OCEAN
I sat on the arm of the couch, watching my mother tend to the plant perched on the windowsill. She moved slowly and peacefully, dressed in a soft cotton tee and loose lounge pants. There was something effortlessly beautiful about her in moments like this, calm and completely in her element.
“Aren’t my little babies beautiful?” she said, smiling to herself as she watered the leaves.
“They all look the same to me. Just a bunch of green goblins slowly taking over the house.”
She shot me a playful frown beforepinching my arm.“Oh hush. You should consider getting you a plant or two to brighten up that dark museum you call a home.”
I laughed.
My mother hated how modern my home was.The stainless steel appliances, the clean lines,the lack of clutter.She said it stripped a home of character,made everything feel cold and lifeless instead of lived in.
“No thanks. You know I don’t have a green thumb.I couldn’t keep shit alive if you paid me.”
She cut her eyes at me.
“My bad,” I corrected quickly. “I couldn’t keepanythingalive.”
Ever since I was young,my mouth had always been the worst, especially in front of my parents. I never quite mastered the art of filtering myself around them.
“How do you know if you don’t try?” she asked.
“I don’t need to try.Taking care of things just isn’t something I’m good at.”
“That’s not what I heard,” she said,eyes sparkling with mischief.
“What?”
“Oh… huh?” She moved on to the next plant,that smile still glued to her face.
“Mama,” I sighed. “What are you talking about?”
“Well,” she said sweetly, “according to your sister, you’re pretty good at taking care of that little friend of yours.What’s her name? Skye?”
I took a deep breath,already making a mental note to cuss Jassi out the next time I saw her.
“That’s different.”
“Oh, really?” She leaned against the windowsill. “Enlighten me.”
I didn’t answer.
“Look,” I said finally, “you know what happened to her.I just want to make sure she’s good.”
“Yeah,” my mother replied slowly, “but I’ve never known you to let a woman stay in any of your homes.What makes her so different?”
Everything.
But instead I said,“She’s Shade’s girl’s best friend. If she’s good, Nyx is good.”
My mother stared at me,that knowing smirk never leaving her face.
“Mmhmm.”
I ignored it.
“You really think you’re fooling me?” she said lightly. “You remember I was at the hospital after Jassi’s accident, right?”
