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EIGHT
Brooks
I don’t knowwhere I messed up with Rae.
Things had been going along so well, or so I thought. Then Jasper came to town and everything seemed to go off the rails.
I thought maybe she was trying to give me space so that I could see my friend, but it’s more than that. She’s been distant since I saw her at Se7en. Maybe even before that since we weren’t seeing each other a ton.
Her mom flew in for a visit today so it looks like I’ll have to wait until she leaves to ask her what’s going on.
Part of me was hoping that Rae would ask me to meet her mom, but she didn’t. I get the feeling that there’s a weird dynamic between the two based off of comments that she’s made in passing but I never asked her. She made it seem like she didn’t want to talk about it and I didn’t want to rock the boat. Now I’m left wondering if her mom’s visit is what has her acting weird.
I climb the stairs to our apartment and let myself in. The place is empty and I sigh as I head into my room. I left the gym early, hoping to catch Rae before she left to get her mom from the airport but I guess I was too late.
She should be home soon though. Maybe I can offer to make everyone dinner.
I pull my phone out, intending on calling Rae to see what the plan is for tonight when I hear the front door open.
“I still think that you should have lived on campus in the dorms,” comes a prim voice and I know that it must be Rae’s mother.
“I’m safe here too, Mom.”
“Not while you’re living with that man,” her mom says, her voice filled with disgust and I wonder why she seems to hate me so much.
“Brooks is a really nice guy.”
Her mom hums and I hear them walk past my bedroom and into Rae’s room.
“Your room is small.”
“It’s fine for me.”
“You should have your desk over there. You’d get more light that way and wouldn’t be causing your eyes so much strain.”
“I’ll move it later,” Rae says and she sounds so worn down that it has my fingers curling into fists.
“Is his room bigger?” her mom asks, the disdain clear in her voice.
“No, Mom. They’re identical rooms and sizes.”
“Wouldn’t you rather live with a woman?”
Does Rae not like living with me?
“I like living with Brooks, Mom.”
There’s a pause and I relax at her words.
“Are you dating him?”
I swear that my heart stops beating as I wait to hear what Rae’s answer is. I hold my breath, my body moving on its own accord so that I’m closer to the wall that’s separating us.
“Mom,” she starts, sounding defeated.
I hate hearing her sound like that and I wonder why her mom has so much power over her.
“You are! I thought that I raised you better than that, Rae Anne.”
“Mom,” she starts again, but the woman seems to be on a roll.
“You’ll learn that he’ll just leave or cheat on you. He’s a man. They can’t help it,” she seethes and I wonder what happened between her parents to cause her mom to hate all men, sight unseen.
Rae is silent and I assume that she’s used to this anti-men bullshit, but apparently her mom sees something different.
“Oh… he already has, hasn’t he?” her mom says, her voice dropping from the shout that it was before.
“No, I mean, I don’t know, but I want to trust him.”
My heart stops beating at her words.
What does she mean, she doesn’t know? Why can’t she trust me? When have I ever given her a reason to think that she is not the center of my whole fucking world?
I’m moving before I realize that I gave my body a command. If Rae doesn’t know how obsessed I am with her, then I’ve been doing something wrong.
I’m done holding myself back with her. She should never doubt how much she means to me, how much I love her.
I burst into Rae’s room, my eyes finding her immediately.
“Why can’t you trust me?” I blurt out and Rae looks between me and her mom, her hazel eyes wide.
“The club, Seven. I saw some girl hanging off of you.”
I frown, trying to remember any girl at the club but come up blank.
“Who? I don’t remember that.”
“I saw her hanging off of you. You were letting her.”
“Of course, he was,” her mom says, crossing her arms over her chest. “He’s what? Ten years older than you? Why do you think a man like that wants a pretty young girl like you? You’re nothing to him.”
“That’s not true. At all,” I argue and I can see her mom throw her arms up in the air in annoyance out of the corner of my eye.
“Yeah, I am close to a decade older than Rae, but that’s never bothered me. Rae is so smart and mature. She gets me, and I get her.”
Her mom huffs at that, and I spare her a glance and see that she looks just as bitter and miserable as she sounds. Her hair is pulled back into a severe bun and her mouth is pinched. It makes me wonder when the last time that she smiled was.
“I don’t know who she was. I don’t even remember her. I went there to see you. I’m obsessed with you,” I stress and Rae bites her bottom lip.
She still seems uncertain and so I take a step toward her, taking her hands in mine.
“I’ve never wanted anyone else, Rae, and I never will. I swear. You’re the only one for me.”
I stare into her hazel eyes, trying to get her to see just how much she means to me. I can see her softening and her mom must see it too because she tries to get between us.
“Leave my daughter alone!” she snaps at me but I just keep staring at Rae.
“I love you, Rae. Don’t let her put lies in your head,” I beg her.
“Get out! And I think that it’s best that you find another place to live.”
“No,” Rae says, her voice barely a whisper, but we both hear it and turn to look at her.
“What did you say, young lady?”
“I said no. He’s not moving out.”
“Maybe you should be the one to move out then. Your old room is still the way that you left it. You can come home and go to a school closer to me.”
“No, Mom. I like it here. I like my classes and my friends and I really like Brooks. I shouldn’t have let you get in my head. You had me doubting the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” she says before she turns and gives me a soft smile.
My heart rate should be calming down now that I know that she’s not going to leave or break up with me, but instead it starts to race again.
Does she mean me? Could she be in love with me too?
