Miss Assistant (Miss Series Book 2)

Seventeen:

Everything after that happened so fast. Dylan came running into my office, smiling like the Cheshire Cat.

"What happened to you?" I ask, raising an eyebrow and sighing.

"I got myself a girlfriend." He said smirking, looking proud of himself. That hurt.

"Oh?" I tried to fake a smile.

"Yeah." He smiles the same smile I have seen many times before. So he did play me. I was right. That realisation that I was right, hurt. I thought he might be different. Maybe I changed him, but who am I to try and tame the same bad boy? Why did I think he would want to be tamed? Who did I think I was? A saint? No. A psychologist? Oh hell no! I can't believe I was so naive, but then again, I refused him, so why does this matter so much to me? Why should I care? Who is he to me anyway?

"So what's her name? Is that her? The girl you were just talking to?" I ask, trying to sound happy, and to be honest, I am happy for him in a way, but the undeniable feelings of hurt and jealousy flood through me once more.

"Yes, her name is Cathy." He smirks again.

"That's nice. I'm happy for you Dylan." I smile.

"Are you? Are you really happy for me?" He asks raising an eyebrow.

"Yes," I scoff, "Of course I am."

"Alright." He says, walking out my door, whistling softly to himself. I raise an eyebrow. That was weird.

I turn my head down to my work. I try to answer his emails, but I can't. My mind keeps drifting off to her. That girl. She is beautiful. It's no wonder why he asked her to be his girlfriend. Memories of last night come flooding back once more. The ice skating, the lights, the snowball fighting, the hide and seek. The kiss. Gingerbread cookies. Devin.

My mind drifts over to him again. Devin. Dylan. Devin. I look at the time. It's lunch break. I'm going to visit my mother. I think it's about time that I pay her a visit. I need advice. Good, sound, motherly advice. I grab my motorbike keys, as I have started riding it again, and I pull my helmet over my head.

I drive to the familiar, snow-filled roads to my parent's house. I welcome the cool breeze against the small opening of skin between my neck and my helmet. Seeing their house, I park the motorbike outside the garage and walk to the door. I ring the doorbell and take in the familiar smell of the woodsy type house, and the smell of freshly baked goods. My mother is home.

As predicted, the door opens, revealing my mother in her usual attire. Her apron.

She smiles widely as she sees me in the doorway, but the smile wipes off her face and immediately she senses something is wrong.

"Come here, baby." She says, pulling me close. "Tell me everything."

She somehow knows something is wrong. I bet it's some motherly instinct or something as she likes to call it.

"Where's Dad?" I ask.

"He's our looking at cars with Teddy." She hums. She leads me to the kitchen, to our spot.

Ever since I was little, we have had a spot where she and I sit, and I spill out all my problems to her, and she gives the advice I'm currently seeking. She somehow knows exactly what I need, and always knows when something is wrong.

The spot hasn't changed a bit. It's a window, looking out on the city, in the corner of the kitchen, where a small, red couch sits in front of it, and a small coffee table with a box of tissues and fake flowers sit next to it.

She sits down on the couch and pats the space next to it gently. I follow her and sit next to her, crossing my legs. She looks at me expectantly, waiting for me to spill, and I do. I tell her everything. I tell her all about Dylan Blake and the kiss. The date and the new girlfriend. Then, I tell her about Devin. How he wants me back and isn't moving to Atlanta after all. How he's giving me space but wants me to be his once more. When I'm finished, she is silent. She pulls me close, and the tears come freely now. I cry about my dead sister, about the man I thought I could change but couldn't, and about the man I once lost, but now wants me back again. She lets me snuggle against her, and she strokes my hair. I sniff, and she gives me a tissue.

"I'm sorry." I mumble quietly.

"For what?" She shakes her head.

"For dropping all this on you." I sniff once again.

"Honey, these shoulders have plenty of room, what's a little more?" She smiles sadly. "Do you want my advice?" I nod.

"I think Devin realises that he has made a big mistake. I think it didn't even cross his mind that you would lose your job, and I didn't even think it crossed his mind that you would need a job. I think he wanted to spend his life with you, coming home to you each day, and being the happiest man on earth. Any man would be lucky to have you Alex, and I think he realises that. I just think he realised that a little too late." She pauses, letting me take it all in.

"As for Dylan, well, honey I think we all want to be the one to try and change a bad boy. I dated his type before. It sounded special to make him stay and change him into a one-woman man. You obviously tried that with the bet you were doing, and it worked. Honey, it worked for two weeks, but he wasn't truly going to change. He made his decision, and whether he keeps that blonde girl, or throws her out like yesterday's news, there is nothing you can do about it. I have always had a bad feeling about that man. He wants window dressing, a decoration on his arm. He wants to make himself look good and he wants to feel like he's worth having, even just for a night. Deep down, however, I think he longs for the one. The girl who is different from everyone else. Maybe that's you, Alex. Maybe it's not. It is my assumption that he rubbed it in your face about his new 'girlfriend' to make you jealous, because deep down, he knows that you are different Alex, and I think that scares him." She explains. She looks at me, rubbing my chin gently with her thumb.

"As for you, my Alex, I think you have a choice to make. Who will it be? Devin? Or Dylan?" She rubs my knee gently and walks over to the oven.

"Can't you choose for me?" I whisper. My mother looks at me and shakes her head.

"I'm sorry honey. This is your decision. You have to choose for yourself. Who makes you happy? Who helps you grow? Who helps
You to become a better person?" She suggests and puts food into the oven. She leaves me in silence. Devin? Or Dylan?