Page 144 of Unspoken Words
I smiled. “Don’t be silly. I don’t plan on being here long. I’ll find my own place soon enough. I promise.”
“Eloise Mitchell, you can stay here as long as you want. This is your home, your room. Honestly, sweetheart, your father and I are thrilled to have you back.”
“I know. I just don’t want to impose. Chris does enough of that for the both of us,” I joked.
“He does not.” Mum sat down on my bed and picked up Ruby, my stuffed rabbit. She ran her hand down the fluffy, pink ears. “Maybe I like the imposing.”
“I’m sure you do in your own way, but we can’t stay home forever.”
“Shush. Just let me enjoy it while it lasts.”
“Fine. But I don’t think it will last long. I like my independence, you know?”
“Yes, I know,” she deadpanned. “You’ve been Miss Independent pretty much all your life.” She propped Ruby against my pillow then reached out her hands to mine, squeezing them. “Are you sure you’re okay? You’ve had a big week.”
“I’m fine, Mum. Really.” I sat down beside her and rested my head on her shoulder. “It was for the best. Byron and I just don’t love each other the way two people should.”
“Mm hm.”
“I mean … we both care deeply for one another. We just don’t love like how you and Dad do. That’s what I want. That’s what I deserve.”
“A bit like how you love Connor and how he loves you?”
I nodded and looked down at my fidgeting hands, resting on my lap.
“Does he know you’re back?”
“No, not yet.”
“Why haven’t you told him?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“I think you do.”
Lifting my head, tears welling in my eyes. “I’m scared, Mum. I’m scared to open my heart and risk losing him again.”
She touched my cheek and wiped a lone tear with her thumb. “I don’t think you ever closed your heart to him, did you?”
“No, not really.” I sniffed. “I couldn’t close it, not to him. Every time I tried, I failed because wiping him from my life and losing him completely was far more painful than holding on to the pieces of him I had.”
She turned her body to face me and held me at arm’s length. “Do you want to know what I believe?”
I nodded.
“Come here then.” Mum stood up and pulled me up with her, our hands linked together in front of us. “I believe we don’t hold on to love; it holds on to us, and it has been holding you and Connor together since you were kids. So …” She let go of my hand and once again wiped my tears with her thumbs. “How ‘bout you give love a helping hand and go see him.”
“What? Now?”
“Uh huh.”
“But … it’s raining. And what if he’s not hom—”
A memory of Connor and I sitting together when we were younger, watchingSleepless in Seattle, shot to the forefront of my mind. We’d been discussing fate and paths in life, and how moments could be missed because of failing to act when the time was right.
“Oh my God!” I exclaimed, gripping her arms. “It’s just likeSleepless in Seattle,Mum.”
“What?” She let out a confused laugh.
