“I hope everything’s okay.” She reaches to turn down the temperature of the burner.
“I’m not so sure that he is, even though he says he’s fine.”
“Can I ask what happened?” she asks, wiping her hands on a towel.
I blow out my breath and recap all the details that I know. By the time I’m finished, I feel sick to my stomach, thinking about what he must be going through right now and how badly I wish I was by his side.
“That poor boy. To go through all that… And shame on his mother. Mothers are supposed to love their children unconditionally and always be there for them.” My mom moves the pan off the stove and takes my hands in hers. “If you’re really serious about this boy, you should bring him home with you during your next holiday. I don’t want him spending Christmas alone or, worse, at his house where he can’t possibly feel safe.” She reacts exactly the way I knew she would.
Although she might be a little on the crazy side, I’m lucky to have her as a parent.
“I think… Or I’ve been thinking that maybe I could fly back early.”
She doesn’t say anything. Instead, she opens my hand and studies the lines of my palm. “As much as I hate the thought of us cutting down our time together, I think you should go back early, too, and be there for Seth.”
“Is that what the lines say?” I joke.
“They do,” she replies, deadly serious. “Just like my dream told me you were going to meet someone new when you went off to school. You should know by now that my predictions are always right.” She closes my hand. “Go pack your stuff and I’ll see if I can get you on a flight.”
“Thanks, Mom.” I wrap my arms around her. “And I mean for everything. For not kicking me out of the house. For supporting me through everything. For making me feel okay about being who I am.”
“You’re welcome, honey.” She kisses me on the cheek. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” I pull back and head to my room, eager to pack my stuff—eager to get to Seth.
***
Ten hours later, I’m walking up to Seth’s dorm building. I haven’t been able to get ahold of him, so as soon as I dropped off my bags at my apartment, I headed straight to the dorms. I try his number again, but it goes straight to voicemail.
I rush across the frosted grass. Snowflakes are lightly falling from the grey sky and sprinkle the tree branches. The scene would make a great picture, but I don’t have my camera with me. Plus, I have this dire urge to get to Seth’s room and make sure he’s okay.
When I get to the locked entrance door, I cup my hands around my eyes and peer through the glass. I spot a few people hanging out in the lounge area and knock on the door. A girl glances in my direction, gets up, and lets me in.
I brush the snow out of my hair as I step inside and head toward his room at the end of the hallway. Stopping at his door, I knock loudly since someone has the music cranked up.
Moments later, the music stops and Seth opens the door.
He takes one look at me and his jaw drops. “What are you doing here? I thought you weren’t flying home until Sunday.”
“Yeah, I left early.” I run my fingers through my damp hair. “I thought you might need some company after what happened.”
He rubs his lips together as his gaze scrolls up and down my body. “You didn’t have to do that? I know how excited your mom was to see you.”
“She was fine with me coming back,” I reassure him. “In fact, it was her idea.”
He stares at me for a second or two, then reaches for my hand and yanks me into his cluttered room. Energy drink cans litter the floor and candy wrappers cover his bed.
“Did you go on a sugar binge or something?” I turn in a circle in the small space between the two twin beds, examining his messy room.
“I didn’t feel like going out and eating alone,” he says, closing the door. “I honestly planned on locking myself in here the whole weekend and binging on sugar and vodka, but then I didn’t have any vodka, so,” he shrugs, “I took to the energy drinks.”
“Because my mother kept sending me texts.”
“Apologies, I hope.”
He lets out a hollow laugh as he kicks the tip of his boot at the snow on the ground. “Yeah, right. More like threats.”
I stop under the shelter of a tree and grab his arm, forcing him to look at me. “She’s threatening you?”
He shrugs it off. “It’s nothing I haven’t heard. I can’t ever come home again. Blah, blah, blah.” He rolls his eyes, pretending to be unaffected.