“I just met Heath’s mom,” I blurt out in panic.
Marie’s face pales. “What?”
“Heath’s mom. I talked to her.”
“As in greeted her?”
“As in had a long conversation with her.”
Her eyes fill with surprise. “Oh my God!”
“I know,” my voice comes out all panicky. “She talked to me about Heath and how she loves him but doesn’t know how to tell him. She asked me to come over later and help her talk to Heath.”
“Too much information, Hope. I can’t process it all at once.” She reminds me. “I’m still stuck on the part where you met her.”
“I can’t believe it happened. I met her and she has no idea that I’m his girlfriend.”
She gasps. “You didn’t tell her?”
“No. I don’t think Heath wants me to meet his parents.”
Softness flickers through her gaze. “That’s because he hates them and wants to keep his distance. He hasn’t introduced Sebastian and I to his parents.”
I look down in my lap. “She knows about you guys.”
“That’s because Kelly and Derek have told her, not Heath.”
“And not about me.”
“It isn’t like he’s hiding you or anything.”
I can barely utter a word so I give her a convincing smile.
It doesn’t work.
She frowns. “No! I mean it. He wouldn’t hide you. He kissed you in front of the entire school because he wanted everyone to know that you guys are together and nobody better fuck with you.”
She is right. If he wanted to hide me he wouldn’t have done that. Besides, he isn’t like that anyway. He doesn’t care what people think about him or say about him. All that matters to him are his own thoughts and beliefs.
“Heath isn’t hiding you. He’s just protecting you from his parents who always given him a hard time.”
I nod.
Marie goes silent for a minute. “Will you tell me everything that happened in the past twenty minutes that I left you? I reallyshouldn’t have. I swear I got a mini heart attack from hearing that news.”
Not wasting a second, I go into detail about everything and Marie’s face shows a wide range of reactions. She shows her feelings on the outside, making it easy to trust her because you know it’s all real and genuine. There’s no faking the worry, anger, happiness, fear and excitement she feels for me and how she wants the best for me. I’m lucky that I have her as my best friend.
“She sounds sweet and sad.”
“I felt the same. I think she really loves Heath.”
She sighs. “Yeah, but she’s done an awful job at showing him. I know my parents love me because they’ve shown me it to me. I don’t doubt they’d risk everything for me.”
My mind only focuses on one bit. My parents love me.
Do my parents love me?
I mean, my mom does, but, she’s changed in the past few months. Our connection isn’t the same anymore. She used to be my shield, my safe place and comfort blanket. Now, she isn’t any of those. I told her about dad and she didn’t believe me. And when she trusted me she found a way to blame me for what happened.
