Page 129 of Flaunt
“Oh, good grief,” she says before a rustle ends with a collision.
Shit. “Do you need help?”
She comes down the hallway from her bedroom, giving me a mom look. “I just dumped an entire box of safety pins all over the bathroom floor. Someone better be dying or something better be on fire.”
“I’m dying, and my heart is on fire. Happy now?”
She’s not sure whether to laugh or hug me. And if my heart wasn’t actually burning up, I’d be pleased that I could confuse her this much.
“Sit down,” she says, pointing at the table. “Do you need a drink?”
“No.”
“Am I going to need a drink for this?”
“Sara left, and I don’t know if she’s coming back except that a bunch of her stuff is at my house, but we didn’t part ways super great, and I think she’s mad at me, and I’m really kind of mad at her too because—”
Mom holds up a hand and then grabs a bottle of whiskey. “Hold, please.”
“Can you hurry up here?”
She pours herself a shot and downs it. “Whew,” she says, blowing out a long, slow breath. “Okay. Continue.” She waves a hand at me. “No. Start over and breathe as you talk.”
“My dumbass brother Maddox got Sara an apartment.”
She sits down across from me. “Yes, wasn’t that the plan?”
I just look at her.
“Never mind. Go on,” she says.
“Okay. So Sara’s stepmom, Sabrina, came by the house today—my house. Her daughter, Sara’s stepsister, came over because she had been in a fight with Sabrina. Sabrina went batshit. Showed her ass. And I, I’ll have you know, used class and grace with her.” I think that through. “Mostly.”
“I’m proud.”
“Thanks.” I smile at her, picking up a key on the table and tapping it against the wood. “It was hard. Anyway, so Sara gets embarrassed about Sabrina’s little rampage and then Maddox chooses that moment in time to say, ‘Hey, the apartment is ready.’ So Sara got her things from Sabrina’s and then met Maddox for the key. Meanwhile, I told her I love her, and she said she loves me too, but she has to fix this herself.” I suck in a breath. “Mom. I don’t even know what that means.”
Mom’s smile softens. “I’m really sorry, Banks. That must’ve been really hard for you.”
“Yes. It was. She says she’s not easy to love or something. But, Mom, she’s the easiest person to love. I fell in love with her without even realizing it was happening.”
“Maybe she needs a little space.”
“Hello? We don't do that in this family!”
She sits back and crosses her arms over herself, looking rather smug.
“What?” I deadpan.
“Nothing. I was just wondering when this day would come.”
I hold out my hands.Can we get to the important stuff here?
“The day my baby boy started putting someone else’s happiness above his own.”
“Fun. Yup. I think we’re there.” I lean across the table. “Help me fix this.”
She studies me for a long time before finally standing. “Come with me. Let’s take a walk.”
