I stuffed my anger away and jumped up. I walked around the table and gave him a hug. “It was great. I had a lot of fun, and I know I have a lot to learn.” I looked down at the flowers. “Are these for me?” I looked up at him through my lashes.
He smiled and nodded. “You deserved them.” He handed them to me and I hugged them to my face, taking a deep breath.
They smelled of mildew and rot, much like this pack, but I beamed up at him. “Thank you.” I wrapped my arm around his waist again. “I love them.” My phone chirped, and I pulled away, grabbing it from the desk.
“Everything okay?” Brandon leaned over and I sighed.
“Yeah. My mom called for a ‘family dinner’ to clear the air.” I rolled my eyes and sat against the table. “I don’t know what I should do.”
“What do you mean?” Brandon settled next to me.
“Shannon wants me to turn down this job and have nothing to do with you.” I wiggled my phone. “Even if my mom is pissed at Morgan, Shannon is still her stepdaughter, and he is still her husband. She wants us to get along.” I sighed and slid my phone into my pocket.
“I can understand that.” He nodded. “What are you going to do?”
I looked at him and bit my bottom lip. “I had a lot of fun today, and I enjoyed seeing you. But I won’t make my mom’s life harder. I’ll let Shannon win.” I sighed and stood.
“Wait what?” Brandon reached for me.
I nodded. “I stayed away from you in high school because Shannon loved you and I didn’t want to make my mom’s life harder. I know you want me to be your Luna, but I love my mom too much to hurt Shannon like this.”
He looked panicked. “Let me walk you home, and I’ll talk to your mom and Morgan. Fuck, I’ll even talk to Shannon. I don’t want to lose you because of this.”
Bingo.
We walked down the street hand in hand. Every so often someone would stop and stare, but I ignored the looks, until we turned down my street and my mother was pacing outside the door.
“Mom?” We walked up, and she turned. I watched her face shutter when her eyes landed on Brandon.
“Hey baby, how was your first day?”
I looked up at Brandon. “It was great. Why are you out here?”
My mom heaved a sigh. “Morgan is talking to Shannon again, and it isn’t going well.” She winced when another scream could be heard.
I nodded sadly and turned to Brandon. “I’m sorry.” I pulled the flowers closer. “I can’t.” I looked to the house. “I really like the job, and you are an amazing friend, and…” I trailed off.
“And what?” He pushed.
“And maybe we could have been a good mating pair, but I can’t do this to my mom’s family.” I stepped back. “I know you wanted to talk to them but I don’t think it’s a good idea.” I turned to leave, but my mom stopped me.
“Actually, I think it is.” She nodded to the house. “Go on in. Maybe she will listen to you and stop trying to control everyone around her.” My mom reached for me when I went to object. “He knows what he wants, Amy.” She nodded, and Brandon turned to head inside.
I waited until the door closed and turned to my mom. “You are amazing.”
“He’s dumber than I thought he would be. But this should give us a window of peace.” I nodded and then we headed inside together.
Brandon was in Shannon’s room as I walked to mine, and they were fooling no one with their whispered moans. But I just held my laughter in as I pushed in the door. My mom followed close behind me. “I’m going-”
“To stay right here for now. Brandon will stay for dinner.” She flicked her eyes to the closet, and I nodded.
“I’ll just send a quick message.” Then I ran to the cabin and told them to eat without me. I promised Carly I would be back for her bed-time story and then I grabbed my laptop.
My mom nodded at me before she turned to leave. There was a soft, steady thumping from next door. “They think they are being quiet, but you can hear everything from in there.” She grimaced as she walked to my door.
I shrugged. “At least they are trying to hide it before it was just loud grunting. It was gross.” I laughed as she shivered and left. I crawled onto my bed and opened my laptop. I jumped through the few hoops we had in place for our messaging and then finally a black screen jumped to life.
A blinking grey cursor waited for my first input.
