Braided

Chapter 26: A Simple Braid

I stared at Mom she was acting a little weird. She was quiet and focused on her breakfast pushing around the cereal in her bowl. Typically she wasn't this zoned out.

"Are you tired?" I asked, knowing she came back really late last night.

"Kinda, I'm just really lost in thought."

"What are you thinking about?" I asked hoping I could help her ease her mind. She stared at me for a solid few seconds. I could tell she was really thinking as she stared. "What is it about me?" I asked with her staring.

"No, never mind. It's nothing." She got up from the table and cleaned her bowl. It was silent in the room. She left the room with a, "I'm going to take a nap," and headed up stairs.

It's been two weeks since that day Mom almost caught Nathan when he hopped out of the yard. She hadn't hinted at knowing anything or suspecting anything. I didn't know with her anymore though. I didn't know what ran through her mind. But it kind of scared me that she may know that I betrayed her. I didn't want to hurt her.

I went to my room knowing that there would be nothing on T.V. and I would be left alone to think. My room was a safe haven it had all of the evidence I had against Mom. I could just be paranoid and my Grandmother could had been senile, but something was wrong and I think my worries were true.

I was looking through all that I had. I wondered what had brought Mom to take me from my real family. She had known by parents and it had seemed like they were friends. What had compelled her to take me from one of her friends instead of taking a baby from a stranger. There was something that I couldn't figure out. I had most answered, except for the reason why.

I traced my finger around the face of my parents. I was trying to connect the dots and have recently looked at them so much that they seemed super familiar. Like I had known them.

I tried to look at more pictures of my possible dad than my possible mo. I felt drawn to him and deep down I knew that I wanted to get to know him more than I wanted to get to know her. I had never had a father, well at least living with Mom I had never.

I jumped at the sound of the knock at the door.

"Hey Honey." She peeked in through the door.

"Hey Mom." I responded giving a slight smile as I slipped the yearbook under my pillow. "You figure out what you were thinking about?" I asked in curiosity trying to seem like I wasn't just snooping.

"Yeah I figured out what I was going to do." She smiled, "What's that?" She asked eyeing my pillow.

"Oh, it's your year book" I smiled taking it out. "I didn't know if you'd be okay with me looking at it." There was no reason it keep it secretive compared to the other stuff. It was just a year book.

"Oh it's fine." She smiled sitting on the bed next to me, " Let's look at it."

"Okay." I opened the first one and she smiled widely.

She pointed at people and how she knew them and what they did now. Some of them she didn't acknowledge including Natalia and Greg.

"What about her?" I asked pointing at the girl. "She's written all over in your yearbooks."

Her face became distorted with anger and then went back to a fake smile. "Just someone that I used to know. We aren't very close anymore though." She stared intently at the woman's picture. It was like she was else where deep in her thoughts.

"What happened?" I asked hoping for an answer. "Did you guys have a fight?"

"Yeah, we drifted and started our own lives."She paused for a second, "She didn't want to be friends with me anymore." She stared back down at the picture and went back to that place she was before deep in her own thoughts. She hoped back suddenly. "Hey honey, can I play with your hair." She gave such an innocent smile. Braiding my hair was something she hadn't done for a long time and some how relaxed me.