My chest tightens at the mere mention of his name. I’m still drowning in guilt. I’ve been trying not to think about Dean too much, but it’s difficult. It’s hard to ignore the fact that I hurt him. Bile rises in my throat, but I swallow hard and blow out some air. “He knows,” I murmur quietly, unable to meet my mom’s eyes. “It’s over. He hates us.”
“Oh, Eden,” Mom says, her lips pursing in sympathy. She must see the way my expression shifts and she must surely notice the way Tyler rubs my thigh as though to make me feel slightly better, because she frowns at the two of us before she says, “I’m sorry about Dean. He was a nice kid.” Her words only make me want to burst into tears, and she must notice, because she quickly attempts to lighten the mood by asking, “So from now on whenever I see Liz at the grocery store, do I have to give her the my-kid-broke-your-kid’s-heart smile? Or would you rather I kept my head down and kept walking?”
“Mom,” I say sternly. “Be serious right now. You really don’t care?” Just to be clear again, I motion between Tyler and me.
“Of course, it’s not ideal,” Mom admits, “but know that if you go ahead with this, I doubt it’ll be easy. You’re going to get people who won’t like it. You’re going to get people who won’t support you. But when it comes to me, I don’t mind. Who can blame you?” She throws a dazzling grin in Tyler’s direction, her eyes sparkling as she gives me an understanding nod. It’s almost horrifying, in fact, given that she’s, like, forty.
“Mom!” I gasp, mortified. When I look at Tyler, he’s blushing a little sheepishly as he laughs under his breath. And as though to validate my mother’s point, I notice that his eyes have begun to smolder. It wouldn’t even surprise me if he’s doing it on purpose. That’s just Tyler.
Jack pats Mom’s thigh quickly and gets to his feet, playfully shaking his head in disapproval. “I don’t know about you guys, but I definitely need some coffee. And Karen? Stay away from the teenagers.” Winking at her, he moves around the couch and heads over to the kitchen. Gucci gets up and follows.
Mom rolls her eyes at Jack and then leans back against the couch, crossing one leg over the other. “So I take it you haven’t told your father and Ella?”
“Not yet,” Tyler answers for me, shifting his body to the edge of the couch and leaning forward slightly. He clears his throat after having been silent for a long while. “That’s what we’re doing next.”
“You guys are brave,” Mom says as the coffee machine churns to life in the background. “Good luck.”
“We’ll need it,” I say, smiling. Pushing Tyler’s hand off my leg, I get to my feet and reach for my mom’s hands, pulling her up from the couch and drawing her tightly into my arms. Acceptance. Again. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get over how great it feels. “Thanks, Mom. Honestly. Thank you,” I whisper, burying my face into her shoulder as I hug her close against me.
“Hey, I’m okay with anything you decide as long as it makes you happy,” she tells me. As she pulls away from me and steps back, I think she’s just about to smile, but then her expression falters. She grasps my wrist, examining the scabbing words on my skin. “What the hell is this?”
I smile wide and pull my wrist away from her. Quickly, I spin around and reach for Tyler, sliding my hand into his and yanking him up from the couch. I think I almost dislocate his shoulder in the process. “Sorry, Mom, gotta go!” I call, pulling Tyler toward the front door. I let go of him, rushing into the kitchen to grab my car keys from the key holder on the wall, almost tripping over Gucci at the exact same time. Jack raises his eyebrows at me, but I shrug and dash back over to Tyler, who’s grabbing his bag from the floor.
“Eden!” Mom yells, but I’m already over the threshold.
“Your kid is way too reckless!” Tyler calls back into the house, wholeheartedly laughing as he pulls the front door shut behind us. He’s still laughing as he jogs to catch up with me, his lips moist and his eyes soft. Neither of us expected the past five minutes to go down the way they just did. Neither of us expected it to be so easy.
“Next up,” I say, my voice mocking that of a TV commentator, “we have the ultimate showdown.” Unlocking my car, I run around to the driver’s side and slip inside, starting up the engine. It feels a little odd being behind the wheel of my car again.
Tyler throws his bag onto the backseat before he jumps into the passenger seat, a lopsided smile playing on his lips. “Just think,” he says as he pulls the door shut behind him, “this is the final time we ever have to do this.”