Page 108 of This I Know
I feel the vibrations of the front door slamming open through the house before I hear it happen.
I guess my mom’s here.
I release Ethan’s hand. I leap from his side and rush to her. This time, I don’t hear the sound of Ethan following behind me, and that’s good. He’s respecting our time together, and I appreciate it.
I fall into her arms like I’m a kid again. And for a moment, as I inhale the scent of her work scrubs and sweat, I feel like I am.
She hugs me tightly, cradling the back of my head, and then pushes me an arm’s length away. “Now tell me – what’s going on?”
“Come with me,” I say, leading her into the kitchen. The police will want to question her, I’m sure, and I don’t want them to get the jump on her just yet.
“I can’t take this any more, Avery.” She throws her purse down on the counter and uses one arm to hold herself up against the fridge. She touches her chest. “Why are the police here?”
I feel so bad for doing this to her. I pull out one of the tall stools of the center island and relax into it, finally recharging after that horrible ordeal.
“Tell me exactly what happened.”
I take a deep breath and point to the front door. I know my voice is going to crack as soon as I speak.
“All I did was answer the door…”
As predicted, I say the words and then I lose it. I bury my face in my hands and cry.
Instantly, my mom’s arms are around me once more, this time soothing me as though I wasn’t a child again, but an infant. A pathetic little infant who can’t even control her own emotions.
I pull away from her. “It was Cole,” I say through the fogginess of my tears.
The muscles of her jaw tighten. “Did he try to hurt you?”
I wipe my eyes with my sleeve. I nod. “Yes. He tried.”
She shakes her head. “I could kill him.”
“I know.”
I tell her about how Ethan came to my rescue.
“That boy…” she says. “That boy’s a good boy. I wasn’t sure of him at first, but I am now.”
I look away from her. She’s right. I know she is.
She goes on, “Thank God he was here for you. What if he hadn’t been here, Avery? I can’tbelievewe’re going through this again.”
I shake my head. “I don’t know, Mom. I don’t know and I don’t really want to think about that.”
“Well, I need to go thank him.”
I know where my mom is going with this. Before my attack, she believed in fate and everything happening the way it’s meant to with some kind of deeper meaning behind the workings of the universe, no reasonable explanation required. Now I see a hint of it returning. I wish the same be true for me, but I can’t stop thinking about the gaping hole between Ethan and me.
“You can,” I say.
“Ma’am?” One of the officers pokes his head into the kitchen. He looks at my mom. “Ma’am, do you live here?”
“I do, yes. I’m Avery’s mother.”
“Then if you don’t mind, we’ll need to ask you a few questions.”
My mom turns back to me. “That’s fine,” she says. She gives me her most loving smile and then goes with the officer. As she leaves, I hear her say, “I have some questions for you, too.”
