Page 76 of Feel It All

“Just fine, I’m going to wait on you outside.” I grumble and turn around without saying another word.

Outside, I take a deep breath in and exhale out. I close my eyes and try to calm down. I’m so frustrated and angry. I just want to know what happened.

“You know, sometimes it helps to let it all out, Taylor.”

Startled, I jump a little and open my eyes to see Chief Bennett in front of me.

“Sorry, sir, I just needed a minute.”

“I understand. Listen, get your head on right before you guys go out tonight. I don’t want any of my officers getting hurt or making wrong choices.” His tone is stern but not harsh either. I can’t tell if he hates me now or not.

“Yes, sir.” He nods and starts to walk away, but unable to control myself, I stop him. “Chief, I know this is probably super unprofessional, but I just need to know if she is okay.”

He halts and turns back to me. He lets out a sigh. “As her dad, I shouldn’t say anything, but I will tell you that physically, she is safe. Otherwise, I should probably keep it to myself that she is doing terrible. And if you tell her I told you any of this I will deny it…but maybe you should talk to your mom and ask about her little visit here Thursday night. You might find out something interesting.”

“Thank you, sir” is all I can say before he turns around and walks away.

My mind starts to race. My mom? Her visit? What does that have to do with me and Winry? I had already told her what happened with my mom didn’t change how I felt about her. But Chief said something about a visit Thursday. She didn’t come see me Thursday…

My train of thought is interrupted by Owen. “Dude, are you all right?”

“No, but hopefully I will be.”

I decide it’s best to talk to my mom in person, so I head up to Rosewood Wednesday afternoon. I don’t call her to let her know I am coming. I don’t want to give her the time to get Claire involved again. I don’t really know what to expect out of this meeting. Chief just said she came into town Thursday, and I know she didn’t see me, so something must have happened with Winry.

I pull into her house. Normally you are supposed to feel happy about coming back to the house you grew up in, but right now I’m indifferent. How am I even supposed to navigate this? She is my mom, but if she is the reason Winry broke up with me, I don’t know what to do.

I contemplate all of the possible outcomes of this meeting, and I don’t like a single one of them. If my mom had nothing to do with Winry breaking up with me, then I’m back to square one. If she is the reason, then how do I move forward? How do I convince Winry to come back when my mom won’t treat her with respect? How do I convince my mom to give Winry a chance when she has her mind so dead set on not liking her.

With a sigh and a quick inner pep talk, I get out of the car and go knock on the door. Mom answers the door and smiles when she sees me. “Oh, Graham, this is a pleasant surprise. Come in, come in. I just made some chocolate chip cookies.”

My heart hurts a little, reminded by how much Winry loves anything chocolate chip. “None for me, I’m not very hungry.”

“Come on, just one cookie.” She walks into the kitchen and comes out with a plate of cookies. “It will make you feel better.”

“Feel better? How do you know I am upset?”

“I just know. A mother knows things, Graham,” she brushes me off but takes the plate back to the kitchen. She is careful to not make eye contact with me, so I haven’t been able to read her very well.

She comes back into the living room, and we sit down. “So, what brings you here? I have missed you.”

“Yeah, I am sorry for icing you out for so long, but you have to understand where I was coming from.”

“I understand it caught you a little off guard. I shouldn’t have ambushed you, but you need to understand that I was only doing what is best for you,” she says defensively, crossing her legs and arms.

“That’s the thing, Mom, you were doing what you thought was best, but that doesn’t mean it was the best for me. Winry is important to me, and you knew that.” I try to keep my tone calm and neutral.

“You’re right, let’s not argue about the past. What brings you back home?” She pats me on the leg and smiles brightly.

“I just wanted to talk to you about something,” I shuffle in my seat and say a silent prayer this doesn’t go south too fast.

“What is it, honey?”

I take a deep breath and hope for the best. “Did you come down to Aster Creek last Thursday?”

Something unreadable crosses her face briefly; it flashed so quickly I almost missed it. “Um, I might have been in town. It’s a free country, Graham, I can go to Aster if I want to,” she deflects.

“Why were you there? You didn’t see me, what were you doing there?” A pit forms in the bottom of my stomach.

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