It was always you

First Met

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**Dear Diary,**

Today, I met Katie's ex-boyfriend, Emerson. Katie always talked about how hostile he was, but I had never seen him in person. When Katie was having period cramps today, he asked if she was okay and even handed me his car keys to help her. Katie asked me to return them since she had already called her mom. The way he cared for his ex-girlfriend was beautiful, and the way he looked at her was so awesome. I want someone to look at me the way he looked at Katie. Emerson even came to ask about her whereabouts after the break. In his sexy voice, he asked, "Has she gone?" I nodded shyly. There was something different about him; his charm left a strong impact on me.

I still can't forget when our hands accidentally met while exchanging the car keys. I felt a slight electric shock. If he can care so much about his ex, even knowing she's moved on, imagine how much he’d care for his girlfriend.

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I smiled at the memory. Indeed, a person is innocent in their teenage years because they are neither a child nor an adult. I still remember the first time I saw Emerson; he was as handsome as he is now but wasn’t an arrogant beast. He cared for the people around him, and I instantly felt a connection with him. Now, he’s a grown-up, arrogant billionaire. Feeling the lateness of the hour, I decided to pack all my journals to read at home later. But I was thirsty from crying so much and needed to get a water bottle from the kitchen.

Although I doubted anyone would be awake, I was still nervous about going outside. Picking up my phone, I unlocked the door and made my way to the kitchen. Sighing internally, I was relieved to see all the lights off. I managed to get the water bottle but halted when I saw lights coming from the dining room. Maybe Jones forgot to switch them off. As I made my way to turn off the lights, I found my mom sitting alone at the huge dining table, staring at our family photo.

The photo was taken when my brother was alive, and I was in high school. Mom and Dad were sitting on the couch, and Camelia, John, and I were standing behind with our hands on each other's shoulders, all of us carrying beautiful, contagious smiles.

"I'm sorry, Sally," I heard my mother say. Was she talking to herself, or did she have eyes in the back of her head to know I was there? "Come here," she turned around and whispered, startling and surprising me at the same time. Well, she did keep me in her womb for nine months and raised me. It was obvious she’d be aware of my every move, but not necessarily my emotions. Seeing her face, I felt sad about everything I had said. My original plan was to keep all my problems to myself and never complain, but today, things had spiraled out of control.

"It's me who should be sorry, Mom. I spoke more than I should have in the heat of the moment." She got up and engulfed me in a warm hug, and I melted, tears spilling from my eyes as she rubbed my back and whispered soothing words.

"Why didn't you tell me this before, Sally?"

"What didn't I tell you before?" I asked, ending our hug.

"That you feel like your dad and I don’t care about you anymore," she said, looking at me with concern. "Whatever we do, it’s for your own benefit, pumpkin."

"I love your dad as much as you do, Sally. Because of his memory, I asked you to marry your second cousin, but I was so ignorant I didn’t ask for your permission. I’m sorry for humiliating you in front of our whole family. I trust you now. Will you forgive me?" My mom asked, sobbing. The most emotionally painful thing in life is to witness your mother crying. I never knew how to console people, and seeing the person who always consoled me cry, I felt helpless.

"Mom, please stop crying. I can’t see you like this." I said, tears spilling from my eyes. "Mom, nothing you did made me sad. God was always there for me, and He still is. It was in the heat of the moment that I blurted out those things."

"You know I don’t know how to console people, and I have to take Dad’s help to make you smile. Do you want to hear him sing again?" She chuckled at my comment. "You’re just like your dad." We talked for a little while until Mom started to feel sleepy.

"Sally, take some rest. Tomorrow, I want you to video call my grandchildren. They’re complaining that their mom hasn’t talked to them." She was about to leave the dining room but halted and looked at me. "I want you to consider our offer." She glanced at me hopefully. I sighed and nodded. From my side, I didn’t want to disappoint my parents, but I knew Emerson would not be ready to marry me. I saw no harm in agreeing to marry him, knowing it was something that would never happen.

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