I had expelled two demons in one fell swoop by getting rid of Grant for good and making him undo the damage he’d done. But there was one loose end I still needed to tie off. I headed back to where my mother had gotten her hair done, and right as I entered, she was getting ready to pay.

“Oh good, you’re here,” she said.

“Mother, I need to stay here for one more day,” I said to her as she handed her credit card to the woman at the front desk.

“I don’t think so, honey. We need to get on the road right now if I’m going to see my Saturday-night shows.” She tapped her wrist with two fingers, like a heroin addict might tap her arm before getting a hit, and I couldn’t help but wonder if there wasn’t a similarity there.

I stood with my arms crossed, waiting.

“I don’t want to go into details here, but some very big stuff has happened in the last couple of days, and I need to see this through.”

“Ma’am? Just sign here,” the woman said, pointing to the receipt. My mother signed and turned back to me.

“Oh, I’m sure it’s really tough. Dating a professional baseball player and then breaking up with him. I just wish all of my children felt as entitled as you,” she said sarcastically.

“Stop it. You have no idea what you’re talking about,” I said in a low voice. I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes.

“Oh, is there something I don’t understand here? You broke up with Grant last year, and ever since, he’s been trying to get you back. But ohhh no, you’re off cavorting with guys like The Big Unit on social media. I heard all about it on the radio on my way up here. You just need to face the facts, honey. Grant is the best you’ll do. And he’s not a bad man.”

I looked down at my feet and rubbed my thumb and finger against my forehead. To be fair, I’d sugarcoated everything that had happened between Grant and me, so she had a reason for her opinion. Now was the time for me to break that reality. I got my height from my dad, and my mom was pretty small, but she’d been surrounded by tall men and me for years, so when I brought my face close to hers, she returned my look with equal measure.

“Mother. I should have told you this a long time ago. Grant was a liar and a cheater, and I broke up with him when he crossed the line, not because I needed space.” I paused. “Did he text you that?”

She scrunched her face up. “What on earth are you talking about?”

Unbelievable! “I’m talking about the fact that he slept with other girls while we were together, then told me that I had no right to complain, and that that was just the way it was! And when I stood up to him, he fucking slapped me!” I said, and none to quietly. “He hit me when I refused to have sex with him, and when I tried to leave him.”

There was a collective gasp from all of the women in the room. At this point, I didn’t care anymore who heard me. My mother just stared at me, completely bewildered, like I had just spoken in Klingon. “G-Grant?” she stammered, confused and blinking rapidly. She had her hands over her heart like she was in pain. Maybe she was. I’d never yelled at my mother or sworn, and I knew that was throwing her. “I don’t believe it. I just can’t! I’ve known his mother for decades! He comes from a good, solid family. He’s the sweetest boy—”

“Why do you side with him? You should side with your daughter! Grant Newman was a douchewad who treated me like crap. He made me feel like a horrible person. I was so ashamed of telling anyone, especially you!” I shouted, finally standing up to her. I was so mad that I felt my eyes stinging with tears. “He’s been trying to control me since I broke up with him. He’s crazy! And he was blackmailing me to go back to him or he’d release more lies about Jake!”

My mother started fanning herself, trying not to cry. She looked at me. Her eyes scanned my face, and I could tell she was starting to realize I wasn’t making shit up, because she burst into tears. “It’s just, I thought you two were perfect. I thought, I thought…” She lost the ability to form words, and the tears started pouring out. “Oh God honey, I’m so sorry! Of course I believe you—I wish you had told me,” she said between shaky breaths. “I hate that you’ve been alone in this…” She stepped toward me and wrapped me up in a huge hug. I started to cry harder, not holding back. It felt amazing to finally tell her, to tell the whole truth.

The entire room had broken out in applause, and I cracked a smile through the tears as we pulled apart. I wiped at my eyes. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier. And to be honest, Jake’s the one that got me to open up and admit that to myself. He’s been really supportive and wonderful about it.”

“Yes…about this Jake guy you’ve been seeing,” Mother began, still sniffling. “What’s that all about? Did he really kidnap that child?”

I laughed, shaking my head at the mess I’d helped create. “Dear God, no, he didn’t kidnap anyone. Everyone thinks he’s an asshole, but he’s actually a really great guy.”

The door chime jingled, and someone who looked incredibly out of place in a salon walked in.

“You’re still here,” he said, relieved. “I think I’ve visited every salon in this part of Chicago looking for you.”

I stared at Jake, my jaw dropping. “What the…how did you find me?”

“Your neighbor, Kyle? He said you’d moved all your stuff out.” Jake looked around, all eyes on him. “Um, well, he mentioned something about a hair appointment in Lincoln Park.”

“Why are you here?” I asked, not sure I was awake.

He gave me a meaningful look. “Andrea, there is a crazy hailstorm happening right now in the media, and I’m getting my ass kicked. You probably think I’m crazy, but we need to face this together. We’ve both been running from our old selves for a long time. And right now, I need you. I can’t face this shitstorm without you. You and me.” He paused. “That okay?”

I was dumbstruck. “Okay?”

Jake searched my face for a more in-depth answer, but my tongue stayed tied for some reason. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

Right in front of my mother, he wrapped his arms around my body, slipping his hands dangerously close to my ass as he enveloped my lips with his. I stopped his hand before it cupped my ass. Even though that was exactly what I wanted, I figured that might be a bit much for my mother right now.

“Ahem,” she said, right on cue.

I opened my eyes, and she was poking her head between us like a referee trying to break up a fight.

“Mother, this is Jake. Jake, this is my mother.”

“So nice to meet you,” she said. “Have we met before? You look familiar.”

“No!” I blurted out, recalling their almost-encounter a few weeks ago. “No, you’ve never met Jake. He likes to keep a low profile.”

“That’s a lovely haircut you have, Miss Diggers.”

She actually blushed, fluffing up her hair. “Oh, thanks. Is it?”

“I think so,” Jake said with a wry grin.

And just like that, my mother was swooning and nodding and laughing.

I wondered why the hell I’d been so afraid of telling her everything in the first place.

Jake slipped his arm around me and discretely rested his hand on the small of my back while he charmed the shit out of my mother.

Yeah, Jake had really rubbed off on me.

And I think I was okay with that.