a few days will help me prepare myself and at least if I wait until after my date with Lucas to talk to Jordan, my feelings for him won’t mess with my head too much.
“I’ll call you tomorrow and we can decide where to meet, but I’m about two exits from my mom’s house, so I’ll let you go.”
“Okay, if you get there and decide you need help, I’m around.”
“Thanks, Jordan.” This time I actually do smile. The call ends a few seconds later and I try calling my mother again as I head toward her house.
The house looks exactly the same as it did when I left a few days ago. Her curtains are drawn, her car hasn’t moved and a thin layer of yellow tree pollen covers the windows. My pulse quickens as I approach the door and terror sweeps through my body. He said she had a shrine. If she truly is losing it what should I do? Call a doctor? Call my dad to come home? No, that will probably make it worse.
My key slides into the door with ease and I unlock it and twist the knob.
“Mom?” I call, as I step over the threshold. The house is silent and gloomy which is totally opposite from its usual inviting nature.
“Mom?” I call again. At the bottom of the staircase sits a box of books which I recognize as photo albums from my childhood. Next to the box, Casper, my mother’s all white Persian cat sits pawing at a hanging piece of cardboard.
“Hi, Cas.” I reach toward the cat to pet its head, but his moody ass runs up the stairs the second I get too close. He’s never liked me. Shrugging, my eyes drift back down to the box and I use a fingertip to flick the cover back on the book nearest the top. A picture of my mother in a long flowing wedding dress covers the first page. She was so beautiful, smiling as she held a large bouquet of red roses and looking toward the sky. She and my father got married right out of high school and I can see just how young she was. Even younger than I am now. I drag a finger over the picture, smiling, then the sound of rustling upstairs grabs my attention.
“Mom, is that you?” Footsteps sound from above and I wait at the bottom of the stairs until I see her materialize.
“Hey. Sorry, I was putting a few boxes in the attic. I’ll be right down,” she says, seemingly out of breath.
“Need any help?”
“No, I got it,” she says, her long hair bouncing from her ponytail as she disappears down the hall. Moving away from the staircase, I walk into the living room, tension rolling up my body. I expect to see this shrine that Jordan spoke of but everything looks as it always does. The floor is clear of clutter, the couch is neatly set with a fluffy throw blanket and matching pillows, and fresh flowers sit in a vase on the coffee table. The only off thing about the space is the drawn curtains.
“What the hell?” I say under my breath as I walk around the room. Jordan isn’t one to overreact but whatever he saw is gone now. I’m halfway to the window when my mother starts down the stairs, the creak of the wood announcing her descent. Sunlight bleeds into the room as I pull the curtains open casting light on the dreary space.
“Better,” I say, looking out the window.
“Hey, Jelly bean.” My mother bounces into the room dressed in sweats and a white T-shirt, her hair pulled back neatly. “How was your exam?”
“Good,” I say, leaning in to give her a hug. “I tried to call you earlier but you never answered and didn’t respond to my texts.”
“Sorry, baby,” she says, moving away from me and sitting heavily on the couch. “I decided to busy myself with a little cleaning.” She’s smiling but I’m still not one hundred percent convinced. I mean, she isn’t acting weird but Jordan just seemed so concerned. Could she just be putting on a show for me?
“You sure?” I look at her with narrowed eyes as I sit next to her on the couch.
“Of course.” She laughs. “What do you mean am I sure?”
“It’s just… Jordan seemed worried about you when I talked to him, plus you sent that weird text message. ‘She can’t be here?’ What was that all about?”
“That was a message