Page 107 of Robbin’ the Rich

“It’s not just that. I mean, thank you, but it’s more than that. It’s Micah,” I said as I swallowed back a sob.

“Micah Nottingham?”

Again, I nodded and blew my nose.

“I had been seeing him since a couple weeks before Halloween. I thought I was falling in love with him only he never told me.”

“What? You love Micah Nottingham? He never told you what? I’m going to need a little more, honey.”

I nodded again, like a damn bobble head and took a deep breath so I could get this all out at once. “I met him while his band was playing at Trixie’s. We have been dating. I was falling for him, but he never told me who his family was. He knew how much I hated the church. I even told him what the church did to Lila and he never told me. He never told me!”

“Excuse me?” The way her head pulled back in indignation soothed something inside of me.

“Yeah, I didn’t know until he sat down across from me at the restaurant.”

Her mouth fell open. After a long pause she said, “No wonder you took off out of there like that. I was wondering why you and Micah never came back, but I would not have guessed this.”

Once again, I just nodded and blew my nose. The tears had to stop sometime, right?

“I just feel so dumb! How could I not see it coming? I thought I loved him, but it was all a lie. How could I have fallen for it? I feel so stupid.”

“Robin, listen to me.” She put her hand on my knee and waited for me to look at her. “You are not stupid! Not in the least. It is not your fault. This is Micah’s fault. He should have told you.”

Her gaze was so steady, she seemed so sure. I wished I was. She wiped away a tear and pulled me into a hug. “Trusting people is a good thing.”

I tried to pull away, but she held tighter, rubbing my back. I gave in, falling into the hug.

“Baby… you stink.”

I pulled back and looked at her shocked. “Mom!”

“Honey, I don’t think you’ve showered in about four days.”

She wasn’t wrong, I still couldn’t believe it’d been four days.

“Why don’t you go get in the shower? I’ll be here when you’re done and we’ll figure out what to do next.”

I went into my bathroom and tried not to glance in the mirror. I had no interest in seeing the bags I knew were under my eyes or my greasy hair. It was best just to get in the shower.

I turned the water to near scalding and got in. Instantly, I did feel a little better. As the ache in my muscles lessened and the grime swirls down the drain with the soap. The water fell over my back, and I leaned my head back, rinsing my hair.

I was starting to feel more human again as I stepped out of the shower. I decided to go all the way with lotion and brushing my teeth… because let’s be honest, I wasn’t sure how long it’d been for that either.

When I stepped out of the bathroom, the smell of chicken and noodles hit me. At that, a genuine smile grew across my face.

I made my way into the kitchen which was now clean. My mom stood at the sink finishing up the last of the dishes while a pot of chicken and noodles simmer on the stove. She turned when she heard me coming.

“There she is. You look like you’ve returned to the land of the living.”

“Thank you, mom,” I went right over to her and hugged her. “You didn’t have to do all this.”

“Hush, I’m your mom and I never get to smother you with my love anymore,” she said, squishing my face and kissing my cheek.

The timer on the oven dinged and my mom turned and pulled out a try of her amazing cheddar biscuits. “Now,” she said as she set them on the stove to cool, “I made you some chicken and noodles and some cookies. But you have to start answering your phone. Are we clear?”

I nodded and picked up one of the hot biscuits, blowing on it as it slightly burned the tips of my fingers. Steam poured out of the soft fluffy center as little strings of cheese pulled.

“Yes, I will. I’m sorry about that.”