Sidekick

Chapter 32

Being back in the portal takes away all my nervousness much like the first time I was here. It's so relaxing and feels like I'm floating. Like I could stay here forever. But something tugs on my arms. Like a heavy burden telling me everything isn't okay. I wiggle and try to ignore it but the more I do the more it pulls. I'm not ready. I'm not ready to face everything that comes with being back home.

I start coughing.

It starts small but grows until it's like I'm choking. Air. Where's the air? Something dry and cold hits my face and I start gulping.

"Mattie?"

I suck in a breath and then another and another.

"Are you okay?"

My vision clears and I look up to see Cam hovering over me. "Are we home?" I ask.

He grins. "We are."

Cam offers his hand to me and helps me sit up. I take in the room we're in. It's the same one we left from - the science room in the rec center. Not much looks like it's changed except for the fact that it's darker here than before and the windows that line the one wall show some dark purple with orange rays. It's night, but on what day?

But as I look around I realize that there's one person missing. "Where's Peggy?" I ask. My heart clenches. Is she stuck in the portal? Did she get left behind on Tace again? Was our rescue a failure?

"She's over there." Cam points to the row of desks and from my viewpoint I can see her sitting against the end of one of the rows. Her knees tucked up against her body and her head resting on her knees.

With Cam's help I get up and make my way over to her. I crouch down and place my hand on her shoulder. She doesn't jump, instead she lifts her head slowly and looks at me with tired eyes.

"We made it," I whisper. A smile grows on my face.

She nods.

"Shall we get you home?"

She nods again. This time I help her up. Unlike back at Tace in the palace she leans on me for support as we make our way out of the old rec center and back to her house. Cam trails behind us but only until we get to his family's store. We stop and I turn to see Cam fiddling with his hands.

"Are you going to go?" I ask.

He looks at us. "Will you two be okay?"

I nod. We may look like we've gotten into a fight and lost but we can make it on our own. "Tell your family I say hi."

He nods before dashing across the street and ducking into the store where the lights are still on. I grin and watch the store for a minute before turning and continuing the path towards Peggy's place.

It doesn't take us much longer to get there. Right as we're starting to walk up the sidewalk that leads to her front steps the door to her house swings open. A shadow of a person stands in the doorway, the light blinding behind them. Before I can make the connection to who it is they rush down the steps and rip Peggy from my arms. That's when I see it's Mr. Maye. Peggy's dad. He hugs her like there's no tomorrow. Peggy grips her dad like she's hanging onto dear life.

I look away before tears can roll down my cheeks. I don't stick around any longer. Giving them time together since who knows how long. I just hope that Peggy won't tell her dad what truly happened and goes with the story that she just needed to get out of town for a while and didn't tell anyone. That's what we agreed on to tell our parents if anything like this happened to either of us.

I walk with my eyes on the ground below me. And before I know it I'm walking up the steps to my house. I take a deep breath. This is it. Mom's either going to have noticed that I was gone or she won't have. But either way I'm talking to her tonight. I need her to see me and let me be me.

I open the door.

The entryway is dark except for a flashing blue light that comes from the living room. So, she isn't sitting and worrying about me. She's sitting on the couch watching tv. I kick my shoes off and follow the light to see that she is in fact watching tv. I move around the couch and sit down beside her.

She startles and jumps. Her hand flies over her heart as she stares at me. "You scared me! When did you get home?"

"Just now." So she didn't notice that I was gone for the whole day. I twist around and reach over the edge of the couch to turn on the lamp that sits on the end table.

"Why'd you do that?" Mom blinks like I shined a flashlight in her eyes.

"We need to talk," I tell her. My insides twist and bend.

"About what?" she asks, glaring at the light in the room.

"Can you turn the tv off first?" I need her full attention for this and if the tv is on I won't have it.

She sighs before stretching out towards the coffee table. She grabs the remote, turns the tv off and places it back on the table before leaning back again.

My hands start to shake. I should have prepared for this. Why did I think this was a good idea to do right as I got home from a scary life changing adventure? I take a deep breath and start. "I feel like you don't see me anymore. Not as a person or even as your daughter. You put more time into being a mother for Peggy than for me."

"What are you talking about?" She looks blown away. Like what I'm saying is some huge blown up lie.

"I'm saying that I don't feel cared for. That you ask Peggy more about school and her life, that you care for her more than you do me. And I realized that I don't want to be a side character in my own life. That I need to grow and to be able to grow I need you to support me and show a little more care towards me." I look at the blank tv and stare at myself. She looks more grown up at this moment than I've ever seen before. "I want to still have a good relationship with you, mom and for that to happen I need you to see me again." I stare at myself until the silence becomes suffocating. I turn to mom. Her face is blank like she can't believe my words. Like they still need time to sink in.

"Mom?" I whisper. Is this the part where she claims I have it all wrong? The part where I realize that her and Peggy are very similar?

But instead of lashing out or calling me a liar, or something along those lines she reaches out and hugs me. My eyes widen.

She's hugging me? Does this mean she isn't mad? That she's sorry?

My vision starts to blur. I wrap my arms around her and bury my head into her shoulder as the tears start to come out.

She pulls away but keeps her hands on my shoulders. My face is snotty but right now I can't find it in me to care.

"Honey, I'm so sorry you feel that way. I didn't even realize that I was doing that. I promise to try to be better. Okay?"

I nod. Is the least she can do for me. I sigh and grin, wiping my face clean of the tear trails. "Thank you, mom." I reach out and we hug again. This hug feels like returning to a safe place. A place where I can be myself. Where I can focus on myself.

"Do you want to watch some movies?" she asks as we pull apart again.

I shake my head, but stop as I think better of it. "Can I shower first?" I ask. I haven't showered in weeks, or weeks in Tace time and a day in our time. Funny how that works out.

Mom nods. "Well you're doing that I'll run out and get us some snacks."

I grin. "That sounds great."