Understanding Teenagers

32: Mom Time

It turned out that my mom was about to take a nap right before we showed up. Not long until we had our tea was when she had her nap. Liam and I both tried taking a nap in the guest room. Neither of us could sleep. We just laid on the same bed throwing a bouncy ball on the floor.

"I feel like I don't even know my mom. Like, I wasn't expecting any of this. She never once told me about her summers as a child."

Liam caught the bouncy ball that hit the floor. "Life is complicated sometimes. Sometimes you think you know someone, but you don't. I still can't get over the fact that Heather cheated on me. Talk about knowing your fiancé. Every night since it happened, I keep asking myself what went wrong, but I can never come up with an answer. Guess I didn't really know her after all."

At that moment, I found myself sitting on the bed with the ball staying in my hand. "Do you ever wonder what your marriage with Heather would've ended up looking like after a couple decades. Would you guys have been happy? I mean my dad was a cheater. Apparently Heather was a cheater. For all I know, Ricky could've been a cheater."

Liam quickly found himself sitting with me. "Maybe we weren't meant to find love."

...

It had been a slow day, to say the least. But thankfully, we found ourselves ready to go on a hike with the sun reaching the end of the day.

"This hike is easy. Should last an hour at the most." She gave us both a water bottle.

Once we were all ready, we began our hike which wasn't too difficult. Any out of shape person could easily do this hike. Hell, Ava and Sara should've taken this hike. If they did, Sara would've probably not have needed physical therapy. Sara certainly did choose a hard hike from what it seems.

"So Giselle, I heard you have a boyfriend," my mom brought up. "When am I going to meet this handsome man?"

It's amazing how much of a hiker my mom was. Surprisingly my legs and feet were able to keep up with hers. Liam lagged a little behind us.

"We broke up. But it wouldn't surprise me if you already did meet him."

She took a sip of her water. "Sorry to hear that, but a girl like you can land any guy she wants." She didn't really sound all that sorry. "What do you mean that I probably already met him?"

"You familiar with the names Gloria and Ricky?" My mom found herself choking a little on her water while Liam distanced himself a tad further not wanting to get in the middle of a potentially awkward moment.

"I'm familiar with the name Gloria. Your father got her pregnant close to the time I had you. I never liked those business trips he would always take."

I almost wanted to choke on my water. "So dad told you he cheated?"

"Not necessarily. You see, we owned a few other houses. When we first got married, I was in real estate but hated it. Once we got married, we bought a few homes to flip and sell around. Every so often, your father would sell a house without my approval. We'd get into so many arguments. After a little digging, I would find the real reason he sold a home. And I actually met Gloria. Nice lady. Shame what he did to her." She had drunk her entire water bottle and crushed it out of anger. Thankfully she had brought two with her.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Gloria wasn't the first time my dad had cheated. From what it sounded like, she wasn't the first mistress to be impregnated by him either.

"So dad did a lot of cheating?" I could barely get that question out.

A laugh came out of my mom. "A lot of cheating? Honey, that's all that son of a bitch ever did. When you decided to not move with us for your senior year, I realized there was not a single way I could continue living alone with just him. I was angry and was fortunate enough to cancel our joint account before he sold the house that I live in now. If you had lived with us for your senior year, chances are he would've sold that house to another whore."

What the hell was she talking about? There was no way my dad was like this. He loved us. He was always there for me. None of this made any sense.

"Why didn't you at least come to visit us for Thanksgiving?" With all my will power, I was doing everything in to hold my tears. "Why was Jaxon aware of everything going on and not me?"

"Do you honestly think I could be around that man another second? I wanted to come. I wanted to tell you. I couldn't bear breaking the heart of my little daughter. It was easier to tell your brother." Tears began leaving her eyes. "When you get older, you have to start making these hard choices in life." Her feet stopped as did mine. Her eyes were directly facing mine. "Dear, find someone that loves you. Someone that won't cheat. Someone who can share everything with you. Someone who isn't afraid of you. Love doesn't have to be complicated, but we always do just that."

I wanted to be angry at my mom. I wanted to hate her. None of this was her fault though. Looking into her old aging eyes, I remembered the loving and caring mom that she was. My heart hurt for her and for the lies she faced. She was my own mother. My eyes let my tears out and I didn't care.

"I love you, mom."

I found myself hugging not wanting to let go.

...

Without a doubt, it was a rough weekend. That Monday morning, we found ourselves at the bus station. I wanted to go home. I couldn't spend another minute in Anderson Town. In many ways, I hoped to never see my dad again.

"You OK?" asked Liam as our bus arrived.

"I don't know. Can you take my bag for me?"

With gladness, he took my bag as I made my way into the bus. Liam soon found a seat with me. When the bus started and began moving, I dug into my purse and found myself disappointed when what I was looking for couldn't be found.

"Looking for something?"

"Uh. I had a little bag of Oreos. They seem to be lost though. Sucks, I could really go for some Oreos right now."

The bus was out of the bus station and out on the streets. Hours from now, we would be home.

"Got a little craving for some Oreos myself," Liam claimed.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to comment, vote, and share!

Next Chapter: A delicious surprise.

Are Liam and Giselle meant to find love?

Does mom have a valid excuse for not showing to Thanksgiving?

Should Liam and Giselle get some Oreos?