Arya
Iclosedthefrontdoor and leaned against it for support. I screwed my eyes shut against the emotion that was threatening to overtake me.
How had today gone so wrong?
I hated this feeling. Before Tristan showed up here, I was feeling more like myself. My confidence was falling back into place, piece by piece. I had started to feel good.
But now this game Tristan and I were playing was driving me insane.
What bothered me the most was how he brushed things off and didn’t open up to me about Regina or his life. Sure, he dropped little hints here and there, but I wanted to hear everything.
I groaned when I thought about Regina coming down here soon. I was in deep. Way too deep.
“Honey, are you okay?” My mom’s voice from the kitchen startled me and I jumped.
“Mom, you scared me. I didn’t think you were home yet,” I said, standing up and walking toward the kitchen.
“I wanted to make dinner tonight. We’ve all been too busy, and I wanted to eat dinner with my family,” she said. I suddenly noticed that the house smelled amazing. My mouth watered as I looked into the oven.
“Is that your macaroni and cheese?” I asked, squinting through the glass.
“Sure is,” my mom said. “Mason should be here soon, too.”
“Can I help with anything?” I asked.
“There are some veggies in the fridge for a salad. Why don’t you put that together,” she suggested.
I walked over to the fridge and busied myself with opening the drawer to get the veggies.
“So, are you going to tell me what’s bothering you?” she asked from the counter where she was smashing crackers to put on top of the casserole.
Her look was serious when she turned toward me, but there was still compassion in her eyes. I wanted to confide in her, but didn’t want her to know it was Tristan.
“I kind of have this…situation going on,” I said, placing the pile of lettuce, cucumbers, carrots, and tomatoes on the counter and grabbing a knife and cutting board.
Mom stopped what she was doing and looked directly at me.
“Please tell me you're not mixed up with a crazy boy again,” she said.
I laughed, but she continued with her death stare. She didn’t find any of it funny and I could understand why. It was probably hard to help your daughter pick up the pieces of her heart that were broken by someone who wasn’t worth her time.
“Relax, Mom. I'm not.”
She said nothing, but continued to stare at me.
“But, there is a guy. Nothing like anyone I've ever dated. He’s caring, sweet, asks me about myself, and he actually has his life together. Like, really together. And I think I like him.”
My mom softened, unfreezing just a little.
“Then what’s the problem?” she asked, a little confused.
I bit my lower lip as I thought about what to say. My mom came to stand next to me and picked up the carrots to peel them.
“Is it someone I know? Is he from around here?” she tried to prompt me.
“It’s not anyone you know. He’s not exactly from around here. He’s from New…” I quickly stopped myself from saying New York. Mom was smart, and she’d figure it out in a heartbeat. “...Jersey. He’s just here on business. I met him a few weeks ago at the farmer’s market.”
“So that’s why you’ve been acting so weird,” she said, laughing.