Two is Better Than One

The following morning I woke up to the sun peeking through my curtains and warming my exposed skin. I was well aware of the fact that I wasn’t alone in my bed and that he was pressed against my back. I smiled and turned to look behind me and saw Jordan’s sleeping figure. I couldn’t stop the smile that was already on my face from getting bigger as I took in his features. He had a small smile on his lips and he looked younger than his twenty-one years. I resisted the urge to push the lock of hair that was hanging in his face away. I also resisted the urge to kiss his soft lips.

Slowly and carefully I made my way to get up, but the pair of strong arms that were around my waist tightened, making it impossible for me to move.

“No, just lay here.” He whined without even opening his eyes.

“Jord, I have to pee.” I told him, whining a little myself.

He sighed and let me go, but not before giving me a kiss. I smiled and crawled out of bed and went into the bathroom. When I looked at myself in the mirror I had to laugh, I had at least two hickeys on my neck and my hair was a mess. I totally had, ‘I just had sex last night’ written all over me. But I couldn’t stop smiling because last night had been the best night ever. The Penguins won, I got to hang out with my friends and have a great time, and Jordan and I moved our relationship to the next level.

I went back into my room and was about to crawl back into bed with Jordan, but the sound of the doorbell ringing stopped me. I groaned and looked at the clock next to where Jordan was laying, quarter after ten.

“I swear to God, if that’s one of the guys I’m going to kill them.” I told Jordan as I buttoned up his shirt from last night.

Jordan just chuckled and watched me walk down the hallway. I grabbed the ponytail holder that was sitting on the breakfast bar and put my hair up before opening the door. I had a smart ass comment ready to throw at whatever hockey player was on the other side, but I stopped short when I saw a familiar person standing in front of me. I was suddenly very aware of the fact that I had nothing on besides my boyfriend’s shirt, I had huge marks on my neck, and I probably smelled like sex. But none of that mattered when I looked at the women standing before me. She looked worse than I did. Her hair was in a messy bun with pieces falling out, her clothes were all wrinkled, and she had bruises on her face. She was also crying.

“Mom,” I gasped, pulling her inside and shutting the door. “What happened to you?” I asked, even though I’m pretty sure I knew the answer.

My mother didn’t answer me, she just wrapped her arms around my neck and sobbed. I held her tight and rubbed her shaking back. That man hurt my mother, I know he did. Seeing her like this broke my heart because we were like best friends.

“Babe, who was at the door? You didn’t kill anyone did you?” Jordan asked coming into the living room wearing only his pants from last night. When he saw me holding my mom he stopped dead in his tracks. “Oh shit.” was all he said.

At the sound of Jordan’s voice, my mom took a step away from me and looked between Jordan and I. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know you had someone over.” She whispered.

“Mom, it’s no big deal. Company or not you need me.” I sent Jordan a small smiled. “You remember Jordan don’t you mom?”

“Of course I do. It’s nice to see you again Jordan, even though the situation once again isn’t all that great.” She said, with a small laugh.

Jordan walked over to my mother and pulled her into a hug. “It’s great to see you too, Ms. Summers.”

“Oh please, call me Shannon.”

“Shannon then.” He smiled. He release my mother and looked at me. “I’m going to head up to my apartment. I’ll see you later okay?” He said, slipping on his jacket and shoes.

I nodded, sad to see him leave but was thankful at the same time. “Okay, I’ll call you later.” He walked over to me and placed a sweet kiss on my lips. “Thank you.” I whispered.

“No problem, call me.”

I nodded and opened the door for him. He placed another kiss on my lips before heading for the steps. I shut the door and turned to my mother, who was staring at me with a small smile on her face.

“I really am sorry for barging on you two like that.” She said, clearly aware of what we did last night. “But I had to leave, I just had to.” She began sobbing again.

“Mom, what happened?”

She shook her head and placed her hand on her stomach. Instantly fear ripped through me, the baby was hurt.

“Why don’t you go shower and change? I’ll make us something to eat and then I can explain everything.” Mom said, standing up. “And don’t worry, there is nothing wrong with the baby.”

I kissed her on the cheek and quickly went to shower. I knew what she was going to tell me, Steven finally snapped. I showered quickly and changed into yoga pants and a Penguins shirt. By the time I made it to the dining room, mom had just placed a plate of eggs and bacon on the table.

“Where’s Alaina?” She asked looking around

“She stayed with Sidney last night.”

“Ah, so you were both with your men last night.” I nodded. “How was it?”

I had just taken a bite of egg and her question caused me to choke on it. “Wh-what?” I asked her.

“The sex, how was it?”

What? “Um…” I trailed off, not really sure how to answer her. I mean she was my mother and one doesn’t go telling their mothers about the night of sex they had with their significant others.

“Oh, sweetie come on. I’m an adult after all. You answered the door wearing his shirt and you have hickeys on you neck. Not to mention you smelled like it too.”

I blushed and looked down at my food. This was going to be an awkward conversation.

“Allie, there is nothing to be ashamed of. You’re an adult and adults have sex. Just please tell me that you were safe.”

I nodded without really hearing what she said, I just wanted to get this part of our conversation over with. I just kept my mouth shut and continued eating breakfast. Mom got the hint and started eating her food. We ate in silence, both of us avoiding certain conversations. Finally when we were done and I cleared the dishes, I sat across from my mom and waited.

“So, why are you here? What happened back home?” I asked her quietly

Quickly, unshed tears filled my mother’s beautiful brown eyes. She looked down at her hands. “I told Steven.”

“Yeah you were going to tell him at Christmas.” Then it hit me. “You didn’t tell him did you?”

My mom shook her head and looked at me. “I couldn’t, he got so drunk at his parents’ house and I didn’t want to tell him when he was drunk. So I waited. I was going to tell him soon but I just kept putting it off.”

“Why?”

She took a deep breath. “Because I was afraid of him, of this.” She said pointing to the black eye she had. “So, two days ago I told him. Just flat out told him that I was pregnant.”

“What happened after you told him that?” I asked

“At first he was happy, but as the night went on he started get angry. We ended up fighting and he stormed out of the house and didn’t come back until yesterday afternoon. He started yelling at me again and said I was no better than you, which was true.”

I cut her off. “Mom, you are better than me. Don’t let him bring you down like that. You are the most wonderful, strong and loving person I know.” I told her standing up and giving her a hug. “I’m guess after he told you that he hit you?’

She nodded. “Repeatedly. I knew he was really aiming for my stomach, but I managed to keep him from hurting the baby. I just let him keep hitting me and praying that he wouldn’t hurt the baby. That night I told him he couldn’t stay the night, that I didn’t want to look at his face. As soon as he was gone, I packed my bags, went to the bank, and then got a cab to the airport and here I am.”

I sighed and rubbed my forehead. “I’m so sorry mom, and I know you don’t want to hear this, but I told you so. I told you he was a horrible person.”

“I know, and I’m sorry I didn’t believe you when you first told me you didn’t like him.” She hugged me tightly “I love you honey.”

“I love you, too, mom. You’re staying here, no excuses.”

She laughed and hugged me again. “You are so my daughter. You don’t mind if I stay here do you? I can go to a hotel.” Just gave her the look I had given her my entire teenage life. She knew that look and started laughing. “Okay, okay. But what about Alaina? Will she mind?”

“I don’t think so, and if she does then too bad. You’re not going back to California unless you absolutely have to.” As I said this, I grabbed my phone and sent Alaina a text.

NEW MESSAGE TO: Best Friend Forever <3

Can you come home now? I need to talk to you. ASAP

I hit send and almost instantly there was a reply.

NEW TEXT: Best Friend Forever <3

Yea, I’ll get Sid to drive me. What’s up?

REPLY: Best Friend Forever <3

Mom showed up at the door this morning, I’ll fill u in later.

NEW TEXT: Best Friend Forever <3

Oh shit, yeah I’ll be there in like five minutes

I looked at my mom who had gotten a second plate of food. “Mom, why don’t you go shower? Alaina is on her way home so we can talk everything over then. Don’t worry about anything okay. You are more than welcome here.”

“Thank you Allie.” She smiled, heading to the bathroom.

“No need to thank me, I’m your daughter it’s expected of me.” I laughed.

“But you’re not supposed to be taking me in, I’m supposed to be taking you in.”

“Well we were never normal.”

“True.” She kissed my cheek and went into the bathroom.

The water turned on and I sighed, resting my head against the glass table top. I knew something like this was going to happen. As soon as she told me she was pregnant, I knew. Now she was here beaten and scared. I stood up from the table and cleared it off, the buzzing of my phone making me jump. I looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Jordan. The smile that broke across my face was automatic. Images from last night flooding my mind.

“Hey,” I said, a bit breathlessly.

“Hey, is everything okay?” He asked, concern evident in his voice.

I sighed, “Well that all depends what everything is. If you mean my mom, yes she’s fine except for the black eye and scratches. The baby is fine as well, so yeah I guess everything is okay.”

“How about you? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I guess so. I’m pissed about what happened even though I knew this was going to. I’m just glad they are both okay.”

”Me too, well I just called to see of you needed anything and if everything was okay.”

“Thanks Jordan, but we’re good for right now. If you want come on down later, I bet mom would like the company too.”

”Yeah, maybe. I’ll let you two have your time together though.”

I smiled, he was so thoughtful. “Thanks Jordan. I’m going to go because Alaina just got home and I think mom is out of the shower. I’ll call you later okay?”

“Okay, babe. Talk to you later. Bye.”

“Bye Jord.”

I hung up my phone and turned to my best friend, who was just standing there staring at me. “What?” I asked

“Why are you in such a good mood despite what happened?” She asked, heading to the kitchen for coffee.

“No reason.”

She stopped dead in her tracks and turned to look at me. I knew that look, she caught on. “OhmyGod!” she said rather loudly and then looked around for my mom. Once she didn’t see her she lowered her voice into a harsh whisper. “You two had sex last night didn’t you? That’s why you left so early.”

I bit my lip and nodded. “Don’t worry ‘bout keeping it quiet though, Mom already knows.” I blushed.

“How does she know?”

“I kinda sorta answered the door in nothing but Jordan’s shirt.”

Alaina smacked herself in the head. “God, Allie, have I not taught you anything?” She laughed.

“I didn’t know it was my mother.”

“But still, you answered the door in a button up shirt. People are going to know what you did the night before.”

“Okay, okay I get it.” I laughed and threw a balled up napkin at my best friend.

A few minutes later my mom emerged from the bathroom with a towel on her head.

“Hello there Alaina, how are you?” She asked taking a seat on the couch.

“I’m good, Mama. How are you?”

“Good, all things considering.”

“Yeah, Allie told me. I’m so sorry.”

My mom nodded and looked at me with a sad smile. “I’ll be okay.” She hugged the both of us.

For the next hour or so the three of us tried to work out a plan. We talked about mom staying here permanently, about the baby, about everything. Mom was slowly falling asleep on the couch so I sent her to my room to sleep.

I turned to look at Alaina who was texting someone, most likely Sidney. “So, how are we going to do this?” I asked her. Plopping on the couch with a loud sigh. “I’m not turning her away at all. She’s my mother, but we don’t have that much room. It’s not like we are at Kris and Jordan’s apartment. We are one room short.”

“I might have a way we can fix this.” She looked up from her phone and at me. “What if I move in with Sidney?” She said, quietly.

“What? No, you don’t have to leave. Layn, this is your place as much as it is mine.”

“Allie, you spend more time here then I do anyway. I spend almost all my free time at Sidney’s, even when he’s not there.”

“I don’t know, I like having you around even if it’s only for a day or two.” I smiled, sadly.

“It’s not like I’m moving to another state. I’m just going to be about five minutes away. I can come over almost everyday.” She sighed.

“How does Sidney feel about this?” I asked, biting the inside of my lip. I didn’t want to lose my best friend because of my mother.

She smiled and looked at me. “He’s the one who suggested it. Allie, I don’t think I’ve told you this and I’m sorry. But, I’m in love with him. I’m pretty sure he’s the one.”

I gasped dramatically. “Not the one.” I giggled. I always knew Alaina would be the first to fall hard and fast for a guy out of the two of us. “Alaina, that’s wonderful. I’m so happy for you and I’m pretty sure Sidney feels the same way.” I smiled.

She blushed and looked down at her phone. It would shock everyone to know that Alaina was actually really shy, especially when she was near a guy she liked or thought was cute. So when her relationship took off so quickly with Sidney I was shocked, but I knew she was choosing the right guy. It’s only a matter of time before I’ll be shopping for my maid of honor’s dress. I smiled to myself and got up from my spot. I walked past Alaina and smacked the back of her head.

“What was that for?” She asked, shocked.

“I don’t know, I just felt like doing that.” I laughed. “I’m going to go up to Jordan’s.”

“Okay, Sidney’s coming over anyways.”

I just shook my head and slipped my feet into my ballet flats. I pulled my Penguins hoodie over my head and made my way to the steps to Jordan and Kris’ apartment. I knocked on the door and waited for someone to open it, it ended up being Kris.

“’ey, Allie, ‘ow are ya?” He asked, opening the door more so I could walk in.

“Eh, okay I guess. My mom showed up on my door step this morning.”

“Yeah, Jord told me that. Is everything okay?”

“I guess, I’m not totally sure right now.” I looked around the living room and kitchen for my boyfriend. “Where is Jordan?”

“In his room.” Kris said, heading back to the couch where I assume he was before I knocked on the door.

“Thanks.” I said heading to Jordan’s room. I knocked lightly and pushed the door open when I heard a response. “Hey.” I said, looking at him. He was wearing grey sweat pants and a simple black t-shirt.

He looked from the television to me and smiled, and my stomach flip-flopped. “Hey,” He said. “You okay?” He sat up and I went over to his bed and laid down next to him

I shook my head yes, but said “No.”

Jordan chuckled. “Which one is it? Yes or no?”

I sighed. “I don’t know. How on Earth am I supposed to act in this situation? I love my mom to death and I want her to feel safe, but at the same time I want jump on a plane and kick Steven’s ass from here to kingdom come.” I looked up a Jordan, who was rubbing my back soothingly. “Jordan, he beat my mother. I knew something like this was going to happen, I just knew it. I’m afraid that he’s going to try and hurt her again and on top of all that, Alaina might be moving in with Sidney.” All of a sudden, tears were running down cheeks.

“Allie, what’s wrong?” Jordan asked, concern lacing his voice.

“I feel like I’m losing my best friend even thought I know I’m not. She already spends a ton of time with Sidney and now she might be moving in with him. I don’t want her to leave just because my mom is going to be moving in with me.”

“Well it’s not like she’s going to be far away and it’s not like you’re not going to see her at the games and all that.” Jordan placed a finger under my chin and lifted it so I was looking at him. “Babe, you guys are at the age where you both are going to be starting to settle down. I know you love her, but if she’s ready to move on in her relationship with Sidney, you’re going to have to let her.” He kissed my forehead. “As for the situation with your mom, I know you’ll be okay.”

I leaned up and kissed Jordan. “You are amazing do you know that?” I asked him.

He shrugged and pulled me into him. “I’ve been told that a few times. Why am I amazing this time?”

“Because you are right, but I just don’t want to lose Alaina because she is like my sister. But she is ready to take the next step in her relationship then I’ll be happy for her. I know she’s really happy with Sidney and he’s a great guy.”

“He is and don’t tell Alaina this, but he is head over heels in love with her.”

“Well she is head over heels in love with him too.” I chuckled. “It wouldn’t surprise me if they ended up engaged by the end of the season.”

“Me either.” Jordan adjusted our position so now we were both laying down. “Why don’t we take a little nap, since we didn’t sleep much last night.”

I giggled and snuggled into my boyfriend. Being in his arms made everything go away, made me feel better. The two of us woke up about two hours later. Kris had Leah over, so the four of us had dinner together. It was nice having a ‘double date’ with them, even if we didn’t leave the apartment. We were away from the hockey world for a couple hours and we all enjoyed ourselves, laughing and joking around. After dinner we watched a movie and when that was done I made my way back to my apartment.

For the rest of the night mom, Alaina, and I watched movies and tried to forget about why mom was really here. Alaina gave up her room for mom and she slept on the couch and I couldn’t thank her enough for that. As I laid in bed I tried to think of the best way to assess this situation. Mom moving in was the obvious solution, but how were we going to keep her safe? Steven was going to show up at my door step eventually and we had to be prepared for that. I got comfortable in my bed and closed my eyes, trying to forget about what happened to my mom.