Page 103 of Don't Leave
Once in the kitchen, Cole fills two bowls with cereal before saturating the flakes in milk.
“Eat up,” he says with a wink before shoveling a spoonful into his mouth. After he swallows it down, he adds, “You’re going to need all your energy.”
A giggle slips free as I spoon Frosted Flakes into my mouth. As we finish our bowls, his phone chimes with an incoming message. He picks up the slim device and glances at the screen.
His gaze flicks to mine. “It’s my mom. She’s going to drop off some laundry I left at the house over the weekend.”
My heart stutters as my eyes widen.
Dr. Thompson who also happens to be Cole’s mother.
My teeth sink into my lower lip as an internal debate gets waged in my brain.
Do I tell him that his mother was my therapist?
Or do I bury it in the back of my mind since I’m no longer one of her clients?
“Cassidy?” My gaze jerks back to him and I see all the questions that now swim around in his golden depths. “Are you all right?”
“Umm, yeah.” A fresh wave of nerves skitters across my flesh. “I’m fine.”
The problem is that I can’t have any more secrets sitting between us.
His brows pinch together. “Are you sure?”
Heat fills my cheeks as I force out the words. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
I blink as Cole swallows up the distance between us and sweeps me up into his arms before settling at one of the kitchen chairs. His arms stay wrapped protectively around me as he holds me close.
“So, tell me,” he murmurs against my hair.
I stare at my fingers, which are knotted together in my lap. “The dinner at your house wasn’t the first time I met your mother.”
His body stills beneath mine.
I push the rest out in a jumble, “I had met her in August at the counseling center.” There’s a pause. “She was my therapist.”
Air gets wedged in my throat as I sit frozen on his lap and wait for his reaction. My muscles are locked so tight that it feels as if I could shatter into a million jagged pieces. The idea of getting back together for a few short hours only to lose him all over again would very likely kill me.
When he remains silent, everything just pours out of my mouth. “I didn’t know she was your mother. You don’t have the same last name. It never occurred to me that she might be related to you.”
When he continues to remain silent, fear slides down my spine and I begin to babble. “She knows everything about our relationship, Cole. Like us sleeping together and that we were using condoms. But, umm, I haven’t seen her professionally since I realized she was your mother.” There’s a pause before I add, “Actually, I saw her on campus before Thanksgiving break and we cleared the air.”
I really wish it were possible to sink into the floor and disappear.
It’s the shaking of his body that has me glancing up. A frown tugs at the corners of my mouth as my brows pinch together. He can’t possibly be…
Laughing.
Oh my God, the guy is actually laughing!
“Cole!” I screech. All the embarrassment from moments ago ebbs as anger fills the void instead. “Are you seriously laughing about this?”
“Sorry.” His shoulders tremble. “I knew something had to be wrong. That dinner went to total shit as soon as my mom walked through the door, but I couldn’t figure out what it was.”
When he continues to chuckle, I slap his T-shirt covered chest before trying to jump off his lap.
“It’s not funny,” I seethe. “She knows everything about our relationship because I told her! I talked to her about going on the pill.” I drag a hand over my face. “Do you have any idea how blindsided I felt when she walked through that door, and I realized that the woman I’d been confiding in was none other than my boyfriend’s mother?”
