^^Above is Athena's outfit for the day.
My first month of senior year flew by before I knew it. It was already the end of September, which means I'm going to be seeing my mom soon. Great, I thought. I really, really, really don't want to see my mom.

She left us and didn't even give my dad an explanation why. My gut was telling me that I knew why she left, but I'm ignoring it because if it's true then that means it's my fault that she left. Today was the last Friday in September and I had arranged to meet with my mother tomorrow. We were supposed to meet in this small cafe just outside the city.

Right now I'm sitting on the bleachers in PE wondering what I'm going to do when I see her. Knowing me, I'll probably do something stupid like freak out on her or toss a drink at her. I get my temper from my mother. It's one thing I don't like about myself.

"Hey. Why don't you come join my game of basketball?" I looked over at Leo who had sat down next to me some time while I was spacing out and laughed in his face.

"Me? Play basketball? No thank you. I would like to keep my face just the way it is," I replied. "Suit yourself. I just saw you over here and you looked bored." Leo looked down at his shoes and sighed. This silence was getting more awkward by the second. "So, is that all you wanted?" I asked.

"Not really. I wanted to know what you are doing tomorrow?" My eyes widened when he asked me this. Why did he want to know? It isn't any of his business. My mind flashed back to the meeting with my mother and my face hardened. "I'm busy," I grumbled.

His face fell.

"Oh well. What I was going to say doesn't matter. I hope whatever you are doing you are having fun."

"I doubt it," I mumbled under my breath.

Some of the guys playing basketball were waving at Leo, telling him to come back to the game. "Looks like I have to go. See you around AJ."

He leaped down the bleachers and over to his friends.

I couldn't help it. My heart skipped a beat at hearing him call me AJ. I always got angry at him when he called me AJ, but deep down I really didn't mind. It's just a stupid childhood nickname anyway.

I know some girls hate it when they got called nicknames but Leo was stuck on this one and I knew he was never going to stop calling me AJ so  might as well stop fighting it. The only nicknames I absolutely hate are babe and honey. They just gross me out.

At least he doesn't call me those names.

---

Saturday morning rolled around way too quickly.

It felt like somebody had skipped ahead to this day just to torment me. My father was already up and making breakfast for Via and I. My stomach howled like a wolf at the moon when the scent of bacon drifted into my room. Damn, my dad really knows how to make me get out of bed. He probably did this on purpose, knowing I wouldn't want to get up today.

My feet carried me down the stairs and into the kitchen as my mind though about what was to come. "I made you some bacon and eggs. There's apple or orange juice in the fridge. Take your pick," he said as he slid a plate over to me. I mumbled a thanks and dug in.

Half an hour later I was showered and standing in front of my closet in just a towel, trying to decide what to where.

If I'm being honest, I'm really nervous. I haven't seen my mother in years, so I have no idea what to expect. Maybe she got married again and has another kid that I don't know about. My heart aches at the thought, but it's a very real possibility.

My father always told me that when him and my mother were in college, she was the campus beauty. All the guys fell at her feet, but it was my father who caught her attention. My father says that I look just like my mom did when she was younger but I have a hard time believing that.

I'm not pretty or beautiful like my mom was. I'm just an average looking girl who wears glasses and baggie clothes.

I pushed clothes out of the way, trying to look at all my options. Eventually, I settled for a white, off-the-shoulder lace dress. The cafe we were going to looked nice from what I saw of the pictures online. I didn't want to show up wearing leggings and a baggy sweatshirt. Yes, I would way rather be wearing that, but I know I need to look presentable.

I dug through the back of my closet and found one of my only pair of heels. I grabbed the shoes and dress and walked into my bathroom to get ready. I quickly blow dried my hair then put it into a messy side braid and slipped on the dress. It was a little uncomfortable since I had to wear a strapless bra with it, but it would do.

After I got dressed, I put on my glasses and brown wedges and brushed my teeth before heading back downstairs.

"Dad, I'm leaving!" I shouted. My dad was watching some football game on TV and the only sign he heard me was a thumbs up from him. Typical. Whenever my dad watched basketball or football, he got so engrossed in it that sometimes he forgot about the rest of the world. He was a really good football and basketball player back in his day but an old knee injury prevented him from playing any longer.

I grabbed my keys off the key holder near the door and walked out. Via was still sleeping and she probably wouldn't be up for another hour at least. She stayed up late last night visiting her brother and didn't come back home until 2 in the morning.

The drive to the cafe would take 45 minutes since it was just outside the city. The city, Malibu, took about an hour to get there so I only ever go into the city on the weekends. Plus, Malibu is so far from Oakview and my dad gets worried if I go somewhere that's more than an hour away.

I am praying that there will be no traffic since it is a Saturday morning, but you never know. Some celebrity event could be going on and the city could be packed. It's happened before. One time when Via and I were in the city some singer was having a meet and greet at the same time we were in the city.

There were almost no available parking spots. We ended up parking 4 blocks away from the mall to stay away from all the people. Speaking of Via, I wish she was here right now. It would make it so much easier to face my mom if she was by my side.

She is the only one besides my dad that knows the true story about that night and why my mother left. She was there for me when I was at my worst. Via is more than a best friend. She is my sister.

That old saying that says blood is thicker than water is bullshit. My own biological mother left me for no reason and the only person who has always been there for me and who I can always count on is Via who I don't share any blood with.

---

The whole drive to the cafe, my mind kept wandering back to Leo. I shouldn't be thinking of him right now, but ever since I passed a billboard for slushies at the local gas station, he was all I could think about.

When we were little all 3 of us would walk to the local gas station and buy our usual snacks. A bag of spicy nacho Doritos and a cherry Pepsi for Via, a bag of sunflower seeds and a fruit punch Arizona for me, and a pack of Starbursts and a blue slushie for Leo.

Those were the times when he was actually nice to me. They didn't happen that often. I know it seems weird, and trust me I think it's extremely weird, but there's something different about him.

When we went to the gas station Leo would always pay for everything. I mean their mother did give him the money but he was the one who went up to the cashier and actually bought everything.

After we would buy the food we would go to the park 5 minutes away and just hang out for however long we felt like it. My father gave me an old flip phone that way I could text him when we were heading home. Leo was nice to us when he wanted to be.

He's not as mean as he was before and the way he acts in general is nicer. I mean sure, I have caught him flirting with a couple girls here and there, he goes to parties sometimes, and he rides a motorcycle, but he's actually not that bad. If this past month has taught me anything it's that some people really can change.

By the time I arrived at the cafe, my mind had completely forgotten about Leo. Now, it was taken over by floods of thoughts about my mother. I was extremely nervous and my palms were starting to get sweaty.

A bell rang above the door when I walked in, and the lady behind the counter looked up at me and smiled. I smiled back and turned to my left. The cafe was small, with the counter about 15 feet in front of the door, a small book section in the back left corner, and booths filling up the right wall.

On the left wall was a couple tables that could fit 4 people at max. Sitting in one of those tables was a lady whose back was turned to me. I could recognize her from here. She had the same wavy, brown hair that I did. Except, she chose to wear it down instead of up. The lady was wearing one of those fancy hats that royal people wear and was wearing a matching red dress.

The sound of my wedges clicking across the floor caused her to turn in my direction.

"Athena?"

"Mother," I replied, ice lacing my tone.

I tried to keep my tone indifferent, but the years of hate came hurdling to the surface, like a volcano about to explode. She gestured for me to sit down at the seat across from her. A latte was sitting in front of her, still steaming. Mom most likely just got here a couple minutes before I did.

"You've grown so much in the last 4 years. You look so much like me when I was your age," my mother said. I ignored her and stared out the window. Of course I looked like her, she is my mother after all, even if she did abandon me.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry for leaving the way I did. It was a really horrible thing to do and I regret it with all my heart. If I could take it back I would. When that night happened, I was consumed in grief and couldn't think straight. I became extremely depressed and miserable. Everything in life seemed pointless."

"A couple months after it happened, I couldn't take the grief anymore so I left. I left and never looked back." Every word she said was like driving a dagger straight into my heart. "My mind thought that the only logical thing to help me overcome the grief was to leave my family so I wouldn't be reminded of it every day. Now I realized that it was a stupid mistake to make. I should never have left."

"I wasn't in my right mind when I left, or when I divorced your father. Trust me on this, I really did love him. Our love for each other was already strained, but when the grief and the depression was clouding my mind, there was no telling what kind of horrible decisions I could have made. Leaving was by far the most painful thing I've ever done in my life, but I felt it had to be done. There's no going back and changing what happened or what I did. I'm truly sorry for that. I know saying sorry doesn't make up for everything, but please accept my apology."

In a way, I got what she was saying. After that night, I was never the same. I became depressed and closed off, not wanting to talk to anybody. But, Via and my father were there for me when my mother left and they brought me back to life. They are the ones that brought me back to reality. The reality that he is gone and I will never get him back.

All the grief and anger and pain I felt was directed towards my mom and the media. I had learned to live with it. But now, hearing my mom say all these things made me realize that no matter how much pain I was in, my mother was in just as much pain. All I wanted to do was reach across the table and hug her, but it was like somebody was pulling an invisible string, stopping me from doing so.

Somewhere deep inside me, it registered that no matter how much pain you are in, no matter how miserable you are, it's never an excuse to abandon your family. You can overcome the pain together and become stronger together. Leaving should have never even crossed her mind. the more I thought about it the angrier I got.

She had no right to just pack up and leave me and my father behind. Not when we were all in need of as much love and support as the next person.

"No."

-----

What happened that night? Why was Athena directing her emotions at the media? Who is him? Will she ever accept her mothers apology?

This chapter was fun for me to right. Sorry if I left it on a cliffhanger. If I continued to write, the chapter probably would have been over 2,500 words and I try to keep my word count between 2,000-2,500.

Anyways I hoped you guys enjoyed this chapter. Sorry if the scene wasn't super emotional. I have never felt this way before, so I am going off of what I read in books or have seen in movies/ TV shows. If you have any suggestions please leave a comment.

Don't forget to vote an comment!