Mom's standing with her arms crossed, and now she begins to tap her foot. "Mia met her stepbrother and his friend." She begins, "She decided that she'd be rude by telling us that Hudson wasn't her brother and walking away without saying hello. Mia, that was a really immature thing to do."
"His friend is Jagger," Lacey informs Sarah, and her face immediately hardens.
"Am I missing something?" Mom asks as she looks between all three of us. "Someone better start talking."
I sigh and walk toward the open door, "Let me shut and lock the door. We don't need anyone else barging in on us."
"Okay Mrs. Brady, you're not going to like what we have to say, and I apologize for that." Sarah begins.
"What did you do?" Mom asks as she sits on the bed.
I glance at the computer screen and see Sarah glancing down at Allie. Great, it's up to me to tell her. "Do you remember the night before we left?"
Mom's eyes narrow, "You stayed at Sarah's, didn't you?"
"No, we rented out a motel, and we went to a nightclub," I tell her, but I feel bad for deceiving her. She truly believed that I was at Sarah's that night.
"I met a man and we hit it off, I went home with him." Sarah shrugs, she sounds as though it doesn't faze her when we all know that's not the case. "Silly huh, a one night stand results in this beautiful baby." Her voice goes soft when she talks about Allie; her eyes are so full of love as she looks at her daughter. "I'm sorry that we lied to you Mrs. Brady, but we wanted to celebrate finishing school. We had such a blast."
Mom's silent for what feels like ages, "Do you know what could have happened to you? I can't believe how irresponsible you both were. Sarah, have you been in contact with the baby's father?"
I watch as Sarah's spine straightens. "Mrs. Brady, how long have you known me? Do you really think I'd keep my child from her father?"
Mom stares at her, "I didn't think you'd put yourself in danger by going to a club. Underage I may add."
Sarah doesn't back down. "Look Mrs. Brady, both Mia and I regret lying to you. We don't regret going out. We had fun, something we needed after a shit year with school. To answer your question, I went to see him the next day before I left for New York, he had gotten back with his ex. I called him when I found out I was pregnant, he didn't answer, so I left a message asking for him to call me back. He didn't. He got his girlfriend to call me instead."
Mom's eyes fill with tears, "Oh, Sarah."
Sarah's not finished yet. "She told me that he didn't want our baby and to never contact him or them again. I didn't, not until today when I sent him an email letting him know that if he ever changed his mind about Allie that she'd love to meet him. He hasn't responded."
Mom's eyes flash with anger. "Who is he?"
"Jagger." I whisper, and she gasps, "That's why I was rude. I couldn't stand there and be nice Mom. He hurt Sarah, and he's hurting Allie by not being there. I'm sorry."
She waves her hand, "I understand why now." She stands, "Sarah, you ever need anything, please let me know, I don't care what it is, if I can help, I will."
Sarah smiles, "Thank you Mrs. Brady. Please don't say anything to anyone. I've not told my mom yet. I'm not sure I want Allie around her. I don’t trust her. She’s not changed, she’ll never change. You know that Mrs. Brady."
"I won't say a word. Thank you for letting me know. Girls, come downstairs when you're ready." She says as she places a kiss on my cheek. I walk with her to the door and unlock it so that she can leave. "I understand why you did it. I'm just upset that you felt the need to lie to me. Why wouldn't you tell me? It's not like you to keep secrets from me, Mia."
I can't help the irony of her words, "We've both kept secrets haven't we Mom? I mean, you didn't tell me you were engaged, nor did you tell me you were married until a few days after it happened. Don't be a hypocrite..." Mom's eyes flash with hurt at my words, and I instantly feel bad, "What Sarah and I did is what every young person does. We went out and had fun, we were wrong to lie to you, but it's done now."
She gingerly reaches out and touches my cheek. "You've been hurt so much, and I never wanted to add any more to you."
It makes sense now. I couldn't understand why she never told me about her and Harrison. "You thought I'd be hurt that you were moving on?"
She nods as tears spring to her eyes, "Mia, you were a daddy's girl, you had been from the moment you were born, as soon as he held you he told me that the world had finally made sense. I completely understood how he felt. We both loved you deeply; I still do. But you and your dad were always closer than you and I ever were, and when he died you pulled away. I could never reach you." Her voice is barely a whisper as a lone tear falls down her face. "You were hurting, and I couldn't help you. I had no idea how I could stop your pain."
"I miss him, Mom. I thought you were trying to wipe away every remnant of him and the life you shared with him." God, this isn't the time to be having this discussion, not now, not at her party.
She pulls me into her arms, "Mia, your father was a big part of my life. I loved him with every fiber of my being. I still love him, had he not died we would have grown old together and lived a very happy life. I'm so sorry that you thought I was doing that.”
My arms tighten around her, and I squeeze her tightly, "I love you, Mom. I'm sorry for being rude."
She pulls away from me, her hands going to my face. "Don't be sorry, I completely understand why you did it, but Mia, Jagger is Hudson's best friend which means he's going to be around a lot while they're here. You're going to have to be civil. For the sake of Sarah and Allie, you have to be. He's made his decision, one that none of us agree with. But his none the less"
I groan, "I know, I'm going to have to try and bite my tongue."