Page 107 of The Facade

36

Cambrielle

My stomach roiledwith dread as I followed my mom into her and my dad’s bedroom. Their bedroom was on the opposite landing from the kids’ hall. Inside, it was mostly white—white walls, white bedding, white curtains, white furniture—with little pops of navy blue and gold.

I didn’t come in here as often as I had when I was younger, since I’d graduated from putting on my toy makeup at her vanity while I watched her get ready for work in the mornings. But each time I stepped inside, it reminded me of simpler days when life was slower and the only thing I had to worry about was whether I’d have a friend to sit with at lunch, or if my ballet teacher would give me a solo during the next recital.

Mom sat on the edge of her bed beside Duchess who had been sleeping there, the fluffy white comforter bunching around her legs as she did. And when she patted the spot next to her, inviting me to join her, I obeyed.

“So I know I said that I heard a little of your conversation with your brothers just barely,” she said. “But would you mind filling me in on how exactly a seventeen-year-old boy came to be sleeping in my sixteen-year-old daughter’s bedroom last night?”

“It’s kind of a long story.” I swallowed.

“I don’t have anywhere I need to be.” Mom crossed her arms. “So I have time.”

“Okay,” I said, trying to figure out where to start. Then, deciding that it was probably best to just start at the beginning when I found Mack sleepwalking in the woods, I started talking.

I told her about how the sleepwalking episodes happened a few nights in a row and how I’d let him stay on the trundle bed in my room after that. Then I told her about how he’d stayed in my room those two nights he was supposed to be in Ian’s room, her eyes growing wider with surprise with each admission like she couldn’t believe all this had happened right under their noses.

I told her about how Mack and I had grown closer during that time and bonded more and more as we spent time together. I told her how he’d helped me with Ben—leaving out the details of the practice kiss. And then, how I’d realized that my crush had never really gone away.

“Right around Halloween, we realized that we both liked each other and we started secretly dating.”

“That long ago?” Mom asked, her brown eyes blinking.

“It only lasted for a few days,” I said. “He broke things off when his mom got worse.”

“But the boy was sleeping in your room last night. And had done that several times before? Don’t you see how that would make me just a little worried?”

“But we didn’t do what you’re thinking,” I hurried to say. “Yes, I like him a lot and I hope that when things calm down that we can date without it being a secret this time. But I promise I’m not likesleeping, sleeping with him.”

“Why didn’t you tell me what was going on?” Mom asked.

“I don’t know.” I lifted a shoulder. “I figured I had it covered and…” I sighed. “I guess it was nice having Mack trust me with something he didn’t want anyone else to know about.”

“I get that.” Mom patted my leg. “But you’re only sixteen, Cambrielle. And I know how things can get when you’re spending so much time alone with a boy you like—especially when it’s fun and secret and seems forbidden.”

Was she going to forbid me from seeing him then?

“I wasn’t planning to do anything stupid,” I said.

“I know you’re more mature than I was at your age,” Mom said. “But I just don’t want you to grow up too fast. I just…” She drifted off. “When I was your age, I was really insecure, and I thought my boyfriends would break up with me if I didn’t have sex with them when they asked. And it led me to doing things that I wasn’t ready for. I got sucked into an unhealthy relationship with Ian’s father at a young age and ended up getting married and having a baby before I was really emotionally and financially prepared to, and it was just kind of difficult for a while there.”

I knew all this. She’d told me all of this before.

“So you think that if I date Mack that I’m going to get pregnant at nineteen like you did?”

“No.” Mom shook her head. “I just want you to make better decisions than I did. And if you’re sneaking your boyfriend into your bedroom on a regular basis, I worry that you’ll start doing other things and I just don’t want you to grow up too fast.”

Okay, so she was basically saying she was worried I was planning to have sex—like tomorrow—she just wasn’t saying the actual words.

And even though it was completely awkward to talk about this with my mom, I said, “If it makes you feel better, I don’t want to have sex for a long time.”

“Really?” My mom put a hand to her chest, like she’d actually been worried I was planning to run to Mack’s house right after our conversation and do the deed.

“Yes,” I said. “I know I told Carter and Nash that I could make those decisions on my own, but I’m not ready for that.”

“Well, that makes my protective Mama Bear heart feel slightly better,” Mom said, her shoulders relaxing.

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