Mia

Fifteen

Mia

I did. Sort of. I slept until someone texted me at 4:00 a.m. It was from Kenny, of course. I should’ve ignored it, but I couldn’t keep myself from reading it. 

            Kenny: Better be at your pickup today or there will be hell to pay.

            Why did he even say s**t like that? No one talked like that. And what kind of “hell” would be paid?

            I was not a morning person, and being woken up at 4:00 a.m. by an asshole was not my definition of a good morning. I ignored him, because he didn’t deserve a response from me. He could come to whatever conclusion he felt like when he noticed I wasn’t at school. Hell, I even considered ditching the rest of the week, since I wouldn’t be finishing the year out anyway. Since I couldn’t care less about him and his stupid text, I was able to fall back asleep. 

            When nine rolled around, I finally climbed out of bed and got myself showered, whilst completely ignoring my phone and forcing myself not to read any of the other texts Kenny sent. The excitement I felt to spend a day with my mom surprised me. 

            Mom was cleaning up the kitchen when I got downstairs. I was much more comfortable having dressed in my regular clothing that I missed dearly, which consisted of a sparkly pink tank top, cut off daisy dukes, and shiny strappy sandals. I had even taken the time to curl my hair, which reached the middle of my back, and put on makeup. I felt more like myself than I had in weeks. 

            “You look great!” Mom exclaimed, glancing over her shoulder from the sink where she was washing the dishes. She too looked adorable in her flowy cutoffs and teal, button-up shirt. “I’ll only be a few more minutes. Just trying to get the house cleaned up on this rare day of no work.” 

            “That’s fine.” I told her, moving over to the sink with a dry towel so I could dry the dishes. 

            “Thanks, sweetie.” She gave me a smile. 

            “Yup.” I dried a cup and put it away. “You know you could use the dishwasher like a normal person.” 

            This made her chuckle. “It’s unnecessary when there are only a few dishes to be washed.” 

            And that was my mom. So unbelievably content with life in itself that she didn’t mind taking a few minutes to wash the dishes by hand rather than sticking them in the dishwasher until enough built up to run it. 

            She washed. I dried—without any whining or bickering from my end. It was the perfect moment to have with her. 

            That’s how the day went. We got tea from a cute little teashop in town before heading to the mall. The older people wandering from store to store looking for bargains had us cracking silly jokes. After grabbing some soaps and candles from Bath & Body Works and of course making a stop in Victoria’s Secret, we went into a Western store to look at outfits. 

            Knowing I wasn’t going to prom should have kept me from trying on any outfits, but it was too much fun with my mom, having her take pictures and getting a few selfies of us together that I could cherish forever. While I was trying on one of the outfits, I got a text from Pierce, which made my heart race in an amazing way; in turn making me uneasy. I opened it while still ignoring the many Kenny had sent me. 

            Cop: How’s the day going with your mom? 

            Me: Fantastic. I’m trying on dresses for the prom I won’t be attending. 

            Cop: That sounds depressing. 

            Me: Jackass. What are you up to today, Cop? 

            Cop: Paperwork for a case I closed today. Worst part of the job. 

            Me: Have fun with that. 

            He didn’t answer immediately after that, so I assumed our conversation was over. I went back out to meet my mom dressed in a flowy, colorful skirt, a white lacy crop top, and brown boots. Mom beamed at me, declaring it was the perfect outfit, and I had to agree. With the new outfit in hand and a pair of boots my mom announced she had to have, we checked out and headed to the food court for lunch. 

            While eating pizza and chatting about the prom I wasn’t attending—me acting the most excited I could but wishing we could talk about anything else—Pierce texted me again. 

            Cop: Can I see you tonight?

            I didn’t know what to do with that. It was the first time he had asked if he could see me. Although distancing myself was what I was leaning toward. I would be gone in a few days anyway. He knew I was taking off, and I couldn’t draw it out. Cutting things off had to be the better route. With how amazing he was, he deserved better; he didn’t need to waste any more time on me. This decision made my heart ache in ways I couldn’t ignore, but I forced myself to anyway.

            “Is everything okay?” Mom asked when I sat staring at my phone for a good long minute. 

            I met her concerned gaze, wishing I hadn’t even opened the first text from him. I prepared yet another lie. “Oh, yeah! Actually, it’s Katie. She was saying how fun it would be if I spent the night at her place on Friday and we got ready for prom together and went together.” I grinned like a maniac, hoping I sounded excited. “You know, instead of going with any silly boys.” 

            Lips pursed, she hmmmed. “That’s a good idea, I guess. Though I wanted to get some pictures of you for your last prom.” 

            “I could ditch tomorrow too, and we could have a photo shoot!” I batted my eyelashes. 

            “Ha. Nice try.” She patted her mouth with a napkin before fixing her gaze on me. “So I want to know what happened with Kenny.” 

            The way she threw it out there all casual like made my stomach flip over. I about lost my lunch. Putting the right mask in place was more work than I liked to admit. I had to remind myself she was only my concerned mom who had no idea what Kenny had gotten her daughter caught up in. 

            “Umm. He didn’t care about focusing on school and stuff. He treated everything like a game. So I figured it was time to move on.” 

            Mom nodded with thinned lips. “That was a good choice. I’m sorry you’re hurt. Dad and I didn’t care for him much, but we wanted to let you work it out on your own.” I had the best parents known to man. She stood, picking her tray up. “Now let’s go get mani-pedis. I’m due!”

            Did I mention how amazing my mom is?

            While my toenails were painted, I finally texted Pierce back. 

            Me: I think I’m going to stay in with the fam tonight. Tomorrow?

            He replied while my acrylics were getting buffed. 

            Cop: That’s probably a good idea. I’m on call tomorrow night. So. Yeah.

            So. Yeah. That was that. I didn’t know what else to say to him, and my heart suddenly ached in an excruciating way. He knew I was leaving. Where I was going to go or how I was getting there, I wasn’t sure yet, but I wasn’t sticking around to see what they would do to me when I refused to do prom. 

            Having told my mom I was going to stay at Katie’s on Friday made it possible for me to take off the night before prom. It would work out. I would come up with some form of a plan by then. In that current moment, I just wanted to soak up some time with my mom and not think about the fact that I may never see Pierce again.