Howcould I have been so blind?
CHAPTER 10
DAISY
“Mama! You here?” I call out as I enter my parents’ house.
“In the kitchen,” she calls back and I kick my boots off before padding down the hallway. I find her seated at the dining table; glasses perched on the end of her nose as she works on her daily crossword.
My parents had me a little later on in life.A happy accident, they’ve always liked to call me. At thirty-eight, my mom was sure she was going through early menopause. Imagine her surprise when she went to the doctor’s office and they told her she was five months pregnant with a bouncing baby girl.
It never bothered me, growing up with parents that were slightly older than most people my age. They were still great parents. Young at heart.
In the years I was gone, they only visited me a handful of times, mostly in the beginning.
Looking at my mom now, it’s clear to see that the stress of having her only daughter in another state has taken itstoll. Her usually dark hair is now streaked with grey, like she hasn’t bothered to keep up with salon appointments how she used to. Her smile lines are less prominent. And she has permanent bags under her eyes as though she’s lacked a decent night’s sleep for a long time.
“Gettin’ anywhere with that one?” I ask, pulling open the fridge and grabbing a bottle of water.
“Mm-hmm,” she hums, her eyes not lifting from the paper in front of her.
I pull out the chair opposite her and drop my ass into it with a drawn-out sigh that earns me a quirked brow from my mother as she looks at me over the rim of her glasses.
I take a long drink of water, blinking innocently at her while she watches me expectantly. When I say nothing, she lets out a sigh of her own and drops her pen to the table. She removes her glasses, folding the arms gently and placing them beside her pen before clasping her hands on the table in front of her. “Wanna tell me why you’re interrupting my quiet time before your father gets home?”
I shrug. “Just needed to collect a few more of my things to take over to my place.”
“Mm-hmm. That all?”
I huff, my shoulders dropping. “Killian hates me.”
My mom stares at me a second before she laughs. A big, booming laugh. She shakes her head at me, still chuckling as she say, “I’m sorry, honey. But what did you expect?”
I drop my head with a frown.
“Look, honey, I know why you left. And although I don’t fully agree with your reasons, I understand them. But Killian doesn’t know why you left. You were the love of his life, and you just vanished into thin air. Of course he’s going to have some resentment toward you.”
My heart beats faster in my chest. “You don’t agree with my reason for leaving?”
This is the first time she has ever said anything about me leaving. She always seemed supportive of my decision, so hearing that she didn’t agree with it surprises me.
My mom’s lips tighten into a pitying smile, and she shakes her head. “I understand why you thought you were doing the right thing, Daisy. I just think you could have avoided a lot of hurt had you stayed and been honest with Killian.”
My eyes burn as I stare at her in disbelief. “Why didn’t you say any of this before?”
She reaches across the table and grips my hand between both of hers. “Because it was your decision. You were hurting in a way that no twenty-year-old should ever hurt and if leaving was the best way for you to heal, then I would support that. I’ve only ever wanted what’s best for you, Dais. Your dad, too.”
Tears drip onto my face and my chin trembles. “Do you think I made the wrong choice?”
She tilts her head. “Leaving? Or, not telling him?”
“Both.”
“I can’t answer that for you, honey. I don’t know if things will ever be okay between you and Killian again, but if that’s something you want, then you need to be honest with him.”
I give a watery nod.
She’s right. I can’t say that I see Killian and me ever being together in that way again, but if I ever want any kind of friendship with him at all, then I need to come clean about why I left.
