The Heartbroken - S01 E27

Story 2 years ago

The Heartbroken - S01 E27

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 27

*CONTINUES*

He looked down and

seemed to be thinking.

Oh, my god, we are so

busted. We both know

we can’t tell her that he

was drunk last night,

because she’d be

kicking him out for good

once she finds out I let

a drunk, hormonal high

school guy sleep in my

room for a whole night

—probably kicking me

out as well.

I was about to say a

lame excuse about a

school project but Seth

replied first.

“My mom’s new

boyfriend was staying

the night at our house,”

he said, sounding sad.

My head whipped to

him, but he was still

looking at his hands on

the table, looking down

so I couldn’t meet his

gaze. “I couldn’t bear to

stay there, so I left. I

had nowhere to go and

I… I’m really sorry.”

The stern expression

on Mom’s face softened

as she heard this. I also

found myself

processing this piece of

information, trying to

figure out whether or

not he was sincere or

simply acting.

“Anyways, I didn’t

mean for things to go…”

Seth trailed off, as if to

search for a less

atrocious term, and

settled with, “out of

hand, and I’m really,

really sorry.”

If I hadn’t known any

better, he could have

fooled me into believing

the goody boyfriend act.

Heck, I almost did

believe. My mother,

surely, is buying

everything.

“Okay, Seth. I do think

we could have met in

better…” Mom squirmed

a little and continued,

“circumstances. But for

everything else at hand

right now, does your

mother know you’re

out?”

Oh, the irony. This,

coming from my

mother, who barely

knows if I actually

went home to sleep or

if I’d somehow sneaked

out when I’m not

supposed to. All this

crap coming from a

person who could

actually care less.

I wasn’t even aware of

my clenched fists until

Seth took my right hand

and gently pried my

fingers open under the

table. He sent me a

look, What’s wrong? To

which I replied to by

looking pointedly away.

He didn’t immediately

release my hand until I

pulled it away from his

grasp.

“She knows I’m here,”

he answered, not

missing a beat despite

the fact that I had

distracted him a little.

Mom exhaled a little and

said, “Okay. You can

stay here for a while

until you think it’s fit

for you to go home.”

There it was again. The

word “home.” I thought

back to what Seth said

to me last night, in his

weird drunken state,

about having a house

but not a home.

“Thank you, Mrs.

Evans,” Seth said

softly, almost sounding

really thankful, and for

a second I wondered if

he really was thankful.

My mom’s expression

wavered, her eyes

looking vulnerable as

she said, “Please. Call

me Rachel.”

People calling her “Mrs.

Evans” had always

shaken her. Ever since

Charlie Evans died a few

years ago, Mom had

been sensitive with the

topic and all. Seth must

have seen the look on

my mom’s face as he

cleared his throat.

“Thank you, Rachel,” he

said. “And I really am

sorry.”

Finally, Mom snapped

back to being herself

and smiled at Seth.

“Sure, Seth. Though I

would like to discuss a

few rules…”

—

It could have gone

worse.

As a matter of fact, I

still couldn’t believe that

we actually pulled that

off. The whole

confrontation with Mom

could have definitely

been unpleasant. But

sitting there, as my

mom “enforced” her

“rules,” I found myself

seething.

She has no f-----g right

to act like my mother

now.