Sanctuary

I woke up the following morning refreshed and ready to start the day. Today, it was purely a girls day, but I don't know how it's gonna start seeing I yelled at my mom last night. I hope we can smooth things over earlier than later.

"What are your plans today? Without your favorite person?" I asked, looking straight into his eyes.

"Without my favorite person? I thought that was Jack."

I jokingly pushed him.

"Don't be an ass."

"Gonna spend it with the guys doing who knows what."

"Well, don't do anything I wouldn't do. Scratch that. Just be a good boy. I'll be sure to bring you home some treats."

"I will. I love you." he said kissing me.

"I love you, too."

"Have a great day with your mom. I'm sure you two will smooth things over."

I smiled. That was reassuring and it came from myfavorite person.

"I will."

My mom came out of her room and into the living room when I kissed Alex one more time.

"Hi honey."

"Hi, Mom. You ready for an awesome day?”

“Of course. We need this.”

“See ya tonight.” I said to Alex.

“See ya.”

My mom said her goodbyes and off we went.

“How are you feeling this morning?” she asked.

“Better. Can we please clear the air about that screaming match?”

“I am truly sorry about what happened and you were right. I shouldn’t mention him in your presence.”

It felt so good to hear this.

“Thank you for saying this. That’s all I wanted to hear.”

I went in for a hug and got a big hug.

“Ok. Now that we have all this cleared up, what are we gonna do first aside from breakfast that is?”

“How does shopping sound? I have Alex’s credit card.” I said the second part in a sing-song voice.

Her jaw dropped.

“Did you steal that?”

“Nope. He lent it to me. I could never steal from someone who loves me more than anything.”

I knew she’d love this. Life has always been difficult for my mother and the woman deserves this even more than me.

“I love that man of yours. He seems like a dream and I have never seen you this happy in your entire life.”

“But things have been crazy the past couple months and not in a good way, in the worst possible way.”

“Abigail, what happened?”

I was about to break down.

“I was raped on the night my friends and I were celebrating Miranda’s birthday and my new job.”

The floodgates opened and my mom wrapped her arms around me. I sobbed into her shoulder and I just wanted to stay there.

“Oh my God.”

I pulled away from her a minute later and wiped my tears.

“I’ve developed PTSD since then and my rapist went on trial and was convicted.”

“I wish I was there for you when this all happened. When were you able to tell Alex?”

“That guy was stalking me in the club we were at. When I went outside in an attempt, he followed me and I called Alex. He was there before the police were and I don’t know how I would’ve survived all this without him to be quite honest.”

My mom started crying at this point.

“Mom, why are you crying?”

“I feel so horrible for not understanding when you said you had depression. This shit is unfortunately real and I hate it. I should’ve been there before, but I was a fucking idiot. You’re my daughter and it should’ve just come natural.”

“But, you finally understand it and that’s what matters most. Thank you. Thank you for finally getting it.”

She smiled at me.

“I love you.” she said.

“I love you, too. Can we listen to ATL today?”

“Of course. They’re your favorite band, aren’t they?”

I nodded.

“Jeez... who would’ve ever thought I’d bag Alex Gaskarth? I was crushing on the man as soon as I saw him. He’s just so fucking hot and I got him. It’s been nine years since I’ve seen that gorgeous face of his. OMG.”

My mom laughed and I put the car in drive and pulled out.

“And he’s practically already part of the family, too. Have you two set a date yet?”

“Not yet, but I wanna be married to him before the new album comes out in February. Then, they’ll be on tour and... yeah. Does planning a wedding in six months sound crazy?”

“I don’t think so. Plus, you guys are gonna get married in California, right?”

“Yeah.”

“So, I don’t see why not.”

“I’ll have a real discussion with him tomorrow.”

We had a great breakfast before we started shopping. I obviously have never been much of a shopper seeing as I’ve never been able to shop like the way I will be today. I felt a little weird about having his credit card, but if it’s for one day, I’ll certainly take advantage of it. Although it may be weird, I’m gonna buy some lingerie; I just have to. After a few shops, we got to one and I went in and I immediately began browsing.

“Are you looking for anything in specific?” a sales clerk asked a couple minutes later.

“No. Just browsing.”

I couldn’t believe I was in here with my mom. Since they also had bras, I’d also grab some of those. I looked all over for the right lingerie because I want his jaw to drop to the floor like characters in Looney Tunes. This would be the only second time of me getting lingerie; the first time I did was close to a year ago, so I was clearly overdue.

Now, what would look best with red hair...

The fact that my mom was looking for similar items made me uncomfortable, so I made it my mission to not see what she what she buys. My mom had her items rung up just as I was heading to checkout.

What a relief.

“Find what you wanted?” she asked.

“Yep. You?”

If I was with my friends, I probably would’ve said definitely, but this was certainly a different situation.

“Yeah.”

I threw my bag in the trunk to make sure we didn’t mix our bags because hell, we definitely don’t need that. The day was filled with a lot of shopping, lunch through a pickup window and a showing of where I work at.

“This place looks amazing and expensive.”

“It is and it’s also coincidentally where Alex and I had our first date.”

“No...”

“Yes.”

“He really did pull out all the tricks. Didn’t he?”

I nodded.

“Wanna go in and eat?” I asked.

“Honey, aren’t we a little underdressed?”

“Well, we do have some new clothes. We can find a place to change.”

“Are you serious?” she asked surprisingly.

“100%.”

“Then, yes.”

We found a nearby fast food restaurant and changed in the restroom. I never felt so awkward since my first date, but I didn’t care. We walked in and our hostess noticed me immediately.

“Party of 2? No Alex tonight?”

“No. He’s out with the guys. Just my mom and I.”

And off we were seated to a table.

“Is it even nicer inside, Mom?”

“Absolutely. It’s so awesome that you work here. You’re a chef. You’ve also enjoyed being in the kitchen every since you were little.”

We ordered dinner and I encouraged my mom to get a drink and she did. She got sangria and she absolutely loved it.

“Ugh. I love this place.”

I laughed.

“So do I. I can’t imagine working anywhere else. I used to work two jobs and could barely pay rent; I’m still amazed that I work here and I feel blessed.”

“You should be, Abby. You worked hard for this and for your life. You deserve this type of life.”

I smiled and teared up.

“Thank you, Mom. You have no idea how much that means to me.”

“You know I’d hug you now if I could.”

“I know.”

After a wonderful dinner, we headed back home and it was nine when we got home. Alex wasn’t home like I expected him to be.

“Wanna chill till Alex gets home or you too tired?”

“Sure. Wanna watch a movie?”

“Homeward Bound?”

This was my favorite movie growing up.

“Of course.”

Once we changed into jammies, I sat next to my mom and put it on. An hour later, I heard the door unlock and my fiancée come through the door. I instantly lit up when I saw him; he walked over and picked me up and I locked my legs around his waist.

“Hey.” he said.

“Hey. How was your day?”

“Great. Yours? Seems like you and your mom made up.”

“Yeah. She and I actually had a breakthrough before we left.”

I was extra happy when I said that.

“Really?”

“I’ll tell you about it later.”

“I love seeing you this happy. It’s what I live for.”

“Plus music.”

He let out a laugh.

“Your happiness is number one.”

I kissed him.

“I love you.” I said.

“I love you, too.” he said kissing me.

He sat down beside me toward the opposite end of the couch.

“How long’s your mom been asleep?”

“Maybe a half hour. We were watching Homeward Bound.”

“Your favorite movie as a kid.”

“Even though it brought on the waterworks. Don’t know whether or not I should wake her. She looks so cute.”

Alex laughed.

“I don’t think it would hurt to leave her. Grab me a blanket, please.” I told him.

Once he did, I covered her and we left the room, shutting the lights off and going into our bedroom. He quickly changed and sat beside me.

“So, tell me about your day.”

“Might as well talk about the breakthrough. She apologized for yesterday wholeheartedly. After she mentioned how happy I am, my rape and PTSD came up.”

I sighed and leaned my head back against the wall; I needed a second.

“She immediately hugged me. After talking about the trial, she apologized again; this time it was about my depression and how it should’ve just come natural to support me. She even broke down herself.”

He smiled and pulled me in close.

“So glad to hear that. That needed to happen.”

“It did and now, I’ll have my mom at our wedding.”

I was smiling again.

“Did you ladies have fun shopping? Wait... before you answer that. Did you get me any treats?”

“You could say that. You’re just gonna have to wait to get them.”

“Oh, those kind of treats?” he asked raising an eyebrow.

He pulled me into his lap.

“Yes. Those kinds of treats.”

We just started to makeout and he even began lifting my shirt. I grinded my hips into his, totally forgetting my mom was in the next room. I pulled away from him.

“We gotta stop. My mom.”

He groaned.

“You’re right.”

“Sorry, Alex.”

“Tomorrow night? Can we have it in writing?”

I laughed.

“Yeah. I’ll get a pen and paper.”

He laughed and pulled me in for one last kiss. I unhappily got off his lap and actually wrote it down.

“Wanna hear the rest of my day?” I asked as I laid my head on his chest.

“Absolutely. We did do a lot of shopping and eating. We ate at our restaurant.”

“Did you feel underdressed?”

“My mom and I changed into some new clothes in a fast food restroom.”

“No. You didn’t.”

“We did.”

I was laughing my ass off, so was he.

“You’re a riot. What’d she think?”

“She was in awe since she had never been in somewhere that nice and of me working there. She also said that 'he really pulled out all the tricks, didn’t he?'”

“Your mom is awesome.”

“And the best.”

Notes