Page 79 of Landon & Shay: Part One

I cried into her arms for a while before she asked me to load up the car. Before she drove away, she pulled me into a hug once more and kissed my forehead.

Who knew forehead kisses could both heal and hurt?

I stayed on the sidewalk until her car rounded the corner.

Dad wasn’t even home. He was probably off in some bar, drinking or out dealing with people he shouldn’t have been messing around with, with no concern about what his actions were doing to our family. Each negative choice he made ripped the strands of our family unit, and yet he kept doing it, not thinking about us, not thinking of anything but himself.

I barged back into the house, heartbroken and furious. I had to get through to my mother. I needed her to wake up from this nightmare love story she’d been living in for far too long. As I entered the house, ready to snap at her, I paused my steps as I headed in her direction. She was in the bathroom with the door shut, and I listened as she sobbed uncontrollably. Her breaths were weighted and tired. When I turned the doorknob and opened the door, I found her sitting on the side of the tub with her hands covering her face.

I was still angry, hurt, confused. I still planned to let her know how I felt. I still planned on voicing my thoughts and making it clear that her choices were affecting everything and everyone around us, not just herself…but I couldn’t in that moment.

She was already low, and I couldn’t push her any lower.

Sé valiente, sé fuerte, sé amable, y quédate.

I moved into the bathroom. I sat down on the edge of the bathtub with her. I wrapped my arms around her.

And I stayed.

20

Shay

I couldn’t sleepthat night. The alarm clock sat on my dresser, the red lights displaying the time, mocking me and my exhaustion. Dad hadn’t come home. Mom was still crying in her bedroom, and Mima wasn’t here. The house felt emptied of its light, and it made it impossible for me to sleep.

I glanced at the alarm clock once more.

12:09pm

Too late to call him, I told myself. Plus, why would I even try? If I woke him up, I’d feel bad for interrupting his sleep, seeing how I knew he struggled to fall asleep on his own. But, if he was up…if the night was keeping him awake, I wanted to hear his voice on the other end of the line.

I dialed Landon’s number. As it rang, my heart sat in my throat, and I tried my best to swallow it down.

“You okay?” were the first words to leave his mouth as he answered. His voice had its normal smokiness without any hint of just waking up.

My heart, which still sat in my throat, began racing even more. I placed my collar into my mouth and chewed on it lightly. “Why would those be your first words?”

“Because it’s past midnight, and most calls past midnight are with upsetting news or booty calls. If this is a booty call then, by all means…”

I could imagine the smirk on his face.

“It’s not a booty call.”

“Damn. So back to my original question…you okay?”

“Define okay.” I laughed, grinding my teeth against the fabric. “My grandmother moved out today. Or, well, my mother pretty much kicked her out after one too many arguments about my father.”

“What?” His voice was alert. “Where is she? Is she okay? Where will she stay?”

I’d almost forgotten how much a part of Landon’s life Mima had been. The concern in his voice made me wish he was there with me so we could worry about my grandmother together.

“Is she okay?” he asked again.

“She has an apartment she’s renting for the time being. It’s hard to tell if she’s okay, really. She has a hard shell and acts like nothing gets to her, even though I know it does. She doesn’t show weakness ever, and when she’s broken, I don’t think I’d even notice. She’s been our family’s rock from day one. I don’t know who she leans on when she’s hurting, because we’ve all spent so much time leaning on her. I just worry she’s struggling with all of this and she’ll never admit it. She doesn’t show her emotions like that.”

“The people who show the least emotions are normally the ones who hurt the most,” he stated.

My chest tightened. “Personal experience?”

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