It All Started with a Beanie

(33)

"Beanie. Wake up." I feel my shoulder move lightly and I begin to open my eyes. I rub them as I adjust to the light difference. I'm confused at where I am for a moment before my eyes find Parsons'.

"How long was I out for?" I say, my voice still groggy from being asleep.

"Pretty much the entire drive back. So about twenty minutes." I nod and attempt to stretch but am limited.

"I should probably head back home." I say, a sigh leaving my lips. I watch as he opens his mouth to say something. A part of me doesn't want to leave but I know I need to have a talk with Mom.

I begin to exit the car but his hand gently grabs my wrist. I turn my body back towards him.

"Will you come back soon?" A look of hope flashes through his eyes and I can't help but smile.

"Maybe." I shoot him a playful wink before exiting the car. I turned around for a second to witness his eyes do a somersault. I almost thought he was upset but the cheeky smile on his lips and the light shake of his head suggested otherwise. 

I began walking to my car and could hear his footsteps treading behind me. I stopped at the driver's door of my car, turning to face towards him.

"Thank you. For today." A slight blush rose to my cheeks as I thought of the events from not too long ago.

"Anytime. I really enjoyed it." A smile rested upon his lips, his mind most likely in the same spot as mine. "See you soon?" I nodded and gave him a small smile before entering my car. I watched as he walked to his house but turning and facing towards my car. I let my car warm up before driving off, smiling as I watch him stand and wait for me to leave before entering his house.

It didn't take long for me to arrive home and the car of the mystery guy was nowhere to be seen when I did get there. I turned my car off and took in a deep breath before exiting my car and making way for my home.

Upon entering, Mom immediately pulled me into a hug. I was stunned at first but reciprocated the action as quickly as I could. I could feel Mom relaxing as they hug continued on.

"I am so sorry, Erin." She says once she pulls away. I could see the worry in her eyes but that wasn't the most prominent emotion. Regret swam within her blue eyes and I began to feel guilt.

"I should be the one apologizing. I should've let you explain instead of letting my emotions cloud my judgement." I huffed a sigh after, truly feeling bad after seeing my mother's facial expressions.

"Honey, you did nothing wrong. If I were you, I probably would have reacted the same way. I should have told you about Walter--that's the guy who was here earlier--sooner but it slipped my mind. I'm sorry about that." She pauses for a moment. "Are you mad at me?"

"I never was mad at you. I was more hurt than anything. It hurt to see you happy with someone other than Dad but I knew it would happen. I just didn't expect to meet your new guy on what would have been Dad's birthday. I was unprepared and my emotions were all over the place. I'm sorry for running off so quickly."

"I love you." She pulls me back in for a hug and I do not push her away. I hate it when Mom and I argue or don't agree on things but I am so appreciative that she listens to me and that we work through our issues.

If only Dad was like that.

"I love you." I say, pushing my negative thoughts away. "So are you gonna tell me about your new lover?" I raise my eyebrows at her in a playful motion and she rolls her eyes at me, a smile sitting on her lips.

"He is not my new lover. But if you must know..." We make our way to the couch and she talks to me about the new guy. Apparently a couple weeks ago, her car broke down on the side of the road and Walter, being a nice civilian, helped her fix it. She didn't know what was wrong but Walter is a mechanic and was blabbering about how she had a loose screw or something. But to repay him, she took him out to coffee. And ever since then, they've been together. At first I was a little upset she didn't tell me sooner but after seeing the way she talked about him, I was just glad Mom was happy again.

"I'm glad you found someone." I give her a genuine smile and she does the same, placing her hand on top of mine in the process.

"This does not mean I don't love your father. He will forever be my first love and I would never take back what we had if it meant I would loose you." She sighs before continuing. "I just felt-"

I cut her off. "It's okay, Mom. I understand. You don't have to explain yourself." She gives me a smile, showing her appreciation, before pulling me into a hug.

It was nice to see Mom moving on from what happened with Dad but it was hard. He haunted my dreams. He still had power over me. I don't know if I'll ever be able to get freedom in life as long as long as he was my father.