“What are you doing here?” she asked the moment her eyes peeled open. Brandon was standing right by the main door of the townhouse. Her heart was racing when her eyes landed on him. She tried hard to pretend that his presence didn’t affect her at all. But her heart was racing to see her gorgeous man after so long. He looked even sexier, and she could see the need in his eyes. His hair had grown longer, down to his shoulders. She failed to her eyes off him. But then she suddenly remembered about Mariella. And all her feelings flew away.
“Dude, I’m so sorry. My sister’s a bit perverted. She must have smelled something good,” she heard Alex trying to make fun of her.
“Sister?” Brandon repeated.
“Shut up,” she hissed, glaring at her brother.
“Alright, alright,” Alex raised both of his hands in surrender. “What’s up with you two? Do you know each other?”
“No,” Allison answered immediately.
“Yes,” Brandon’s voice was deep, and as usual, it was giving her the shivers. She had missed his voice so much. She wanted to hug him and release all the tension, but the fact that he was not hers was holding her back. She was here to not think about Brandon and move on. But now it was impossible.
Alex cleared his throat, sensing the heavy tension in the air. “Well, you should sort that out. Mom’s not going to be so happy when she hears about this,” Alex commented, dragging her luggage out of the car’s trunk.
“Is she here?” Allison’s face brightened upon the mention of her mother. She quickly followed Alex, leaving Brandon behind. Finding her mother was her main reason for going to Italy.I’ll deal with him later.Or maybe not. We don’t have anything to talk about.
“Mamma mia!” A woman in her late forties gasped in surprise when Allison entered the living room. She was reading a book, sitting on the sofa with her legs propped on the center table. The spark of happiness on her face was visible the minute Allison appeared. The woman had brown wavy hair and a sharp nose. Her lips were pinkish, and she had a heart-shaped face. And despite the age appearance, Allison could tell that she was a beauty. Her eyes were a bit bigger, but they looked friendly.
“B-baby… My baby,” the woman managed to utter while getting up from her seat. Tears welled Allison’s eyes when she heard the word. The woman was her mother… there’s no doubt about it. They looked so alike.
“Mamma…” Allison spoke, feeling a lump in her throat. She had never seen her mother. Now that she was finally standing right in front of the woman who gave birth to her, she didn’t know how to explain what she felt.
Taking a step forward, Allison embraced her mother. She didn’t know what to say; instead, she found herself crying stupidly.
“Oh, come on,” she heard Alex protesting. But he joined them anyway.
“Let me show you your room,” Alex said when they separated.
“Go, honey! You must be tired; go and make yourself comfortable. I will make you coffee and something to eat,” her mom said, placing her hand on Allison’s cheek.
“All right, Mom.”
Alex showed Allison her room. It was a cozy room, almost similar to the room she had back in Wakerlin.
“Like it?” Alex asked.
“Yeah!”
“Great, see you at the coffee table.” Alex walked out of the room.
Allison smiled and nodded. She knew it had been her father’s plan to send her here. Her dad knew her so well. He had known that Allison was sad all the time since the incident.
“Thanks, Dad. I love you,” she said to herself. Then she changed her clothes, putting on her fleece pajama bottoms, t-shirt, and loose sweater and walked back to the hall.
“Hey, Alli, come. Just getting your coffee,” her mom said, walking towards the kitchen.
Allison smiled and looked around. Brandon was gone, and it was a relief for her. They had coffee and her mom cooked her favorite food. It was the tastiest food Allison had ever eaten. She kissed her mom’s hand. Later, they washed dishes together. Then her mother took her to show her room. The first thing Allison noticed when she entered the room was more than thirty pictures of her on the wall. Most of them were from her birthday.
Her mother told her that she got framed pictures of her every birthday. They sat on her mom’s bed, chatting till late into the night. She told her mother how lonely she was without her. Every girl needs her mother, and Allison had missed her mother every year. She slept, resting her head on her mother’s lap that night, and it was so peaceful.
∞∞∞
A few weeks passed. Allison’s first day in her mother’s place was the last time she had seen Brandon. She learned that Brandon was one who brought her mother and brother news about her whereabouts. He was her bodyguard, after all. As much as she wanted to forget about him, her heart seemed to do the opposite. Day and night, Allison found herself spacing out, wondering how he was or what he was doing.
Do I ever cross his mind?Heaving a deep breath, she settled on the reclining chair and enjoyed the breeze. She was under the shady tree on the gazebo.
After spending a few weeks at her mother’s place, Allison realized how refreshing it was to live away from the city. The air was fresh and quiet. She got to enjoy nature and its wonders. She also found herself liking the view of every sunset.
