❛ AFTERGLOW ❜ - 𝖼𝗆𝖻 ✓

012; don't freak out

third person.

a couple days after the dinner with her mom, mollie's first time leaving her bed was to show up at a party that her boyfriend had convinced her to go to, and the first thing she planned to do was to fill her best friend in about what had been happening the few previous weeks.

"i need to speak to you," mollie said, walking up to the friend group and immediately pulling nicole away from it, causing corbyn to look at the two confused, "don't freak out."

"i won't freak out." nicole shook her head, "what happened?"

"i uh, i met my mom last week." mollie told her as nicole went silent, her mouth dropping open slightly.

"are you serious?"

"her name's monica." she said, taking a deep breath as nicole shook her head and back away from the girl, "no nic i'm serious, she's the person i went to dinner with the other night."

"that explains why it was a dinner," nicole replied, "because corbyn would never suggest a dinner as a date night."

"well he would but he'd ask how my eating was first," mollie shrugged, "how the fuck do i tell corbyn?"

"umm," she paused, looking over her shoulder at the boy before turning to mollie, "how you told me..?"

"what?" mollie furrowed her eyebrows, "nic you've been my friend since when i last saw her, telling you is a lot easier than telling anyone else."

"and isn't he super understanding?"

"yes when he knows a lot about something," she shrugged, folding her arms, "he only knows what i told him and i didn't even tell him all of it."

"oh." nicole nodded, "i can't actually process the whole idea of your mom going out for dinner with you."

"oh don't, it was so weird," mollie rolled her eyes, "she sat there and expected me to tell her everything when i haven't seen her since i was six."

"okay, wow." nicole said through a small, nervous laugh, "well do you like her?"

"i don't know." the girl frowned slightly, "i mean i kind of have to because she's my mom but i-"

"i'm going to tell you something," nicole interrupted her, "just because she's related to you, doesn't mean you have to have a bond with her."

"but she's my mom."

"and she hurt you." nicole told her, "you don't have to forgive her, or like her if you don't want to. don't let her convince you that you do just because she's your mom."

"i don't hate her," mollie shrugged, "and i should but i could never hate her, i just don't know how i feel about her."

"you don't have to know how to feel about her if you met her like a couple weeks ago," nicole corrected the girl, watching a few tears fill in her eyes, "don't cry because corbyn will start asking questions and i know you don't want that."

"but i'm so confused with it," she said, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her jacket before nicole took the girl to the backyard of the house the party was being hosted at.

taking the girl over to the bench that was placed near the back corner of the backyard, mollie and nicole took a seat beside each other before mollie put her head in her hands, while nicole's hand was on her back.

"i just don't know why she chose now," mollie shrugged, "i don't know where she came from, how she found us, why she's suddenly wanting to know us, why it took so long, i have so many thoughts about it all."

"well.. do you want to give her a chance?" nicole asked, glancing over at the door to the back of the house before noticing corbyn had been standing there and watching them.

"i guess," she mumbled, "it would be nice to have a bond but it's hard to when every time i look at her i just think about what she did."

"everything or just what you remember?"

"everything." mollie looked at her, "i saw her at that park and everything just came to mind, even things i thought i forgot about - and she's just acting like she didn't do anything remotely bad."

"she yelled at me the other night when we went out for dinner and then said to not be scared because it wasn't that loud," mollie explained, watching nicole's face fall, "what? is that bad?"

"yeah.." she sighed.

"it was my fault i shouldn't have-"

"no," nicole shook her head, "none of this is your fault and you shouldn't let anyone make you feel like it is."

"nana and grandpa hate her and max still let her back in our lives," mollie threw her hands up as nicole saw corbyn and jack walking towards them, "nana doesn't hate anyone except paige so why the fuck would he just-"

"hey," jack disrupted their conversation, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jacket, "why'd you both go outside?"

"mollie just felt anxious that's all." nicole shrugged, standing up as corbyn looked over at the girl.

"yeah i just needed some air," mollie nodded, wiping her eyes before turning her head towards corbyn as she stood up, "i'm fine."

"do you want to go home? or we could go get dunkin and stargaze? we don't have to stay at the party," corbyn suggested, putting his arm around her as they headed inside, "does that sound good?"

"mhm."

"okay, we'll see you guys later," corbyn told jack and nicole as the two nodded, heading back to the group of friends while the other couple left the building and walked over to corbyn's car, "you've been acting super weird recently."

"i have?"

"you know you have." he said, opening the door for her before he got into the driver's side, "and i still don't know what's bothering you."

"i've just felt like shit," mollie replied, putting her seatbelt on before the boy pulled away from the house.

"if something is bothering you then you can tell me," corbyn offered, a soft tone in his voice as his girlfriend nodded, "mollie i mean it, anything you tell me right now will not leave my car, unless it's something we both need to talk about."

she slowly nodded once more, fiddling with the rings on her fingers before taking a deep breath and looking over at him, "you promise?"

"i promise, as always."

"can you park before i say anything?"

"huh..?"

"i just, it's important and i don't know how you'll take it so i want you to park." mollie suggested, receiving a nod from corbyn before he turned into the parking lot of the field, pulling into a spot before turning his car off.

the couple then fell into a small silence, corbyn turned towards the girl with a confused expression stuck on his face, running his fingers through his hair while watching her debate on whether to tell him the truth or give him another excuse about why she had been acting so off.

but with the obvious hint of hesitation to say what she wanted to say, her head eventually dropped down towards the floor of the car where her feet were, taking another quick deep breath.

"i met my mom last week,"

♡

a/n

cliffhanger asf 😋

also i have a new book out called dead to me it's a corbyn fic so go check it out many thanks u sexc people xx