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“Come on, boo, we’re going to be late,” I urged.
“I got her today,” Mack’s words caused a bright smile on her face.
“Are you sure?”
Mack nodded.
“Be good at school today, okay?”
“I’m always good at school,” Cam’s rebuttal made Mack laugh.
“Then keep it up,” I replied.
Cam blurted out, “Daddy promised to take me to build a new bear this weekend with Alaina.”
“We’ll see. Have a good day, boo,” I leaned down and kissed her cheek before heading for the door. The mention of her daddy was like a dark cloud that sucked any positivity out of the room.
“Aye, you’re forgetting something,” Mack called out, causing my pulse to leap excitedly as he walked closer. His large hand gripped my jaw as he leaned down and kissed my lips.
“Have a good day.” My words were awkward because I wasn’t sure what to say afterward. Mack was trying, but things were just as awkward as my words.
“You too,” he replied.
“Eww!” I heard Cam giggling as I walked out of the room.
“What’s so eww about me kissing Mommy?” Mack asked.
“Because kissing is gross!” Cam explained.
“I kiss you, don’t I?”
“Yes, but no lips,” she replied, causing me to smile as I listened to their conversation from the hallway.
“That’s right, no kissing anybody on the lips,” Mack reiterated.
“I know, I know,” she groaned.
I left my bag on the stairs and walked to the kitchen, where Adria was seated. The morning after her drunk confession, she told Mack she was planning for her departure. She tried to tell me first, but I walked off in the middle of her sentence because looking at her made me want to do something I would regret.
Mom watched me from the entryway to the pantry until I reemerged and headed for the refrigerator.
“Good morning, Skylar.”
“Morning.”
“You’ll be pleased to know I’m leaving Friday,” she announced.
“Ecstatic,” I smiled sarcastically.
“I’m not sorry for what I did, but I am sorry that I hurt you,” she explained.
“Thanks, I guess.”
“You’re a mother. I pray one day, you don’t have to watch your daughter in a painful situation. It was not my place. I’ll own that, but if that protects you from Marcus, so be it. Mack loves you. He wanted to help. You just wouldn’t let him.”
“You don’t get to pick and choose when to be my protector! If you’re going to be my mother, be that all the time, not just when it’s convenient or you’re drunk,” I quipped, heading out the door.
I drove to class silently, trying to regulate my emotions, but I didn’t know where to start. Something else I wasn’t taught but found myself trying to teach Cam as if I was qualified to do so. It made it hard to pay attention to anything my professor discussed once I arrived. My emotions were controlling me instead of me controlling them.
