I didn’t want to go back home and be alone. I couldn’t go to school to talk with Mary. Everything that seemed right before had suddenly gone wrong. There was only one place for me to go, and that was the diner.

I knew it was a mistake the moment I arrived there. It was still pretty early in the morning, though I’d driven slowly to get there, so it was almost eight in the morning. But there was still the usual morning crowd. The room didn’t look too full from the outside, but I knew in less than half an hour, all the tables would be full.

Also, my mom was in there. What the hell was I going to say to her? She’d been so happy for me that morning; I didn’t want to make her upset when she saw the state I was in. But I probably needed to talk to her about this. She’d be even angrier if I tried to keep it from her, after all.

I glanced at the seat next to me, where all the food I’d made waited and sighed as I left it in the car. I wiped my eyes carefully, using the side mirror, then took a deep, fortifying breath, and walked into the diner.

There were a few people here and there, thankfully, no one that I knew. I walked up to the counter, doing my best to ignore the people around me, and waited for the girl that stood there to look up and notice I was there. She did after a minute, her eyes widening a little in her surprise, but then she smiled.

“Jessica! Hi. I heard the school was closed down for the day from your mom, but I didn’t expect you to show up here. She said you had plans.”

I felt my throat close up, even as I tried to smile normally. I wasn’t sure I made it, but I hadn't expected my mom to go around telling people what I was up to. Of course, she didn’t seem to know exactly what that was, so I was grateful for small mercies.

“I’d like to talk to my mom,” I said, after swallowing the lump in my throat. “Is she in the kitchen or her office?”

The girl laughed. “You know what your mom is like! This early, she’s still in the kitchen, and she’ll stay there until ten or eleven before taking a break.”

I pursed my lips and frowned, distracted for the moment. “Doesn’t she take more rest? I know I asked her to…”

“She does on some days, but there are others where she’s just stubborn. Don’t worry, though. We wouldn’t let her overwork herself. If she looks even a little bit tired, we convince her to sit down while we take over.”

Her voice was strong with her determination, and I smiled more naturally. Mom was good at surrounding herself with good people. But then my smile dimmed a little.

If only I could be as good at that as she was.

“Um, can you let my mom know that I want to talk to her?” I asked quickly when I felt my eyes sting with tears. My voice wavered a bit, but the girl didn’t seem to notice anything was wrong, giving me another smile. “In her office, if possible.”

“Sure, hang on. I’ll go get her from the kitchen.”

I watched as she walked through the door that led to the back of the diner, where the kitchen was. I didn’t have to wait long before she was back with my mom, who looked worried. Of course, she would know why I wanted to speak to her in the office instead of just walking into the kitchen myself—I wanted the privacy.

She saw my face, and, with just a glance, she frowned, seeming to notice something the girl had missed.

“Don’t worry, Rita,” the girl said as my mom walked around the counter, “we’ll hold down the fort for now.”

“Thank you, dear. You’re all a very big help.”

The girl flushed with pleasure, and I smiled again. She was only a few years younger than me but, compared to her, I felt so old.

Mom led the way to her office, through a short hallway, and to another door that most customers never got to see. She let the both of us inside with her key, then locked the door behind us.

“So we won’t be disturbed,” she explained, though I hadn't asked.

There was an official desk with chairs on either side, on the far side of the room. But instead of going there, she led me to the couch pressed against the wall to the side of the door. We sat up with a knee curled underneath as we faced each other. Mom took my hand and held it between us, giving a light squeeze. I smiled at her in thanks for that.

“Now, why don’t you tell me what’s wrong.”

“I just…” my voice trailed off as my eyes blurred with tears. I didn’t want to start crying over this shit, not with my mom there, so I took a moment to beat back the urge to just let the tears out and fall into a sobbing fit. “I went to Ross’s place earlier today.”

She nodded her head encouragingly. “I know that, honey. I expected you to be there, so I was surprised when I was suddenly told you were asking for me. Is this about Ross? Did something happen?” she frowned. “Did he do something to hurt you?”

I shook my head, but not in denial of her statement. Ross had fucking hurt me, whether he knew it or not.

“I didn’t even get to talk to him, Mom…”

“Then what is it?”

“He was there with a woman.”

It was all I needed to say. Her frown deepened, as her lips tightened. It was nice seeing my mom angry for my sake, but I had to remind myself that I didn’t want her upset.

“Do you know who it was?”

I shook my head and wiped quickly at my nose as I sniffled. “I don’t know, Mom, I didn’t even get close enough to see her face. They were talking right in front of his house, and she was openly flirting with him. I don’t think either of them even saw me.”

My mom’s expression morphed into sympathy, and it was probably because my face had crumpled in my effort to hold in my tears.

“Oh, honey,” she breathed out as she leaned over to me, pulling me in for a fierce hug. “It’s going to be all right, Jess. Maybe there’s an explanation for it? You didn’t get to hear one, right?”

I held on tightly back and sniffled some more as I shook my head against her shoulder.

“I don’t see how this could be all right. Or how he could excuse himself after I saw that.” I wasn’t sure I even wanted to go back to hear an explanation. He’d probably just lie.

After a moment, Mom pulled away, and brushed her fingers at the corners of my eyes, wiping away stray tears that were determined to fall.

“But honey, there could be a reason. Can you give me a description of what this woman looks like?”

I frowned as I thought back. “Well, I guess she’s tall. She has dark hair, kinda like Ross, and it was wavy. It was long, too, and fell down her back to about her waist.”

Mom’s expression showed shock, then turned thoughtful. It was my turn to frown at her reaction.

“Mom, do you know who she is?”

I don’t think she heard me, though.

“Ah,” she said, almost to herself. “I guess I forgot to tell you. Hell, I forgot it myself.” Then she met my eyes. “Ross’s ex is in town.”

My eyes widened. “What?”

“As in, Sophia’s birth mother,” she explained, not that I needed her to. “I’m pretty sure she’s the only woman he’s ever dated, and she fits that description perfectly. Of course, it could be someone else, but I’m willing to bet it was her.” She frowned to herself. “Now that I think about it, it does make perfect sense.”

“It doesn’t to me,” I protested.

She patted my hand. “Ross and she didn’t exactly part on good terms. She wanted to go, and he let her go. It’s why Cecilia took Sophia away from her father yesterday; she doesn’t do that lightly, you know. I’m sure they don’t want that woman doing anything to hurt her this time. She’s older now, so her mother leaving will have a bigger effect on that little girl.”

I blinked as I tried to make sense of this new information. He hadn't been lying to me again? I tried to get it all out of my mind. The words kept flowing in. The wrong thoughts. Until I realized that I wanted to doubt Ross so badly that I hadn't given him the benefit of the doubt. I had to stop thinking the worst of people, especially Ross.

“You don’t have to cry, Jessica,” Mom said, sounding a little alarmed. “If it is her, then you don’t have to worry. There’s absolutely no way Ross would ever take that woman back. You know how much he loves his daughter, and he determined she wasn’t good enough for Sophia the moment she left town.”

I laughed, and the sound came out a little wet. It was my turn to pat my mom’s hand in comfort.

“Don’t worry, Mom, I’m crying because I’m relieved.”

Her eyes were suddenly sympathetic. “You thought it was high school all over again, didn’t you,” she intuited.

I nodded slowly and smiled, self-deprecating. “My fault. I should know to have some trust in Ross.”

He would probably be hurt if he knew I thought for even a moment that he was cheating on me with some woman. I already knew he was too devoted to his daughter to be a womanizer. I felt like a fool myself for even thinking it.

“And I should probably take this as a lesson,” I continued. “I’ve gotten pretty good at jumping the gun, but I guess I need to wait to hear an explanation before jumping to the wrong conclusions.”

It was another holdover from what had happened in high school, and I needed to get over all of it. I had promised myself, and Ross, that the past wouldn’t affect our future anymore.

“I won’t go to him, though. He probably needs to deal with this on his own, so I’ll give him some time. I’ll wait for him to come to me.”

And this time, I would hear him out.