living room. I
knew the house was small, and I was sure he’d heard everything, but he said
nothing. He didn’t have to. His face said it all. He was sad for me.

I took my place next to him and he
wrapped his arm around me.

“You’re a good girl, you know that?” he
whispered into my ear before he kissed my cheek. “She’s lucky to have you.”

I nodded. I was well aware.

Within minutes, my mom emerged from the
bathroom in a cloud of cheap perfume and hairspray. She’d changed into clean,
unwrinkled clothes, and had brushed her hair back into a
pony
tail
.

“Hi, there!” she said as she extended her
hand out to Hudson. “I’m Brynn’s mom, Tina. It’s so nice to meet you.”

Hudson stood up and shook her hand. “I’m
Hudson. Nice to meet you.”

She couldn’t wipe the smile off her face
if she tried nor could she take her eyes off him for two seconds. She was
instantly starstruck and smitten with him.

“You’ve raised a really sweet girl here,”
Hudson said as he patted my leg.

“Oh, don’t I know it,” she said. “I don’t
know what I’d do without her. She’s the apple of my eye.”

My mom clutched her hands at her heart as
she turned towards me. I couldn’t tell if she really meant those words or if
she was trying to come off like she wasn’t a deadbeat mom for all those years.
She could’ve been putting on an act for Hudson’s sake for all I knew. Our
relationship was complicated and the scars ran deep, but I still loved her so
much it hurt sometimes.

“So how long are you two love birds in
town for?” she asked.

“Until tomorrow,” I said.

“When did you get here?” she asked,
confused.

“This afternoon,” he answered.

“Okay, so I’m confused,” my mom laughed.
“Why are you leaving so soon?”

I opened my mouth to tell her all about
Luke and Piper and the betrayal, but I didn’t have the energy. I didn't want to
rehash it again or experience an ounce of the pain I’d experienced just hours
earlier.

“Work,” Hudson said. “I have a work
function tomorrow that I can’t miss. Last minute.”

Hudson, once again, came to my rescue. I
squeezed his hand to thank him.

“Would you like something to drink,
Hudson?” my mom offered. “I have beer, wine, and water. I might have some milk?
I’ll have to check.”

I glanced up at him and nonchalantly
shook my head no. She just wanted an excuse to have a drink herself. She wasn’t
going to run off to the kitchen and crack a beer without offering one to her
guest. Even in her drunk state, she knew it wasn’t proper.

“Thanks but no thanks,” he said. “We’ve
got an early flight to catch in the morning. I can’t be having too much fun tonight.”

Her face looked disappointed but she
nodded politely. She was just itching for another drink and it was killing her.

“We should probably get going,” I said,
not wanting to stay for another moment in her smelly house. She was probably
counting down the minutes until we were gone so she could have another drink.