It won’t be anything like my childhood with my real mother was, I’ll make sure of that.
After he’s asleep, I snapchat with Jett for a little while before I finally convince him to get to bed. It’s not as late in Washington as it is here, but he still needs his sleep so he’ll be rested for tomorrow’s practice all day.
I’m feeling particularly woozy and lovesick as I brush my teeth and get ready for bed. There’s something about that boy that drives me crazy in all the right ways. I love him so much it physically hurts.
There’s a light on in the living room, and I walk in to find my mom sitting with her feet dangling off the edge of the recliner while she reads a book.
“Hi, honey,” she says, smiling up at me as I walk in the room.
“Can’t sleep?” I ask.
She shrugs. “I’m just enjoying some me time, even though I’m exhausted.” She slips her bookmark into the book and then closes it in her lap. “How was your day?”
I sit in the couch next to her. “Is there something wrong with me, like…mentally?” I ask. This makes her eyebrows shoot up, so I clarify. “It’s Jett… I mean… he leaves every weekend this summer and I know it’s coming and I know he’ll be back… I should be used to it by now, right? But my chest hurts and my stomach aches and I just hate it when he’s gone. I miss him so much. Earlier today I wanted to sneak over to his house and smell the clothes in his closet just to feel like I was near him.”
She chuckles and gives me that warm motherly smile that I love seeing. It means she cares about me, not just as a person, but way deep down where it matters. She treats me like real family.
“Honey… you’re not crazy. And there’s nothing wrong with you.”
“It certainly feels like something’s wrong,” I say with a sigh. I press my hand to my chest. “It just hurts so bad when he’s gone.”
She watches me with this expression I can’t quite place, but it’s a nice one, I think. “Keanna, sweetheart. You’re in love. That’s all there is to it.”
