Southern Boy Charm | ✓

Chapter 12

That night I barely get enough sleep. My mind is clouded by so many things, fear, panic, and worry, that by five in the morning I decide to call it quits. When I stumble my way down stairs, I am surprised to see my mom sitting there under the dull dining room light. Her reading glasses sit low on the bridge of her nose as she stares intently at a book.

"Mom are you reading?" the disbelief in my voice is evident. She jumps at the noise, whipping her head around to ensure that it's me before taking a deep breath.

"Jesus Leighton I almost had a heart attack!" She readjusts her reading glasses, now hanging onto her nose by a thread. "And why does this come as a surprise? I read!"

"Mom, the last time I've seen you read was when I was six, and it was a Dr. Seuss book."

"Well, maybe I'm working on a new me," she says it proudly, a smile on her face, and I can't deny that it's true. My mom has changed so much in the short time that we've been here. Sure, she's gotten tanner and more toned due to her work outside, but there's something else about her. Her smile seems more real, like unplugging from the real world has allowed her to truly find happiness. She deserves it, especially after what she's been through with my dad.

Her newfound joy is enough to make me want to throw myself into this town and embrace it with every fiber of my being, but I stop myself. No. I have a life back home, one that I enjoy very much. Unlike my mom, my baggage doesn't lie there, and with Nick, it seems like if I was to have any, it would be right here.

"Well, good for you," I say, sitting down across the table from her. "I'm happy that your doing well here. You deserve it." She flashes me a strained smile, and all the pain that she's endured in Ohio goes unsaid between us.

She sets down her book, folding her glasses and placing them on top. "So, how have things been going with Nick?"

I can't hide my face when she asks me. It would be a much easier question to ask how things aren't going with Nick. I want to dislike him so badly, or be indifferent at the very least, but I'm incapable. Despite every stupid thing he does, I can't fight the fact that for some god-forsaken reason I care.

But after tonight, it's apparent that he doesn't feel the same way. If he doesn't care about himself, there's no way that he can care about anyone else. And even if he did care about his own well-being, I doubt his terrible attitude towards me would budge.

But since that would be too wordy to say, I settle for, "It's not going the best."

My mom looks shocked. "What? You guys used to be inseparable as kids! I bet if you just put in some more effort you too would get along great."

"I'm trying Mom, I really am, but it's like he has it out for me. I've never had anyone dislike me so much. If you knew just how much of a m insufferable jerk-" I clamp my hands over my mouth, not meaning to let that last part slip. My mom's gaze grows stern.

"Now you listen to me Leighton, you better try to get to know Nick or else we are not going home in time to make your Spring Fling."

What? I've been looking forward to this since spring. There was no way that I wasn't going to go.

"That's not fair! I promise I am trying!"

"Try harder, or else you can kiss going to that dance with Jack goodbye. And don't speak about Nick like that ever again." If she knew how difficult Nick could be, she would take back her ultimatum. But instead, she's standing firm, and taking my dreams along with her.

It's all Nick's fault. If he could just keep his bipolar attitude towards me happy for a sustained period of time, then I wouldn't be in this mess. But instead, he prefers to be an emotional yoyo, yanking me in all sorts of directions until me head hurts and I want to vomit.