Page 56 of The Kidnapped

“She slept over,” Olivia pointed out.

“Nothing happened. It was late. We just slept.”

“It would be okay if you didn’t just sleep, Hollis.”

“Mom!” Hollis laughed a little louder this time.

“What? You’re an adult. You’ve… done that before. We never got the chance to have the talk, but I hope your father gave you one, at least.”

“He told me boys only think about sex, so I shouldn’t think that a boy my age really loves me or wants more than that. Then, he told me about condoms and birth control.”

“He what?”

“I was fourteen.”

“I’ll smack him,” her mom stated.

“Don’t worry; it’s not like I even had anyone interested in me when I was in high school. We were never anywhere long enough for that to matter.”

“When you did, though, were you…”

“Safe?” Hollis finished for her. “Yeah. I never got the speech about the emotional side of things – it was more about not getting pregnant or an STI – but I knew enough, and it was with someone I trusted.”

“Good,” her mom replied. “And Raleigh?”

“Raleigh and I slept, Mom.”

“She cares about you.”

“She’s a friend,” Hollis argued.

“But you feel more than that.”

“I do,” she admitted. “But neither of us is in a place where we should try anything right now.”

“Hollis, you could wait forever, and you both might still not be ready,” her mother replied.

“Mom, we just talked about how you and I don’t have much time left. I don’t want to spend any of it away from you as is, but I already have to work and–”

“I want to know that you’ll be taken care of,” Olivia interjected. “I am your mother, Hollis. I want to know that there’s someone out there who will be there for you, with you when you need them.”

“That’s what friends are for. And Raleigh is a friend.”

“Listen, don’t use me as an excuse to not tell her how you feel. I won’t be the thing that stands in your way. If you like her, you tell her. Don’t wait, Hollis. Never wait, honey. If you want something, you go for it. If you think Raleigh could be more than a friend, ask her out on a date; see if she feels the same way. But don’t let me or what’s going on with your father stand in the way of something that could be.”

“What about Eden? It’s not just my stuff, Mom.”

“You’re right. But I can’t answer where Raleigh is with her feelings, honey. Only she can. So, in my not-so-humble opinion, I think you should talk to her and find out what those feelings might be.”

“And if she’s not interested or not ready?”

“Then, you know,” her mother replied. “Your life can be full of regrets if you let it. Don’t let it, Hollis.”

CHAPTER 19

“Yes, Mr.Roman,” Raleigh said. “I sent that over yesterday.”

She hurried to find the email in her sent box, scanned the messages from the day before, and couldn’t find it.

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