A Little's Enough

Teigann's POV

My phone buzzed in my pocket just moments after getting in the car. Hoping it would be a response to my message from earlier, I took it out eagerly.

-Hey Teigh, boxing day shopping 2day??-

I sighed, reading the message from Toby. It was sort of a tradition that we went to the mall on boxing day. We called it shopping but half the time we went home, only having spent money on cheap mall food. I decided it would be rude not to answer right away, so I typed up a quick response.

-hey Tobes, maybe. going to see theresa. see how that goes first. call you after.-

It seemed silly that I had expected any kind of response earlier. I had tried to give my mom warning at least, instead of just showing up on the doorstep. I just hoped that she'd let me in.

"Teigann?" Gerard's voice broke me out of my thoughts.
"Sorry." I felt myself blushing. "Deep in thought I guess, I missed whatever you just said."
"I thought so. Are you okay?" He glanced at me briefly while stopping at a traffic light. He looked a little bit worried.
"Yes. I think I'm just nervous that she won't want to talk to me. It's been a month... I'm sure she'll assume I'm there to argue." I looked down at my lap, biting my lip out of habit.
"I hope that's not the case." He reached over, taking hold of my hand and squeezing gently just as we began to drive again. I hoped so too.

When we pulled into the driveway of my former home, my heart sunk. A car I didn't recognize was in the driveway. I had been hoping to catch her alone. I looked over to Gerard as I unbuckled my seatbelt, a nervous expression on my face.
"I know I said I wanted to do this alone, but do you think you could come in with me? I'm just scared now..." I looked down again. I was really wishing I hadn't lost all the confidence I woke up with that morning.
"Of course sugar. I'll be right there behind you." he answered, bringing his hand up to cup my cheek. "Everything will be just fine, okay?" He gave me a small reassuring smile. I nodded in response, taking a deep breath before moving to exit the car.

It felt as if I had bricks tied to my feet as I climbed the few steps up the front porch. The better part of my brain was freaking out and wanting to run, but I knew I had to get this off my chest. Before I knocked, I quickly removed my ring from my hand and slipped it into my pocket. I had to do things one thing at a time, telling her about the engagement ring right now would not help our situation. I knocked three times and tried to keep my breathing even as I waited for someone to answer the door.

A moment later, I heard a muffled voice getting closer to the door. I grabbed Gerard's hand and squeezed tight. As she opened the door, her jaw dropped a bit in shock. But within seconds she was moving closer to wrap her arms around me, causing me to let go of Gerard's hand.
"Hi mom." I breathed, noticing I had actually been holding my breath. "Sorry to just show up like this." I squeezed her tight.
"It's so good to see you Teigann. And you Gerard." She looked up at him once she let me go from the hug. "Come in, please. It's cold out here." She turned around, motioning for us to follow.

We all sat in the living room, and I immediately noticed that no one else was there.
"Mom, who does the car belong to out there?" I asked curiously, knowing that all I was doing was stalling.
"Teigann, quite a bit has happened in the time you've been gone. I wanted to call you and let you know but I was ashamed of myself and didn't think you'd hear me out. I was embarrassed." She looked distressed. "I'm sorry I didn't get your message this morning, but I've had to change my number." Her eyes brimmed with tears and she bit at her lip the same way I did when I was upset.
"It's okay mom." I gave her a sympathetic look to let her know it was okay to say whatever she needed to say.

"Maybe I should leave the two of you to sort through this." Gerard cleared his throat and shifted in his seat, about to get up.
"No, it's okay Gerard. No need to give us privacy. You've clearly been taking good care of my daughter, it's fine if you stay." My mom smiled sadly at him.
He looked to me, as if asking my permission and I nodded once at him before clasping his hand with my own.

"What happened mom?" I asked, forgetting my previous question which had been left unanswered.
"I left Brian." She answered, her voice flat.
My eyes went wide as she continued.

"When you left, I got into a big argument with him. I blamed him for everything, me losing you. He got violent with me. It wasn't the first time, but it was certainly the last. I was in the hospital for a week. He broke a few of my ribs and beat me up pretty bad." A tear slid down her cheek as she tried to blink the rest back.
I choked back my own tears.

"They mostly kept me in the hospital for my safety. While I was there, he called my phone a bunch of times, left threatening messages. So once I was out I got a new number, a restraining order and your uncle helped me pay for that car out there."

I sat in shock of the horrors my mother had been through.
Gerard was the first to speak. "That's why you used to be gone for weeks at a time."
Even though I could tell it was a question, he posed it as a statement. A statement my mother confirmed a moment later. More tears escaped her eyes as she nodded.
"I didn't want Teigann seeing me in that state so I often stuck it out at his house until I looked less battered."

I instantly stood from my spot on the couch and moved to embrace my mom, sitting in the black chair just a few feet away. We cried into each other for a few moments, before I needed to blow my nose desperately. Gerard was at the ready, reaching out to us with a box of kleenex in hand.

"Mom, I'm so sorry. I didn't know." I felt unbelievably guilty for our falling out and for leaving her.
"No Teigann, you listen to me. I'm sorry for letting you down. Because Brian or no Brian, I DID let you down. I didn't act like a parent. I should have been there for you. I should have made sure that you were taken care of, made sure you were happy. That's all I've ever wanted for you honey. I just want you to be happy."

It was as if she had taken the words out of my mouth. "That's why I came mom. I just wanted to apologize for everything. I just wanted to let you know that I wanted you to be happy. I didn't want to lose you completely."