Hooked (C.C / You)

Ten : Mother-Daughter Time

I jogged down the stairs, entering the kitchen fully dressed. I poured myself a cup of coffee, looking in the backyard to see my mother, leaning against the railing of the porch.

I walked outside, shutting the door behind me, "Morning."

"Oh, good morning," mom smiled at me as I stood next to her.

"Shouldn't you be at work?" I asked. "Or are you taking the day off?"

"I took the day off," she sighed. "I was actually wondering if you and I could go out tonight?"

"Oh?" I stood up straighter. "Like out to dinner?"

"Yeah - I don't know - I know you're a busy kid," she softly laughed. "But I just wanna spend some quality mother daughter time, yeah?"

"Uh, yeah, sure," I nodded. "I have to go now. But I love you."

"I love you too," she kissed my cheek. "Have a good day."

-

I sat next to Dinah in Science class, and her knee was bouncing nervously. I looked at Lauren who stared at the table, zoning out again. I know they were both nervous about Normani coming back.

And then, Lauren stood up and walked over to Mrs. Morrison. I'm guessing she was asking to switch partners with someone, just as the door opened and Normani walked inside.

"Mrs. Morrison?" Normani hesitantly asked. "I'm Normani Kordei. You're new student?"

"Oh," the science teacher nodded. "Yeah. I was expecting you. Uhm, how about this? Lauren, you be Normani's new partner? And Brad can work alone?"

Lauren set her jaw, glancing between Brad and Normani, then nodded. Normani looked around, eyes landing on Dinah, but quickly going to the floor.

"Oh shit," Dinah murmured. "Great."

I quirked an eyebrow, but didn't question Dinah. I looked at Camila, who locked eyes with me and smiled, even though Austin was whispering to her. Austin looked at me, and I glared at him. Then, he scooted away from Camila, causing me to grin and wink at Camila.

-

Camila and I walked down the hallway together. We were on our way to lunch, where surely our friends were. Well, that would have to be awkward if Normani is sitting with Dinah and Lauren right now.

"Do you wanna hangout after school today? Maybe come over for dinner and meet my family?" Camila nervously asked.

I was about to say yes, but then I sighed, "I can't. My mom wants me and her to go out to dinner tonight. She said she wants to spend sometime with me. But maybe tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Camila looked relieved. "I'm glad you said that, actually. My parents are a bit embarrassing."

"Eh," I shrugged with a small laugh. "All parents are. And I'll have to meet them sooner or later."

Camila let out a loud sigh as we entered the cafeteria, "I know."

We paused, looking at our table to see Dinah, Normani, and Lauren sitting quietly. Camila let out a quiet laugh and grabbed my hand, walking towards the table.

We sat down, me being on the end, Camila in the middle, and Normani next to Camila. Dinah sat across from me and Lauren across from Camila.

"So," Camila began. "Lovely weather we're having, huh?"

-

I sat in the passenger seat of my mom's car as she drove. The music was playing softly on Alt-Nation.

"Where are we going?" I asked, looking away from the window to look at my mom's side profile.

"Uh, we're going to this diner I found online," she answered. "It was rated a nine out of a ten."

"Oh, nice," I nodded as we pulled up into the parking lot. My mom wore a nice shirt, jeans, and heels.

I wore my jeans, a vans t-shirt, and well, vans. I followed my mother inside, and we got seated to a booth by a guy in a nice tux.

"Can we afford this?" I questioned, eyes going to the menu.

"Don't worry about that," my mom said, and I glanced up at her to see her smiling. "Just enjoy it."

I nodded and looked around for a minute. There was a bar where a couple of people sat at, booths around the windows, and tables in the middle.

We soon ordered, and that just left my mom and I sitting in silence.

"How's Camila?" Mom asked, taking a sip of the water she ordered.

I nodded, "She's good," I paused. "I'm surprised you didn't order the wine."

"I'm trying to cut down on the drinking," she told me.

"Oh," I nodded again. "That's good."

Mom smiled at me, eyes looking at me. I always hated it when she would look at me, because I knew that no matter what I do, she'll always be the one to read me. So, I looked away and around again, my eyes landing on the bar.

And then, I frowned, seeing a familiar man pushing another.

"F-Fuck off -- dick!" he slurred his words.

"It's dad," I muttered, causing my mom to look over.

"What?"

I didn't repeat myself, because I knew she was looking at it too. And then, punches started being thrown, and the bartender rounded the bar and pulled the man off of my dad.

"I called the cops," a voice said.

I stood up, shaking my head and loosing my appetite. I exited the restaurant and looked to see my mom fussing at my dad.

I sighed, realizing we weren't far from Camila's
house. So, I began to walk.

-

"Wait - does your mom know you're here?"

"I texted her," I mumbled, resting my head on her lap as we laid on her couch. "I'm sorry to barge in like this - "

"Don't," she interrupted me. "You're welcome here. It's too bad though, you could've met my family."

"Aren't they all here? Can't I meet them now?" I asked as her fingers ran through my hair.

"Sofia is asleep, my mom is already in bed too, and my dad is working a night shift," she informed me.

I nodded, sitting up, "Can I spend the night?"

"Yeah."

-

hi i'm grace

-gracie