Cinders

~66~ Last Game

The next day dad has me leave to get takeout for all of us. When I get back, I see mom on the floor, holding a shirt of Taylor's. Dad is just sitting next to her, letting her cry. He sees me and gives me an apologetic smile—He knows how much I hate to see her cry.

I put the food on the counter and I leave for a while. I can't handle the sadness anymore.

Before I go to bed, I hear dad and mom talking.

"I don't know how I'm going to do this, Alex. I might have to talk to Chief about transferring houses. I lost it when I found his shirt...I have no idea how I'm going to work with him. Sleep in the same room as him. I have no idea."

"Since when have you ever been afraid of hard things? You're going to just slink away with your tail between your legs? Like hell you are! You're Eleanor freakin' Freeman. You're going to walk in tomorrow and deal with it. Fake it till ya make it. You did nothing wrong. You've got this, El." He says as he shakes her shoulders.

"Fake it till I make it." She repeats.

"And you always make it."

~*~

The next day mom is nervous...Worse than her first day. She even looks like she could be sick.

She goes to work, and dad and I just look at each other. We're not sure which way this will go.

The next few days go by pretty well. Mom came back the next morning, and her shift had gone ok.

She's started to slowly get a little better after that. She now actually looks at us when we talk to her, and the glassy look in her eyes has disappeared. I'm starting to feel like I'm slowly getting my mom back.

The thing I'm missing most, though, is her singing. She has a beautiful voice, and it's calming. She's embarrassed to sing in front of anyone, so she never does. It's always when we're in a different room.

But we can still hear her, and we love it.

The first time Taylor heard her sing, mom was in their bedroom cleaning. She started singing to the song on the radio. Taylor just looks at me with his mouth wide open. We silently sat there, listening to her. By the time the song was over, he had tears in his eyes.

I had asked dad one time why mom never sang when we're around, and he said it was because of her mom. She and her mom used to duet together all the time. Her mom was a vocalist, and used be in the church choir. Once her mom left, mom quit singing. Dad said she never sang again until after I was born. The first time he heard her finally sing, he cried.

She has no idea that we have ever heard her. I told Taylor that first time not to bring it up to her, so he never did. He would just silently listen anytime she would start. He wouldn't come out of wherever he was until she finished.

He loved it as much as I do.

Mom hasn't sang since the breakup. Not one note. I'm doubting I will ever hear her again, and that thought makes me want to cry.

~*~

"Ok, Alex. We're finally out of your hair. Thank you for everything you've done this week. I couldn't have made it through without you." She says, standing on her tippy toes to give him a kiss and a hug.

"I've loved having you here. I've missed you, friend." He says, returning the hug and lifting her up so he can kiss her cheek easier. "You go and get your light back, Eleanor. You fight until it's back. We're missing the real you."

Mom simply nods and wipes a tear from her eye.

"Ready, Liam?" She asks, looking towards me.

"Yeah"

"You sure I can't help you unpack?" Dad asks, feeling guilty for sending us off by ourselves.

"You literally moved our entire storage unit into the apartment. You've done more than enough," she says with a gentle smile.

"Hey! I helped him and I still have to unpack." I say, pretending to pout.

"Yeah...well, sucks to be you!" She says, swatting my butt jokingly.

"Bye," she says, blowing a kiss to dad. Dad just waves, looking at her hard. He's still worried about her.

We get to the old complex and walk to our new apartment. It's on the bottom floor this time. Our old one was on the third across from Taylor's, and I'm so glad we got one on the bottom floor.

That way we don't have to walk past those apartments all the time— It would've been too much.

Our apartment looks depressing...Mom didn't take anything with her. The only things she took was all of my stuff.

So, I get to have a bed and a dresser, while my mom gets to sleep on a mattress and use suitcases to keep her things in. I feel like a chump.

"Mom, at least take my bed. I don't mind sleeping on the floor...Honest," I say, trying for the hundredth time to get her to quit being so stubborn.

"Buddy, I'm fine. I feel guilty enough letting your dad buy me a mattress. I'm not about to take your bed. In a month or so, I'll be able to buy a couch and then you won't have to watch tv on those lawn chairs."

"I'm not worried about that. I don't want you sleeping on the ground."

I'm super tempted to tell Taylor about it. There's no doubt in my mind that he would be over here in an hour, buying her furniture. I won't though. I would never do that to mom.

"You're sweet, but no. Why don't you go unpack your room. I'll be in to help you in a bit," she says, kissing my cheek.

We spend the rest of the night unpacking. By the time we're completely unpacked, it's obvious how little we have. My room looks the same, obviously. Mom went to the thrift store and got our plates and cups, but she has nothing. She has her mattress, her luggage, and her clothes and things. She took all of the pictures of me, but that's it. She has nothing. I wish I could tell Taylor, but I can't. She didn't take anything that was theirs.

It must be too painful for her.

~*~

The next week mom is doing a little better; She's starting to perk up a bit. She and dad are walking me down the football field during senior night tonight.

It's my last game of the season...My last game ever.

That in itself is already sad, but I'm devastated that Taylor isn't going to be there in the stands. He had never missed a game until the break up. Now he's missed two. I miss having him cheering me on.

We're at the game, and all the seniors are lined up with their parents. When they announce my name we walk down. The cheering from the crowd is deafening. Even if I peak in high school, at least I know that my senior year I was the most popular guy in school. That's kind of a cool thing to say.

Once we are where we're supposed to be, I look in the stands and somebody catches my eye.

It's Taylor.

He's all bundled up since it's freezing out, but I know it's him. He sees me looking at him, and he smiles and waves slightly. I just smile and nod back. I don't want mom to see him.

She's doing so good today.

He came! He didn't forget about my last game, and he came to see me. The pain on his face is obvious, but that didn't keep him from showing up. Tears stream silently down my face from the amount of love I have for him.

Mom looks over at me and notices before I can wipe them away. "What's wrong, buddy? Upset this is your last game?" She asks, oblivious to the fact that Taylor is here.

"Yeah," I lie.

She wipes away my tears and kisses my cheek. "Your whole life is ahead of you." She says simply.

That may be so, but right now I don't care about the game. I don't care how good I play, or even if we win. All I care about is that my best friend came to see me. To support me. That meant everything.

We did win, by the way. I had one of my best games ever, scoring two touchdowns. Taylor was out of his seat cheering, both times, with a proud smile on his face.