Chapter 12 - A Mother's Love

Leanne’s POV

“Tell me more.”
Mom shakes her head firmly, completely cooled off by now. But her eyes are still red from the crying she did.
“Mom, tell me!” I can feel my temper rising, and make no effort to stop it. I need to know why I can’t date the guy I want to. Why she has so much against him all of a sudden, when before she absolutely adored him.
She continues to fold clothes, hands steadily moving in an almost hypnotic pattern.
“Tell me NOW!” I demand. “I bought all our stupid drinks. I took the cart back to the store. I’ve cleaned my room and would be cleaning down here if you’d let me. Now don’t I at least deserve an explanation!?”
Mom sighs. “I suppose. But I’m not supposed to tell you anything. I shouldn’t have even told you he might die.”
“Well you did, and now I need some sort of explanation.”
“I’m sorry, Leanne, but I can’t help you.”
“You HAVE to!” I scream, jumping off my position on the arm of the ratty chair. “I deserve to KNOW! It’s about ME!”
“Leanne, I can’t –“
“Dad would tell me!” Tears push at my eyes, and I glare furiously at Mom.
Her mouth is opening and closing like a fish’s. She’s blinking rapidly, and breathing heavily, on the verge of tear like myself but for entirely different reasons. “Leanne….”
“He would, and you know it! He actually loved me!”
Mom flinches back, blinks sadly back up at me, and turns around. I cross my arms, furious with her and with the whole world.
I guess the calming thing I had going on earlier has worn off.
Then Leo walks in, carrying a stack of papers. “I heard yelling….” He trails off uncertainly.
“No duh,” I say, allowing my anger to fuel a scathing edge to my voice.
Leo appears unaffected. “I made lost cat posters for Butter.”
I glare at him, but can’t think of a comeback. Butter, our cat, has been gone for three days, and I love him as much as Leo does.
Mom turns her head around to face us. “We have a cat?”
“Yeah, for about two years,” Leo says, and I roll my eyes. Then I see the posters.
“Those were made with a computer….”
“So?”
“The only computer in the house is mine…”
Leo gulps. I’ve caught him red-handed.
“You used my computer, you ignorant little twerp!”
“Technically I’m older than you –“
“You used my computer without permission! Leo, you –“ I fire some nasty words at him, and each time he hears a swear he gets this peculiar little look on his face. Oddly enough, it pleases me.
Once I stop for air, he says, “Now Leanne, there’s no need for that.”
I ignore him. “I TOLD you not to use my computer without asking first! What did you see?”
“Nothing,” he says, really quickly like he always does when he’s lying.
By now Mom’s gone back to her folding with her back turned.
“Leo,” I growl. “What did you see?”
He sighs and ‘fesses up. “I saw one of your Photoshop drawings.”
“You what?”
“I saw one of your drawings on Photoshop. It was really good.”
“Flattery isn’t going to let you off the hook. What was it?”
“A picture of Dad and a picture of a bus hitting a car.”
I gasp quietly. So that’s who that was in the picture.
After the small moment of revelation, I turn a glare onto his face.
“That wasn’t open for viewing,” I say menacingly.
“I’m sorry, it’s what was on there. I’d better go put these up.”
Somehow he escapes the house without getting torn to shreds by me, so I turn my anger back to Mom.
“No one will tell me ANTHING! If you were a good mom, you’d tell me.”
She sighs, and, to my surprise, says “Fine.”
I shut up, sufficiently silenced.
“On your birthday, the one who you are currently dating is supposed to die. Someone will kill them, she didn’t say who.”
“She?” I manage.
“Your aunt.”
“Aunt Catelyn?”
“No, a different one. You father’s sister.”
“Who-what’s her name?”
“…Telsa.”
“The annoying person who moved into the neighborhood?”
Mom looks shell-shocked. “She’s here?”
I nod, and suddenly my mother looks murderous.
“How dare she bring her….stupid fortune telling….good for nothing….my children she’s messing with…” Mom continues to mutter to herself, and says no more.
“I don’t like her either,” I say, and Mom looks over at me.
And for the first time in a long time, we exchange a hug.
She rocks me back and forth, assuring me that it’ll all be okay. Tears I didn’t know I had come spilling down my face. I don’t even know why. I feel her secure grasp hold me safe, and feel like a kid again. It’s nice.
She acts normal, loving, caring. She holds me close to her, rubs my back, lets me cry for no reason at all.
And I realize that she’s tried so hard to be a good mom. She loves Leo and I more than anything. Who cares that she’s crazy? Who cares what disgusting lunches she makes? She may be insane, but she still has room in her heart for her children. We’re not lost to her. She still goes to work in the afternoons with her job for the theater. She works hard to keep that job, all for us.
I realize I’ve taken her for granted. And to take your family for granted should be a sin.
I cry harder, and she holds me still, calming me, soothing me.
Being Mom as I knew her to be, in my heart.

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