Catching Feelings- Leah Williamson

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Hailey's POV

Her words linger in the air and they repeat a thousand times over and over in my head.

'Then you still have me'

Will I? Will I still have you when you're not even mine to begin with?

The other end of the line goes quiet for a while as we both stand there, listening to each others breathing, finding comfort in each others silence more than ever, a thousand words being transferred to one another without having to say a thing out lous.

"You got this" she says "I know you do"

Leah's voice calms me down and makes me more sure about myself.

"Even if I feel like I'm about to pass out?"

"Don't die on me yet" she whines, "we've got a date later so I'm holding you accountable for it"

I giggle a little.

"Leah?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you" I say genuinely, because lately she's been my only emotional supporter.

"I'll see you later, yeah?" Leah says and I hang up after we both say goodbye, right on time because the café door swings open with a woman walking inside.

My hands become sweaty and I find it difficult to breathe as I watch the middle aged woman walk flawlessly inside, making everyone's attention shift to her.

Yeah, that's definitely my mother.

She spots me sitting at a corner in the back and slowly makes her way towards me. I get up from my chair and once she's standing in front of me, I suddenly forget how to act or speak.

What do I even do? Do I hug her?

She interrupts my thoughts by wrapping her arms around me, pulling me in to her embrace. My lungs fill with her sweet scent and a feeling of nostalgia engulfs my entire body.

All the hatred that had gathered up over the year immediately turns to dust, immediately forgotten and I lean in a bit to her motherly touch that I had missed so much.

"Hello my daring"

I turn soft because of her words and I hate myself for it. I hate that she suddenly decides to show up and I greet her with a smile and open arms.

We pull away from the hug and she reaches for my face, taking a good look at me, her eyes becoming a little watery and the look on her face mirroring my own.

"Can we sit?" she asks and we both take a seat across from each other. My mum reaches for my hand, holding it tightly while she wipes the corner of her eye, "its good to see you"

I take a minute to look at her as well. She hasn't changed at all other than a few fresh wrinkles plastered on her forehead. She looks a little worn out but still has that radiant aura around her.

"I saw your big goal on the news" my mum suddenly says.

"Yeah, it was a difficult game but I got my first goal"

"I know, I saw the entire game actually" she says softly, taking me by surprise.

"You watched the game?" I ask in disbelief and she nods.

She never watched any of my games. Not a single one of them. Not after my brother died.

"You made me and your dad really proud" she says and I retract my hand putting it in my pocket.