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Kneeling beside her, I pulled her hair back.
This was the first time I was seeing her being sick. Guilt stabbed at me again. She’d been sick for a while now and I had no clue because I spent so much time away from her.
I noticed large smears of blood in the remnants of the breakfast she had that morning. My insides shriveled up at the sight.
Mom was on the verge of dying and I wasn’t even able to give her any warmth or comfort.I’m so selfish, I realized.
It was okay for Noah, Corey, and Caleb to misunderstand and hate me. They were, after all, strangers. But this heaving, coughing woman was my mother!
Couldn’t I handle their torments a little longer? They’d already done their worst to me anyway. It wasn’t like I could get back my virginity and dignity again.
Noah, Corey, and Caleb already destroyed all my fanciful romantic ideas. I doubted whether I could ever be in a normal relationship after enjoying all the shameful things they did to me.
Mom tore off wads of toilet paper and wiped her mouth.
“It’s all right, honey,” she said, slowly getting back to her feet. “I’m okay.”
“You’re unbelievable,” I said in a cracked whisper. “Why the hell are you consoling me when you’re the one puking your guts out? Did you see all that blood? You should be in bed, not walking around with me!”
She smiled and pulled me into a hug.
Like an idiot, I held onto her and sobbed. “I’m so sorry, Mom.”
“I know, sweetheart,” she said, rubbing my back soothingly.
“I’ll stop complaining,” I said. “I’ll stop troubling you all the time.”
“What are you talking about?” she said with a light chuckle. “It’s my job to look after you.”
I pulled away, staring at her disbelievingly. “Can you stop being such a...a... a mom!”
She grinned and walked over to the washbasins. Turning on the water, she rinsed her mouth and used a tissue to clean up her blouse.
I helped clean her hair. Thankfully, we were able to have the whole washroom to ourselves.
“You should go back home,” I said when we were done. “There’s no way you can shop.”
“I’ll be fine.”
“Nope! You’re going home.” Something else came to my mind as we were leaving the restroom. “How long can you hide your illness from Brian’s sons? Don’t you think it’d be better to tell them?”
“I don’t want to burden them,” she said. “I didn’t want to tell you either.” She let out a sigh, looking completely exhausted. “I wish you didn’t have to feel anxious and worried all the time.”
“Stop worrying about me and look after yourself,” I said, holding her arm tightly. “Give me the money and the name of the store you were planning to take me to. I’ll go and buy a dress on my own. Please, Mom. Just go home.”
A grateful smile came upon her tired face. “All right, then.”
We went back to the dining area but stopped a few feet from our table. Three men were already sitting there.
“What are they doing here?” I muttered, recognizing the two tall, identical figures in black leather jackets and their companion who wore a neat dress shirt.
“Hey,” said Mom. “What a surprise.”
“We were free,” Corey supplied, grinning at her. “Also, our dad drove us crazy with taking over the preps for the party tomorrow. So, we decided to hang out with you ladies.”
“That’s great!” Mom gushed. “Milla was going to shop all alone.”
“Why?” Noah asked immediately. “Weren’t you supposed to go with her?”
