Make me remember (to forget)

Chapter 42

Chapter 42

Logan

"I'm going to miss you so much," My mom says as she hugs me tightly. "I'm so proud of you, you know that?"

I kiss her forehead. "I know, mom. I'm going to miss you too."

"And I promise I'll call more often. It's just that work gets so hectic sometimes."

"You work too much, mom."

She starts to tear up. "I just want you and Noah to have everything you've ever wanted. That's why me and your dad do anything, really."

I pull her closer to my chest. "You don't have to anymore. We're both working, you know that. And even though I don't make much, it's more than enough to live comfortably here."

"Oh, look at you, so grown up and mature. My sweet little boy is officially a -"

"Okay, you have five seconds before I leave you here."

She laughs, "No, but all jokes aside, you're becoming the man I always knew you could be and I'm so incredibly amazed by everything you've done so far, Logan."

"Thank you," I murmur, my cheeks heating up slightly. Of course, she notices and pinches them. And we're back to the excessive display of mawkish. I push her hand away because we're still at an airport at the end of the day and there are people around us.

"Keep it up, baby, and I'll see you in a month in NYC, yeah?"

I bite my lip, figuring now might be the best time to bring it up. "About that..."

"Yeah?"

"I was thinking - and nothing is set in stone, I just had this crazy idea and wanted to pass it to you."

"What's up?"

Where do I even start? I let out a long exhale. "Uh, would you mind if maybe I stayed a little longer here?"

Her eyes widen. "You would want to stay here for longer?"

I gulp, giving her a slight nod, mostly trying to play it cool. "I don't know but I'm happy here. I just don't want to be late for school or anything-"

"Don't worry about NYU. There are some really good schools here too."

"Yeah... That'd be nice."

She grins and hugs me again. "You have no idea how much this means to me. To have you live where I grew up, and go to school where I went as well. I would absolutely love for you to stay here longer, as much as you want to."

"I mean, I'm not sure yet, mom. But I just wanted to know if that's an option."

"Of course. Absolutely, sweetheart."

"What about dad? Do you think he'd mind?"

She rolls her eyes. "You know that your dad isn't allowed to have an opinion that is different from mine."

I can't help but laugh. "Facts. Alright, well, I'll check out some of the schools here and we can talk about this more later."

She kisses both of my cheeks and I hand her the luggage back. "Have a safe flight, mom. Love you."

"I love you so much. Drive safely."

I give her one last hug before she walks towards the airport security check. Once I can't see her anymore, I walk back towards Em's car which she let me borrow. A sense of heaviness rests in my chest.

I think it was really cool that mom came down here. Our relationship has definitely improved since I was in NYC. I think that Em is right - maybe most of our issues come from my mom's "over-protectiveness" in NYC. But here, she feels that I'm safe so she lets go of the need to control my every move.