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Piper
"It wasn't a fight,"I say for what feels like the tenth time.
Lex came home and found me crying in my bed, hugging my phone to my chest, along with a copy of my presentation I need to turn in to my adviser. It was covered in tears, the ink on the pages smudged.
"I get that there wasn't shouting, but it was a fight. The worst kind. The silent kind. Before you get even more upset and let yourself think the worst, just talk to him. You have no idea what he's thinking, Piper. What if it's just a misunderstanding?"
I refuse to tell her why he's mad at me. Why he hasn't spoken to me since we left his apartment this afternoon. I want to, but it’s not my place. I already feel like a jerk for telling his mom.
Not that I intended to let the information slip. She drew it out of me. Refused to pull the car over, holding me captive, unless I confessed. Which I ended up doing just to get away from her because I could feel the breakdown coming on. Tears had been stinging my eyes since he walked away. I wasn't going to be able to hold them back much longer, especially with Justine asking the kind of questions she was.
"How long haveyou loved my son?"
Years.
"I don't love him."
"Sure you don't. How long have you two been seeing each other?"
"Not long."
Not long enough.
"Why are you angry at him?"
"I'm not angry at him."
I'm angry at myself. For being an idiot. For thinking he wanted my help.
"Okay. Why is he angry at you?"
"It's a long story."
Julian's apartment is in sight at this point. I'm almost free. I shouldn't have accepted the offer for a ride, not that she gave me much of a choice. When I told her I would call an Uber, she ripped my phone from my hand and shook her head, telling me she'd take me home.
Only home was not where my car was. It was at Julian's. Telling her that is what led to the barrage of questions.
"We have time," she states firmly as she passes his building, taking a right to circle the block.
"I actually have things to do this afternoon. If you want to pull over here, I can just walk to my car."
"Not going to happen. Start talking, Piper." When I don't open my mouth right away to give her the information she wants, she clears her throat, letting me know she's getting impatient.
"I tried to do something nice for him, something I thought he was scared to do, but it backfired. That's all I can say."
"Nice things don't backfire when they come from the heart. I have a feeling whatever you did was with good intentions."
"It was."
"And you won't tell me what it was because you think it's going to upset me?"
"No, I'm not telling you because it's not my place."
"Let me tell you a story..."
It is clear how much Justine loves Julian. How he completed her life, filled it with joy, and they couldn't be prouder of the man he's become, even when he acts like an ass—her words not mine. She loves her son and only wants the best for him. Apparently—again, her words, not mine—that's me.
"The day I met you, I knew you and Julian would hit it off. I don't know why. Call it a mother's intuition. Then when I introduced you, I saw the spark. I felt the shift in the air. I went back to my office and patted myself on the back for being right. You've done a damn good job of hiding your feelings at work. I thought you were both fighting your attraction. And today, as I was watching you two work side-by-side, setting up the dishes, I saw the effortless love you share. Even though you weren't talking. Even though he looked like he was about ready to jump out of his skin.
