The Heartbroken - S01 E84

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The Heartbroken - S01 E84

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 84

“Do you want me to

come with you?”

I avoided his eyes as I

nodded.

He considered this for a

moment. “I think this

should be completely

between you and your

mother.”

“Please?” I mentally

wrinkled ny nose in

disgust. Was I really

this desperate? “You

don’t have to stay long.

Just for a while.”

He bit his lower lip,

thinking about it, before

saying, “Okay. But only

because you agreed to

meet my mother.”

I let out a sigh of relief.

We got out of his car

and started to walk.

“Let me get that,” he

said, taking my duffel

bag from me. I was too

frazzled with nerves to

protest.

I had no idea how this

was going to happen.

Will my mom be angry?

Will sge shout at me

and Seth?

Will she even be home,

or will she be out

partying as usual, even

though I practically ran

away?

“I always get to a point

where I almost tell Dad

about Mom,” he

suddenly said. “An

unsent message, a

missed call, an

unfinished sentence.

Sometimes, I would call

him and say, ‘Dad, I

have something to tell

you.’ And when he asks

me what it is, I can

never bring myself to

say it. And I keep

wondering why, but I

can never answer it

myself.”

I knew he just told me

about something

personal and something

about this compelled

me to say, “Sometimes,

I wish it was Mom

instead of Dad.”

Admitting it out loud

made me feel sick,

especially when Seth

took a sharp breath. “I

know I’m horrible for

thinking this way. It’s

unfair to Mom and I

hate myself for having

these thoughts, but I

can’t—”

“Kyla.” He stopped

walking and held me in

place with one hand on

the crook of my elbow.

“I think you just miss

your dad.”

“I hate it. I hate myself

for having these

thoughts.”

“Don’t be too hard on

yourself,” he said. “Your

mom hasn’t exactly

done anything to

reassure you. She’s

never around for you,

so you feel this way.

But you should give her

a chance, okay?”

I nodded, silent, as we

resumed walking

towards my house in

silence. There was an

odd sense of

reassurance to have

Seth with me, at least

for this short while.

I expected for Mom and

I to end up screaming

at each other. I

expected angry words

and hurtful looks,

maybe even a few

flying objects (okay, not

really). What I didn’t

expect, though, as the

door opened was for

Mom to look at me and

Seth, a relieved

expression making its

way onto her face as

she pulled me in for a

hug. Or a choke hold,

seeing as it nearly took

my breath away.

“Kyla! Don’t you ever,

ever go away like that

again.”

My mom was not a

hugger and I awkwardly

just stood there. She

pulled away and I was

surprised to see tears

in her eyes. “Mom, I—”

“I’m sorry for not telling

you sooner,” she said. “I

wasn’t sure how you

would—”

“Mom. It’s fine. I

overreacted.” I

surprised myself by

being this calm. The

moment I saw the

tears in her eyes, I

flashbacked to the days

my father’s health

started to worsen. It

was only during those

times that my mother

ever let me see her cry.

Staring at her now,

Seth’s words from

earlier echoed in my

brain.

Seth shifted

uncomfortably. “Hey,

Ky, I’ll go ahead.” He

squeezed my hand.

“Um, bye, Rachel,” he

told my mom before

walking away. I almost

called out to Seth, not

sure if I could do this

alone, but he was

already halfway to his

car.

“Let’s talk inside,” Mom

said, ushering me in.