When I opened my eyes, I found an empty space beside me.
"Ella?" I mumbled in my sleepy haze, but I heard nothing.
I sat up, rubbed the crust out of my eyes, and headed for Ella's bathroom. It was so cool that she had a bathroom attached. I didn't take a good look around her room yet, but I already considered it to be bedroom goals.
Back at home, Dad and I had a modest house. Even with Dad's money from starting his practice, he's never thought about moving to a bigger place.
Not that it was necessary. It's been just the two of us with occasional visitors. It had four bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, and a two-car garage with a huge backyard. We remodeled about two or three years ago and had some pretty cool upgrades in the bathrooms and kitchen. That place was our only home; we wouldn't trade it for anything.
I freshened up in the bathroom, using Ella's face wash and her Listerine. I'll ask her or Mom for a toothbrush in a minute. I wanted to make sure I at least said good morning with fresh breath.
I looked at my hello kitty PJs and debated whether I should slip back into my joggers and hoodie. I shrugged, voting against it.
When I heard a knock, I peeped out of the bathroom door.
"Good morning, sunshine." Mom was grinning from ear to ear.
"Hey, Mom." I smiled back.
"Are you all done?" she asked with a raised brow.
I nodded. "Hmm."
"So Mia, don't freak out, but I want to show you something."
I stepped out, nodding slowly. "Sure." I drew out all of the syllables.
"Okay, follow me," Mom said excitedly.
We walked down the hallway.
"How many bedrooms does this house have?" I asked.
"Only six. And then we have five bathrooms," she said over her shoulder. "Speaking of bedrooms." She opened one of the doors. "This one is yours."
My jaw went slack.
I felt Mom take hold of my wrist and pull me in. My eyes bounced off the walls, which were painted the softest shade of blue, and the room was furnished with a queen-sized bed and two nightstands with a dresser. The bed wasn't made or anything. The mattress and the pillows still had plastic on them.
I felt Mom's hand grab my shoulders and twist my body to the right.
"OHMYGOSH!" I said, seeing that there's an attached bathroom.
"I remember when you were a kid watching HGTV with me, you used to make such a huge deal about having a bedroom with your own bathroom." She giggled. "I used to think it was funny because you were an only child, so technically, you had a bathroom to yourself." She did have a point, but it was not the same.
"That was different. I wanted to get up and walk six feet to the bathroom, not down the hall." I squealed, running into the bathroom and turning the lights on. "I can't believe this," I mumbled. On the counter, there was toothpaste and a new mechanical toothbrush.
Mom laughed. "I know you live close by, but if you ever want to sleep over for the holidays or the weekend. Or you wanna hang out with Ella or me, and you can stay here anytime."
I ran to hug her, making sure I gave her a good squeeze. "Thank you," I told her.
"Anytime," she whispered.
"Also, Greyson can stay over too. As long as you guys are responsible and adhere to all the important house rules." She pointed the finger at me as her eyebrows drew together. It gave her the illusion of being a stern mom. But she was always the softie. More so than dad. Then again, when you have kids who don't rebel, there's no need to have this constant stern parent mentality. I eased away from her. "So, no funny stuff with Grey under my roof."
Hearing Grey's name made me pout and feel like crap all over again. I crossed my arms against my chest, hugging myself.
"You want to talk about it?" Mom asked. "If it's not, it's fine." She waved it off.
I sat on the mattress and patted the spot next to me. "We have a lot of these talks to catch up on anyway."
Mom took a seat, and I told her something I didn't mention last night. "Grey had said some things about me being afraid to put my whole heart into any relationship because I didn't want to get hurt like how it hurt when you left me. And he was right."
Mom tore her eyes away from mine and folded her lips into a thin line.
I didn't want to upset her, but I needed her to understand.
"For the longest time, keeping people at a distance was my thing. I made friends, but they never got as close to me as Grey. He's been with me through it all. I never felt I needed or wanted anyone else to know my whole life story. But I've been slowly changing my mind about a few things. I've watched Grey change and grow, and he's been rubbing off on me. I've made a few new friends, and I can't imagine keeping them at arm's length. They've all been so wonderful and helpful, you know?"
Mom nodded with a small smile.
"Anyways, I also not only do I feel like a crappy bestie, but I also feel like a crappy girlfriend."
I told her about the deal we had made.
Mom's eyes went as wide as saucers. She opened her mouth to speak, but I was afraid she'd shout or scold me, so I said something first.
"Wait! I know that probably sounds crazy. But it's the best deal we've made. Grey wanted me to see how perfect we fit together and as terrified as I was to see it, I do now. And I want him to know that he's not the only one who will be giving one hundred percent anymore. I will too."
Mom sighed. "I see that I really wasn't prepared for these kinds of grown-up talks." She softly laughed, shaking her head.
"It's not the kind of simple relationship talk that you were expecting." I giggled.
"Exactly." She agreed with a nod. "Mia, I think everyone around the two of you knows how you feel about each other. They've had faith in you forever, including your father, so believe me when I say I don't think loving Greyson will ever hurt you. And loving him back is nothing to be afraid of because he will cherish it. Just as I suspect you will when you finally tell him how you feel." She pinned me with a knowing look.
"Why are moms always so intuitive?" I grumbled, pretending to be annoyed with her.
She shrugged. "It's a gift." She bumped my shoulder.
"Thank you."
"Don't mention it."
"No, I have to. Not just for the relationship advice but everything." I angled my body towards her."Thank you for not giving up on our relationship when I gave you all the reasons to." Mom's eyes began to water."Thank you for listening to me and understanding. Thank you for making room for me in your home. I can't tell you how much it means to me." The last few words came out muffled.
My voice became hoarse, and my vision grew blurry. This room was proof of her commitment to fixing our relationship and how much she cares about keeping me a part of her life."OH, honey." Mom brought me into a hug."No thanks are necessary. I love you."
"I love you too."
I freshened up again, but this time in my own bathroom.
I kept replaying the conversation I had with mom in my head, and I decided to text Grey. I told him that I didn't want this relationship to be just a summer thing, and I wanted to prove it. There's a lot more I wanted to say, but I told him I would prefer to say it in person. Then I told him how I'd spend the day and my mother's with Ella. Hopefully, he texted me back so we could talk. I didn't want this fight to go on longer than needed.
Afterward, I skipped downstairs for breakfast.
When I walked into the kitchen, I asked about Ella."She went for her morning skateboard ride," Matt told me."She should be back soon. Depending on how far she went," He flipped a pancake with the spatula."She can go for miles on that thing," he chuckled, shaking his head.
Then he turned to me as I took a seat on one of the barstools."So, how's everything, Mia," Matt asked with a bright smile. It was a vague question, but it was easy to pick up on what he was really asking me.
I frowned, and his face grew concerned."Honestly," I began with a sigh. I paused for dramatic effect and watched him nervously comb his hands through his hair. It's great!" I blurt out with laughter.
Matt looked confused at first, but then he caught on soon enough. "You were messing with me." he feigned disappointment, but I saw him crack a smile.
"Sorry, I had to," I told him.
"Glad to see you two getting along." Mom came in and kissed Matt on the cheek.
"Ella isn't back yet?" she asked him.
"Nope. I thought she would have skipped the morning ride to spend all her time with Mia," Matt replied.
Mom shrugged. "She does, but you know how she likes her little morning rituals."
He nodded. "You're right."
I joined Mom at the breakfast table, and we had some coffee.
"I'm back!" Ella, I heard a shout from the front a few minutes later.
"How was your ride?" Mom said with a wink as they exchanged looks.
"Great. Just what I needed," Ella said with a smirk.
"You two are being weird," I commented.
Their heads whipped around to me.
"You think?" Mom replied nonchalantly as if she couldn't possibly understand why I would have said that.
Ella, on the other hand, just shrugged. "I don't know what you mean."
Matt looked as confused as I did, but he let it slide.
We gathered at the table for breakfast and had a light chat.
Matt had to wrap up some work but promised he'd free up his schedule for the afternoon.
Mom and Ella wanted a girl's day filled with movies and an at-home spa day.
Naturally, I couldn't say no.