“Mommy.” I tried again. “Blair’s mother is here but she won’t let me go with them to the water park until she talks to you. Daddy didn’t call her last night like he said he would. Can’t you please come downstairs and see her?”
“Georgia, I can’t do it.”
Hot tears pricked my eyes and this time I wasn’t able to hide the sob that fell from between my lips.
“Mommy, you promised I could go for the weekend. You promised.”
Why did she always do this? Why couldn’t she be like Blair’s mom? Why did she spend every single day in bed? In the dark? Crying? Or saying crazy things?
Why couldn’t she be normal?
She rolled over and tried to sit up and for a moment my tears dried up. My heart pounded in anticipation and for five whole seconds I was happy. She would come downstairs. She would talk to Blair’s mom so that Mrs. Taylor knew I had permission to go with them.
Everything would be okay. I would have fun with Blair and if I was really lucky, I would be able to forget for a while.
“Please don’t leave me,” she whispered hoarsely.
Her bony hands beckoned toward me and I backed away, shaking my head and trying not to cry.
“Mommy,” I whispered sadly.
“Georgia, I need you. I need you to stay with me.”
She moved across the covers, her nightgown riding up her thighs, her sunken eyes glistening with something feverish. She was shaking and reached for her cigarettes on the table beside her bed. She lit one, inhaled a long, deep breath, and wiped her nose on her arm.
She was gross and smelly and she looked awful and…
She was my mother.
“Georgie, please? We’ll watch movies and eat junk food. I just…I don’t want to be alone.”
I didn’t want to be here. But how could I leave her like this? Alone? Matt was with his friends and Daddy wasn’t home either.
“Okay,” I said finally, trying not to cry… “I’ll stay.”
Ben’s hand on my shoulder had me nearly jumping out of my skin.
“Shit, Georgia. I didn’t mean to scare you.” His eyes were warm and happy and for a second I felt their heat roll over me. And yet I still shivered from cold.
“I’m fine.”
His eyebrow shot up and he cocked his head to the side.
“Really. I was just daydreaming I guess.”
He bent low and kissed me, there beneath my ear, and I shuddered into him, clutching his shoulders and wanting more—needing more—than he could give with his parents looking at us.
“Steaks are ready,” he murmured.
His hand slipped down my shoulder until he threaded my fingers through his and drew me up against him. He didn’t care that his mom was staring at us from across the deck. He kissed me and I drank in his warmth and his goodness and his strength.
Slowly he pulled away and cupped my chin. “Are you alright? I didn’t mean to abandon you over here, I just…my parents are pretty damn hard to resist and they’re really excited about my new place.”
“You’re lucky,” I said without thinking.
“Yes.” He dropped a kiss onto my forehead. “I am. I have you.”
For a second I didn’t let go and I felt my eyes fill up. “Thanks,” I whispered.
We had steaks and baked potatoes with some leftover Chinese food from the day before. It was thrown together hastily with paper plates, paper towels for napkins and plastic utensils. Ben hadn’t gotten around to buying the basics since he’d moved in and we’d pretty much survived on take out. And sex.
I’m sure the food tasted great, but I could barely get anything down. Ben’s mom had been studying me between smiles and polite talk for about twenty minutes and I wished she would just turn the other way. Something was coming, I could feel it.
“So, Georgia,” Eve Lancaster said casually.
Here we go.
My cheeks ached from the fake smile I plastered to my face and I set down my fork, reaching for my glass of water.
“That’s a beautiful name.”
“Thank you.”
Ben’s dad smiled. “Is it a family name? Are you from the south?”
I shook my head. “No. I think my mom just liked it.”