Almost impossible.
We go around a corner and Harrison vanishes from sight, but there’s someone else here now.
Someone I’ve almost forgotten.
My mother.
I can’t believe it’s her at first, but I know that it is. Her face is blurry, but it doesn’t matter. I remember that scent. I remember the way she styled her hair.
“Mom?”
“Adalee,” she says with a soft smile.
“Mom, what are you doing here?” I whisper. “Where did you go?”
“I’m sorry, Adalee,” she says. “I didn’t mean to leave you all alone. I just wanted to keep you safe.”
“But why?”
I ask, crying. “It’s not fair. I miss you.”
“I’m sorry,” she says. “It was the only way.”
I wake with a start, and my eyes are wet and swollen with my own tears.
Shit.
I hope I wasn’t sobbing in my sleep like a little kid, like a whiny baby. Who the hell cries in their sleep? Then again, what was up with my weird dream?
I grab my phone and see that it’s 5:57.
“Impeccable timing,” I mutter, shaking my head. I’ve got two texts from Harrison, one from Emilia, and two from Karen.
Saving the best for last, I start with Karen’s. She wants to know if I made it in okay, and I quickly let her know that I did. I think about telling her about Harrison, but then I decide not to. She’ll have a ton of questions, and I won’t have answers to most of them.
Or any of them.
I read Emilia’s message next. She wants to know if I got my grades yet, and I haven’t, so I tell her. We’re supposed to get them pretty promptly, but who knows? Things are always crazy this time of year for everyone. Not just the teachers.
Finally, I open Harrison’s messages.
He sent one around midnight and one twenty minutes ago.
“You were perfect tonight.”
That’s what the first message says.
Perfect.
Me?
It’s not something I ever could have thought about myself. Perfect?
Harrison O’Conner is not the first person I’ve had sex with, but he’s the first person I’ve had passionate sex with. The other times...well, they were more transactional than anything else. I wanted to prove that I was likable and the guys...
I don’t know.
I guess they were just happy to have a willing partner.