the brave ones // h.s.

healing - ii

*suggested song - neptune by sleeping at last*

~~~

After the initial shock of seeing her mother in the flesh has worn off, Eden untangles herself from Catalina's overjoyed hugs and follows her into the house.

"I can't believe you're here," Catalina gushes, looking as though she really means it. Her eyes are bright and an effortless grin rests on her face. "Your dad's at work but I'll let him know you're here, he'd love to see you again."

Eden merely smiles small and rubs her arm awkwardly, still not sure why she's there to begin with.

Catalina senses this and her smile drops. "Maybe we should sit down," she suggests. Eden nods, bracing herself for the conversation about to happen, and follows her mother into the living room. It still looks the same as she remembers from two years ago; the only changes are the photos hung on the wall and the way the couches are assembled. Eden takes a moment to examine the pictures on the mantle: framed selfies of her parents, several old vacation photos, and surprisingly enough, a recent picture of Eden.

She remembers that day vividly. She'd been recognized in the local paper after reaching record phone sales at her job in one week, so they'd run a small story on her and sent someone to take her photo. She never thought anyone would see it; the story itself was printed on the last page of the paper.

"We were so proud," Catalina hums, coming over to join Eden by the fireplace. "You must've worked so hard for that."

Eden turns to look at her mother. "Why didn't you call me?"

Catalina's eyes slant down in guilt. "We should have. We should have reached out the day you left."

Eden bites her tongue, debating how to respond. She decides to play nice and merely shrugs before saying, "Yeah, well, maybe I shouldn't have left so suddenly."

"Don't say that," Catalina says, to Eden's surprise. She twirls her hands together absently and glances down. "You had to do what you felt was right for you. That's why I asked you to come over, actually. I wanted to apologize to you and I felt it should be done in person."

"Apologize to me?" Eden repeats.

Catalina nods. "For everything. You were right - we treated you like a child. We were overprotective, and unfair to you at times, and we didn't respect your space or your needs. But you should know it all came from a place of love. We just wanted you-" She stops and corrects herself. "We still want you to be happy. But now we realize we can't be so involved in your choices. Your life is your life, and we understand that."

Eden is floored; never in a million years could she have expected getting an apology like that, with no effort. "Oh, well . . ."

"It's alright if you don't have to anything to say," Catalina says. "And don't feel like you have to forgive us. But it took me too long to realize that you're my daughter and it's my job to protect you. I was part of the reason you felt you had to leave, and it's on me to apologize to you."

Eden chews on the inside of her cheek, too overcome with emotion to say anything. Catalina hesitantly reaches out and pulls Eden into another hug, one hand wrapped around her shoulders while the other gently brushes her hair. "I shouldn't have let all that time go by. I should have called you, said something to you. I am so sorry, darling, but please know we thought of you every day and we never stopped loving you."

The levee breaks and several tears spill over onto her mother's shirt. "I love you too, Mom. I'm sorry for what I put you through."

"Shh, baby," Catalina says soothingly, gripping Eden tighter. "Never apologize. You're home now, that's all that matters."