Legitimately Us ||H.S||

Chapter 45

Running to my mom at this very moment feels like the best feeling in the world. After all those years of hating her, our small visit in rehab clearly changed the way we saw each other. Feeling her arms wrapped around me so tightly, happiness and relief felt in our embrace, I cannot even fathom how this is happening right now, but I don't care. My mom is here. She hugging me like I'm her long lost daughter, here to rekindle a relationship so bruised and torn, and I'm ready to make amends. I'm ready to put everything behind us and start anew. 

"What are you doing here?" I ask. "What happened to rehab?"

She smiles at me, the brightest smile. "I'm done for now," she tells me. "I got out when the house burned down and came home."

As proud of her as I am, her statement confuses me. "Came home to what?" I ask, looking at the pile of rubble. "By the looks of it, you don't really have a home."

"I've been here everyday, cleaning up the lot," she explains. "Don't worry, I have a place to stay. If I didn't, I wouldn't have been able to leave rehab."

"So where are you staying?"

Mom looks behind me, which makes me turn around to see Harry leaning on the car watching us. "With his mom actually," she finally says, nodding her head in Harry's direction.

"You're staying with Anne?" I gasp.

"She's the one who called and told me about the house," she tells me. "And she's the one who came to get me and brought me home." Her expression changes from delighted to sympathetic. "I cannot tell you how grateful I am that you had that woman in your life when you needed her...When I wasn't who I should've been with you. As sorry as I am for all I've done, Anne told me everything. About how she gave you a place to stay and how quickly you became their family. I'm so happy you had her, Jayde. She really is something else, isn't she?"

I smile, remembering how wonderful she has been to me. How she became my mother figure when I needed one, without question. "Anne simply has a heart like no other and apparently just wants to save us Cohen girls."

"She's done a good job of it," she smiles. "For both of us."

Mom starts to walk in Harry's direction and he meets her halfway. I watch as Harry gives her a hug, my mom not seeming to want to let go of him. As I near them, she looks at him and smiles. I can see it on her face that she is trying not to cry. "All those things you said to me about Jayde," she says as a tear slides down her face. "They were all true, and I'm sorry for the way I mistreated you when you came to dinner that night and how I talked about my daughter. I hope you can forgive me."

"Actions speak louder than words," Harry tells her. "I'm sure you've changed, but in this case, I need to see it. I need to see for myself that you look at her like my mother does."

"Well, we must get home then," she says to him. "Just so I can show you that."

Harry looks at me, a confused expression on his face, making me smile. "My mom is staying with your mom and Robin."

"That's news to me," Harry says shaking his head in disbelief. He then walks around to the other side of his car to get in and I can hear him mumble, "this should be interesting."

There's something so incredible about seeing Harry's house when we pull into the driveway. It looks the same and I feel exactly how I felt every time I would come here before, despite the new person I am. This place holds so many great memories, where I never had to question if I was loved or not, because I could feel it the moment I walked in the door. It was where I always belonged. Coming back here feels right, no matter how different things are now. I know that the moment I step into that house, the love I had always felt, will be there still.