Nine

Love is the best medicine! Love your family, love your friends, love your neighbors, love your spouse, love your pets, just love...

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"I really am fine, Mrs Diego." Ellie muttered, but as it had been the other time she made this statement, Mrs Diego huffed. Ellie had been surprised when Parker had woken her up and she had been staring right into Mrs Diego's face.

"Kids! Why didn't you ask Parker to pick you up? Why did you have to go driving in your condition?"

Ellie stopped herself in time from asking what condition. Parker had gone to great lengths to provide a reasonable explanation to answer all his mother's question. The poor guy had come up with a story about her having a fight with her boss and had been too angry to focus on driving. Mrs Diego had believed and gave Ellie a stern lecture about driving. It had made her uncomfortable, in a way it had reminded her of the loving person her mother wasn't. But all the same, it was for the greater good.

"It won't happen again, Mum. I plan to keep an eye on her." Parker intervened. He really was a sweet guy, he had tried so much to play knight in shining armor to Ellie's occasionally damsel in distress situations.

"Well, I'm glad you guys are finally doing something about this sexual tension. It's grown over the years." Mrs Diego smiled.

Parker choked on his orange juice, coughing furiously. Ellie wasn't sipping her juice at the time, but she still managed to choke on her saliva. Parker's face was considerably redder, but he patted Ellie's back.

"Mom!" Parker groaned when he finally found his voice.

"What? Your father and I had to see it all through your highschool years, and then I suffered front row seat alone for the entire time you guys were in college. You guys are meant for each other."

"We aren't, Mrs Diego. We are just friends, nothing attached." Ellie studied her chipped nails, they suddenly seemed interesting. Anything to hide the blush that reddened her face. If only that were half true. I'd be the happiest woman in the fucking country, Ellie sighed.

Mrs Diego's brows rose, but she dropped the subject. "I called your mother, Eleanor."

Ellie froze immediately. Talking about sexual tension with Parker's mom was much better than this. She could face a firing squad, answer any disturbing question, or do a split on the floor with her injured leg. Anything to get out of this situation, she didn't need anyone to remind her of her issues with her parents. She was content in her current happy bubble. But as it usually was, Mrs Diego was on a row, and she hated interruption, so Ellie listened.

"I told her about your accident. Well, can I give you the edited version of the story?" Mrs Diego looked as if she wanted Ellie to spare her from the embarrassing details, but it wouldn't change anything, Ellie could guess what her mother probably said.

"Tell me everything." She replied instead, her palms sweating. Parker laid his hands on top hers, then squeezed tight. Ellie didn't have to turn to him to know he was giving her an encouraging smile.

Mrs Diego sighed. "Okay, don't get mad. She said she spent her life catering to your needs, that it was time she invested in herself. That you should woman up and do not try to contact your father. She'd be mad if you cut her trip short."

And it was just as Ellie expected. Her mother had never disappointed in showing how much she detested her own child. What was more surprising, was that at a time, her mother had been loving, her dad had just been neutral, sometimes happy, sometimes not. Sometimes, Ellie wished she was adopted. That way, she could understand the way her parents treated her. It was considerably harder to stomach the fact that her birth parents cared so little about her.

"Okay. But she knows I'd never call her, she doesn't have to make me look so needy."

Mrs Diego ignored that. "Well, your mum and I had a fight, over the phone. Instead of her returning in a year's time, she'd return in six months. She is after all your mother."

Just like the other times they'd had this conversation, Ellie smiled. "She'd come around, i know that." This had been her mantra for so long. She'd always made excuses for her parents, and she still wanted their approval. Mrs Diego knew as well as Ellie, that she'd been the one to do the most of the job of parenting, but as usual, she smiled in return.

"Now can I get a hug?" She asked, leaning down. Ellie hugged her almost immediately, reveling in the rush of memories Mrs Diego's perfume brought her. Reluctantly, she dragged herself away from Mrs Diego so that she could hug Parker.

"Its gonna be okay." Parker mouthed at her.

Mrs Diego finally picked up her handbag, then turned to face them. "I hope you guys will be sensible and use this opportunity to lessen the sexual tension. Sex is a beautiful thing."

Ellie giggled as Parker blushed beet red. Even when he was embarrassed, the guy was too adorable for his own good.

Mrs Diego wasn't done embarrassing them. "And Ellie? Come see me for a birth control shot." It was Ellie's turn to blush again. Mrs Diego was a gynecologist, and while Ellie knew the woman was very good, she refused to visit her hospital. She couldn't live with the constant teasing that was sure to surface. Mrs Diego made a living from embarrassing the shit out of people, Ellie wasn't going to be a willing victim.

"Bye mom." Parker glared at her.

"Jesus Christ! Its sex, everyone does it. Its natural, normal, healthy even. Studies shows that-," Parker cut her off with another glare and a tug on her sleeve. "Fine, bye son, Ellie."

"Bye Mrs Diego." Ellie called from the couch as she watched Parker walk his mom out.

A few minutes, he was back. He tugged off his shirt, then walked towards her, his eyes darkening. "Let's get this show started."

Ellie felt the giant bird, not butterfly, try to take flight in her stomach. Was he being serious?