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“Wait,” Elliot said. “Don’t you need your stuff?”
I shook my head. “I have everything I need at home. Plus, it’s only for a few days, so.”
Once they had gathered their stuff—which didn’t take much time, considering they had brought nothing more than a couple sleeping bags—we went out into the hallway. Passing by Tara’s door, I paused, and gave it another knock. Still gone, out on that ‘date’, or whatever it was.
I continued toward the elevator, growing more nervous the closer we got to seeing my mom. What would she think, seeing me with both of them? It wasn’t like her to turn people away, especially when she was used to Pierre crashing at our place every other week. But this time was different, and nothing could prepare her for this.
I’d just have to hold my breath, and see.
We made it out of the lobby and into the full sunlight. Even though it was chilly, the autumn sky was clear and blue, and that fact seemed to comfort me as I spied my mom’s car parked a few yards away.
The second I spotted her face in the open window, I beamed.
She poked her face out of the window, mirroring my own expression. But her eyes flicked over to where Elliot and Leo were trailing behind, and the sudden darkness in her gaze crushed me.
Before she could say anything, I rushed over to the car, pulled open the passenger side door and locked myself in. For a moment, I stared straight ahead through the windshield before turning to look at her. My mom looked just as she always had—warm half-grin, wrist hooked over the steering wheel, brown eyes looking between mine, like she was dropping me off at school for the thousandth time.
“So?” she said, nodding at the rearview where we could see Elliot and Leo standing awkwardly at the curb. “What’s that about?”
I looked out the window and held up a finger to Elliot, indicating that we needed a minute. Then I turned back to her.
“Hi, mom,” I replied, smiling sweetly. “That …” I began, and took in a deep breath, “is what you’d call a mistake. But that mistake needs a place to stay. Both of them, actually.”
She nodded slowly, her expression turning hard. I couldn’t tell what was going through her head, and I needed her to say something, anything.
“I know how you feel about them,” I continued. “I get it. But things have changed, mom. They’re my friends now.”
What a white lie.
“Elliot …” I bit my lip trying to find the right words to explain his situation. “He can’t go home for fall break. And he doesn’t have a place to stay at campus, because … his parents are having some trouble.”
“Are they?” She raised a manicured eyebrow. “I’m not surprised.”
Ouch.
I thought about everything she had told me on the phone, just after Vivian revealed the text she received from my mom about seeing me with Elliot. My mom was earnest, loyal to everyone but Elliot’s father—and it had to be for a good reason. The same reason she had left my own father.
The same reason Elliot’s mom was now—possibly—leaving Mr. Lancaster.
“Yeah,” I said weakly, averting my gaze from hers, which had become impenetrable. “Pierre is also coming back from England. Between you and me, I don’t care if we can’t accommodate all three of them. But Pierre needs to stay with us. You know that.”
“Of course,” she said, her tone softening up. “He’s welcome, any time.”
“But what about them?” I nodded up at the rearview. “If they cause any trouble, we can kick them out. Promise.”
My mom placed her elbow on the driver’s seat window sill, and rubbed her temple. She let out a long sigh.
“I don’t understand what exactly is going on between you guys. But you’re my daughter, and I know you wouldn’t make a mistake unless there was a very good reason for it.” Her smile almost brought my eyes to tears. “They can stay. But I’m not feeding them.”
I leaned over to give her a hug, then gave her a peck on the cheek before drawing back.
“Thanks, mom,” I said, and turned to roll down the window. She wasn’t ever one to turn people away—but even I was surprised she relented. I’d make it up to her. “You guys can come,” I called out of the window. Leo started for the car first.
“Thank you, thank you!” he exclaimed as he plopped himself into the seat right behind me. He reached out to shake my mom’s hand. “You won’t regret this, Ms. Silver. I’ll do all the dishes. I’ll mop the floors. Empty the trash.”
“In your dreams,” I snorted, and watched as Elliot glided over into the seat adjacent to mine. Though he said nothing, he caught my mom’s gaze in the mirror. Both gave a mutual nod, which said more than I could fathom.
This was going to be rough.
