Rayne and Alex

Chapter 3

Rayne

When I get home, I spend a few minutes just sitting in my driveway with the car in park. I don't know why, but I can't get the guy from the pharmacy out of my head. He was very, very handsome... and by very, very handsome I mean really fucking hot. And I didn't get his name. I only got the name of the kid who I'm assuming is his little brother even though they didn't really look alike.

Sighing and shaking my head, I grab my mom's medicine off the passenger seat and get out of the car. I walk up to my door, afraid of how my mom's going to react when I tell her about my phone. She wasn't a stern person; she was actually really laid back for a parent. But she gets really frugal when it comes to money and expenses. She works as an assistant at a real estate firm.

I walk through the front door and immediately take my purse of my shoulder and put it on the coat hangers to my right. I walk straight to my living room where Mom's laying on the couch. She has a box of tissues on her lap and the TV remote in her hand. Her usually really bright green eyes are dark and sullen. The blonde hair she always has perfectly straight and loose is in a loose ponytail at the base of her neck. Her nose is red and she looks like she hasn't slept in a while.

"Hey, Mom," I sit next to her and lean my head on her shoulder.

"Baby," Mom scolds as she moves away from me, "I love you, but don't get too close to me. I don't want you getting sick."

I roll my eyes, "I'm fine." I hand her the medicine, "As requested. Take it two times a day, with food, and it can make you sleepy so be careful."

Mom gives me a small smile, "What would I do without you?"

I exaggerate my sigh and shrug, "Who knows? I do way too much for you."

Mom laughs and I do too. She's been feeling bad for a few days so it's good to see her smiling. She didn't get terribly sick until yesterday. She stops suddenly and I do too. "Aren't you supposed to be getting ready right now?"

"What?" My mind blanks, "No, I don't think so. Ready for what?"

Mom rolls her eyes at me, "For that party you wanted to go to, silly."

I shake my head, "I don't want to leave you like this, Mom." I'm the one who's been her nurse these past few days.

"Rayne, please," Mom scoffs, "Go to the party. Have fun. I'll still be here when you get back. Probably literally right here on this spot of the couch. Go."

Most teenage girls would rush at the chance to go to a party. And yeah, I want to go, but I didn't want to leave my mom like this. It just didn't feel right to me. Mom sees my hesitation and shoves me away from her.

"Go, get dressed," she shoos me away. "Go put on something hot. I want you to have fun, you never go out nowadays."

I laugh. Boy was that true. I never went out anymore and it was sad that I needed my mom to force me out of the house. I used to go out to a lot of parties with an ex of mine, but after getting arrested for vandalism and drinking, I didn't exactly see the appeal.

"Fine," I sigh. "What time should I be home?"

"Baby, I told you to have fun," Mom smiles. "You don't even have to come home if you don't want to. Just call me if you aren't." Now would probably be a good time to tell her I have no phone, but she throws a pillow at me and wiggles her eyebrows.

I cover my face with my hands to hide my burning cheeks. Yeah, my mom was a special one. But I guess that wasn't exactly a bad thing. Doing as she said, I go up to my room and raid my closet for something hot to wear.