SARAYA’S POV.
The alarm rang loud, pulling me out of sleep. I groaned, reaching blindly to silence it.
I removed the sleep mask on my face. “It’s my flat day at work, I can’t afford to be late.”
I pushed myself out of bed, rubbing my face as I shuffled to the bathroom. Splashing water on my face jolted me awake, but it didn’t wash away the emptiness sitting heavy on my chest. I thought of my dad, Mary and Evan.
After freshening up, I stood in front of the mirror, a hair tie clenched between my teeth as I gathered my hair into a ponytail. But something about it felt… wrong. I paused.
“If mom is here, she would have helped me pack my hair.”
I let the hair tie drop into my palm, staring at myself for a moment. My reflection stared back, tired eyes, messy strands. My chest ached again. I missed her.
I sighed and grabbed my phone. My fingers hovered over her contact for a second. “Was it too early? Would she be busy?” I asked myself. “Let me call her and see if she would pick up.”
The line rang once, twice, and then her voice came through, soft and low “Sara? How are you doing?”
Just hearing her made me smile. “Did I wake you up from sleep?”
She cleared her throat. “You sure did.” She said. “What’s going on?”
“I… I miss you, Mom.” The words tumbled out before I could stop them.
There was a pause. “I miss you too,” she said gently. “Should I just take the next flight to Colorado and bring you back with me?”
I laughed out loud. “Mom, you’re being dramatic,” I said, rolling my eyes though she couldn’t see me.
I sat on my bed, the phone pressed tightly to my ear. “I miss you and dad, Even Evan, annoying as he is.” I admitted, drawing a chuckle from her. “I just wish you were here.” I added.
“I’m always here, sweetie,” she said, her voice softening even more. “Just a phone call away. And I mean it about that flight. Say the word, and I’ll be there.”
I smiled again. “You’d really do that, wouldn’t you?”
“In a heartbeat.”
“Thanks, Mom. I just needed to hear your voice, I guess.”
“And you know I’ll always pick up, even if it’s at some ungodly hour,” she teased.
I glanced at the clock on my bedstand. “It’s not that early.”
“Early enough,” she shot back, her laughter making me laugh, too.
“How is dad?” I asked, the tone of my voice changed and became low.
“Well, still the same.” She replied. “Don’t worry when I go to him today, I will chastise him for making everyone worried.”
There was a moment of silence. “I know this feels awkward and I haven’t said this to you before. ” I took a pause.
“Hello Sara, are you there?”
“Yes… I … love you, Mom.”
“I love you, too, Sara. Now go make today a good one.”
“You too.” I ended the call.
There was a knock on the door. “Breakfast is ready.”
“Yes Gabby, I will be there in a minute.”
**
“You’re unusually early getting up today, is it because it’s your first day at work?” Gabby asked.
“Well, not necessarily but you must have heard punctuality is the soul of business.” I told her as I took a sip from my cup of coffee.
“I heard you speaking to your stepmom this morning, I guess you two have a good relationship judging from the fact that you call her mom.” Gabby pointed out.
“Don’t tell me, you were eavesdropping on my conversation?”
“I wasn’t, I only happened to want to knock on your door to wake you up when I overheard your conversation.” She explained.
I gave Gabby a skeptical look but decided to let it slide. “Fine, I’ll let that go,” I said, setting my coffee cup down. “And yes, I call her Mom. She’s been more of a mom to me than…” I stopped myself. “Well, she deserves it, let’s leave it at that.”
Gabby nodded, leaning against the kitchen counter. “That’s good. I think it’s nice when families can bond like that, especially when things are… complicated.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Complicated?”
“You know what I mean,” she said quickly, waving her hand dismissively. “Blended families and all that.”
I shrugged. “I understand where you’re heading to but she’s a good person. You needed to see her when I was leaving Sydney, she didn’t want me to leave.”
Gabby tilted her head, studying me for a moment. “Speaking of good people,” she began cautiously, “do you trust Mary?”
The question caught me off guard. I frowned at her question. “Why would you ask that?”
“I don’t know,” Gabby said, her tone light but her expression serious. “I guess I’m just curious. You seems to like enough to want to compare her to your mother, but… people can be unpredictable. You never know someone completely.”
I leaned back in my chair, crossing my arms. “Mary’s a good person,” I said firmly. “She’s always been there for me. She doesn’t pretend to be someone she’s not, and I respect that about her.”
Gabby raised her eyebrows, as if testing the strength of my conviction. “Even so, trust can be tricky. It’s not always about what someone does. She is your stepmother, anyways.”
Her words sent a shiver down my spine but I pushed them enough quickly. “Don’t be so biased, Gabby and don’t be jealous on my mother’s behalf. Yes she is my stepmom but a supportive and caring one at that.’
“And to reaffirm my claims, I trust Mary.” I said, meeting Gabby’s gaze. “And I don’t say that lightly.”
Gabby held my gaze for a moment before shrugging. “Fair enough. Just don’t forget to watch your back. People can surprise you-sometimes in good ways, sometimes not.”
I didn’t respond, my mind already swirling with thoughts I didn’t want to entertain. Gabby turned and grabbed her bag. “We’ve gotta head out now, shall well?”
“Yeah, we can,” I murmured, grabbing my bag too.