26

When Tom pulls up in front of my house, I can't help feeling a little sad that our time is over.

"Ugh, I don't want to go in just yet," I say. "Do you mind if I stay here a little bit more?"

"Not at all," he says. After a pause, he asks, "Hey, what happened with your friend Sarah?"

"Oh, well," I start explaining. "Karen suggested that she sue him, but she didn't want to. She said that word could get around and she'd be humiliated again."

"Makes sense," Tom says. "Is that why you punched the guy?"

"Mostly, yeah," I answer. "Sarah said she didn't want to sue, but that didn't mean he couldn't get hurt. So, I decided to act on my own. That punch was my idea. Even Karen didn't know about it. I just hopped off the bus and punched him in the face."

Tom laughs. "That was a really good punch though," he says.

"Thanks… wait. When did you see the punch?" I ask. I knew that he'd helped me with my hand, but I didn't think he'd seen it. True, I was fixated on Liam to pay attention around, but I didn't see him anywhere.

"Yeah, I was around."

"Oh," I say, a bit embarrassed. "I didn't see you."

"I wanted to show myself, but you looked kind of pissed, and I was scared you were pissed at me," Tom jokes.

I laugh. As silence takes over, I say, "I think I should go. I don't want my mother worrying."

"Sure," he says. "I'll see you at school on Monday, okay?"

"Okay," I give him a peck on the lips, then unlock the door and walk out. I shut the door and see Tom driving away.

When I wake up that Saturday morning, I see my mother standing over me.

"Mom! What are you doing?" I ask.

"I was waiting for you to wake up," she says.

"Well, I'm awake. What do you want?" I say. I know I'm being a little harsh, but 1. we haven't talked much since our fight and 2. I'm sure she'll just give me chores to do for the day. So yeah, I'm not really looking forward to our talk this morning,

"I wanted to talk to you," my mother says. "I wanted to apologize,"

This wakes me up. She never apologizes; she always has to be right about everything. So this moment is a big deal.

I don't know what to say, but my mom continues. "I'm sorry about my little tantrum two weeks ago. I know this is way overdue, but I wanted to apologize anyway." she sighs. "Things have been… different… between us since our fight. I was frustrated about work and angry with your father… and the fact that the kitchen was a mess was just the cherry on the cake. I was mad at everyone except for you, but since you were the only one there, I took out my anger on you. As a mother, I know I shouldn't do that, and I promise it won't happen again."

I appreciate her apology very much, but I still know that my day – or at least my morning – will be spent in housework.

"Thanks, mom," I say. "I'm sorry too. I should've known to clean the kitchen the way you wanted. I promise to pay more attention to it next time." I say and my mother smiles.

After a pause, I ask, "So, what do I have to do today? Tidy the house? Cut the hedge? Vacuum every room?"

These may sound exaggerated things to do, but I've always done them. I'm used to working hard for my parents, so I don't mind.

"No," my mother says. "No chores today."

My face must be pretty good, 'cause my mom bursts out laughing. "Why are you so shocked?" she asks.

"Are you serious?" I ask. "No work at all?"

"Nope,"

"Oh my god, thank you mom!" I exclaim, and stand up to give a hug. She hugs me back, and I have a feeling that we're going to go along just fine.

"I fixed thing up with my mom," I say. "We're fine now,"

"Really? Good for you!" Karen exclaims.

"Yeah, she's really changed now. She doesn't give me so much to do, she's funny, she's nice… for the first time in my life, she became… a mom."

"I'm really happy for you," Karen says. "At least you won't get hit by a bag of onions anymore."

"Thank god." I joke and Karen laughs.

"What about with Tom?" she asks. "How the couple life treating you?"

"I expected worse," I admit. "But it's actually not so bad. Sure, I can't say that a guy is hot anymore, and if a guy even talks to me Tom gets suspicious, but otherwise it's amazing. Tom is very protective and understanding. You know, we still haven't… well, done the deed… but I know Tom wants to. But… I'm scared. I know Tom is much more experienced than I am, and I don't want him to regret being with me." I confess.

"Sweetie, if he likes you, it'll be amazing." Karen says. "By the way, I was talking to some guys yesterday. While we were talking I found out that they're friends with Tom, so I asked them about him."

"And?"

"They said he's a good guy, but… they said he's kind of… uh… absent."

"Absent? What does that even mean?" I ask.

"I asked that exact question. They said that he never goes to parties. And he always stays home after school. He basically never leaves his house except for school." Karen explains.

At first, I didn't believe it. How could I? The stuff Karen just told me is nothing like the Tom I know. He's gone out with me multiple times, so her news doesn't make any sense. Then again, these are Tom's friends. Yes, I'm his girlfriend, but we've been dating for a little more than a week. I still don't know all of him. Tom's friends probably know him much more than I do.

"I know it sound ridiculous," Karen continues. "He's always very… available."

"I know, right?" I say. "Are you sure they were talking about the same Tom?"

"Yeah, pretty sure. They knew his last name and everything,"

"But he did go to Homecoming, no?" I ask. "That means that they were wrong."

"Yeah maybe." Karen says. "But I don't know. They looked pretty sure of themselves."

"I won't mention this to Tom, but maybe we should try and find out more." I say. "Do you know who Tom's best friend is?"

"No, sorry."

"Oh," I say. "Then I guess I have to come up with some plan."