by R. R. Smythe
In an instant, her eyes were nearly blinded by a bright light. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you,” her mom said with her hand on the light switch. Sloan squinted and blinked until her eyes adjusted. When they did, she saw her mom in a fluffy purple robe and slippers. Her blonde hair, achieved the same way Sloan got hers, was gathered in a long side braid. She was a little taller and a little skinnier than Sloan. Since her father had left with Tiffani, her mom had also gotten some enhancements in other areas, though to Sloan’s knowledge her mom hadn’t dated much.
“I just wasn’t expecting you to be up. That’s all.”
“And I wasn’t expecting you home so early. Did you have a good time?”
“I guess you could call it that.” If you were a total and complete liar. She ate some cereal to keep from elaborating.
“So, who drove you home?”
Sloan stopped mid-chomp.
“I saw the Mustang in the driveway, and Mackenzie has a Honda. So… spill. Got a new feller?”
“Mom!” Sloan’s cheeks burned. “I haven’t had a ‘feller’ since Boyd. I don’t even really want a guy.”
Her mom took a seat at the end of the island. “Not all guys are like Boyd.”
“That’s a good thing,” Sloan said bitterly. Boyd had ‘loved’ her during her wild days and got mad when she wouldn’t sleep with him anymore after she got saved. He dumped her one night after a huge blow up and started dating Darcy the next day.
“Wanna talk about it? What happened at the party?”
“Who said anything happened?”
“Well, you’re home before curfew and smell like a keg.”
Sloan groaned and fell onto the barstool next to her mom. She set the bowl on the island and picked out the green cereal bites. “Same ole same ole. Darcy can’t keep her big mouth shut and appears to have really good aim.” Sloan held out a strand of her nasty hair.
“I remember when you two played together as kids. You’ve been friends for so long. I hate that it’s come to this.”
“Me, too, Mom, but she’s the one who did it. All I got was saved. She’s the one who lost her mind.” Sloan shoved the last bite of cereal in her mouth, got up, and tossed the bowl in the sink. When she turned back around, her mom had a raised brow in one of those ‘motherly’ looks. “I’ll wash it tomorrow.”
“I’ll hold you to that,” her mom smiled and scooted off the stool. “Ah, sweetie. I hate that it’s hard for you right now, but you’ll see. I’m sure it will get better.”
“I knew living for God wouldn’t be easy, but I didn’t think it would be this hard. I wish Donna was still next door. She’d know what to do.”
Her mom’s face fell. “Look, it’s no secret that I’m no Donna and not much of a believer myself, but I’m proud of you for trying to change your life. That said, if it’s too hard, maybe you should ease up a little. Not try so hard.”
Sloan’s eyes narrowed. “You want me to go back to how I was before?”
“No, not exactly.”
Mentally exhausted, Sloan fell back against the sink. “I appreciate it, but it’s not something I want to stop. I love Jesus. It’s just lonely sometimes.”
“You still have Mackenzie, don’t you? Which brings us back to the beginning. Who brought you home?”
Sloan hoped her mom wouldn’t get back to that question. “Aaron Hunter found me beside the road.”
Her mom paused and tilted her head. “There are so many things wrong with that sentence. Explain.”
Sloan walked back around the island and slumped on the barstool. This could take a while. “Darcy got drunk, which isn’t unusual. Told me that Boyd called me a cold prude, but that was okay because she took care of him. And that if I believed in God so much, I wouldn’t be there at the party. ‘He’ wouldn’t like it.”
“Wow. That’s pretty harsh.”
“Oh, that’s tame compared to what she did later. I felt a little out of place with Mackenzie falling all over her new conquest, Travis. So I walked the halls, looking at family pictures and whatever. Darcy came up behind me, pushed me into the bathroom, and locked the door behind her.”
Her mom’s eyes widened like saucers. “She did what? Did she hurt you?” She grabbed Sloan’s wrists and checked for bruises.
“I’m fine.” Sloan gently took her hands from her mom’s. “Darcy ranted again about stuff. I don’t even remember all of it.” She remembered every word. “She was yelling nonsense and threw her beer in my face. She pushed me against the wall, raving about how I was too big of a slut for anyone, even God, to change.”
Her mom pushed a clump of Sloan’s hair behind her ear. “I’m calling her parents.”
Sloan panicked. “No! No, you’re not. That would be the worst thing you could do. It was just words, Mom. Really. It’s not like I believe her.” But part of her did, and she felt like a total fraud.
“I don’t like Darcy harassing you.”
“Me either. Trust me. She loves to remind me of my imperfect past.”
“Like she’s any better.”
“Mom…”
“I’m sorry, but it’s true. I hate to tell you this, but you’ll probably have an imperfect future, too. You’re human, Sloan. Humans make mistakes.”
“I wish I didn’t.”
“Don’t we all.”
Sloan raised her eyebrow, causing her mom to backtrack. “Not you… specifically… I mean, we all wish we didn’t make mistakes. What was that woman’s name you were telling me about last week? The one you learned about at your church?”
Sloan had to think. A late night Bible quiz wasn’t something she had expected. “Mary Magdalene?”
“That’s the one. You told me she was gainfully employed in the world’s oldest profession, and Jesus forgave her because she believed. You believe. I’m sure He forgives whatever you’ve done. Not that I want to know the specifics.”
An annoying tear fell down Sloan’s cheek, and she wiped it away. “I know that.” Her brain knew it anyway, but her heart had a hard time believing it. “I just wanted out of that room, away from her. I was afraid of what I’d do.”
“To her?”
“Yeah. I wanted to punch her lights out.”
“I can understand that.”
Sloan remembered when her mom had fantasies about breaking Tiffani’s medically altered nose.
“But I guess it kinda hurts your testimony if you go around being a Protestant pugilist.”
“That’s what I thought. So I ran down to the end of Boyd’s driveway. That’s when I remembered my coat.”
“No one came to get you?”
“No. Thank God. That would have added to the embarrassment.”
Her mom played with the braid lying over her shoulder. “So let me get this straight. You ran from the house because Darcy attacked you.”
“I wouldn’t call it an attack...”
“And you ended up at the road right when Aaron Hunter drove by.”
“In a nutshell.” She slipped by her mom and into the foyer. She was tired and in desperate need of a shower.
“Not so fast. The Hunters haven’t lived in Chapel Hill in nearly ten years. Why are they back?”
“Not they. Just Aaron and Ray.”
“Where’s Susan? She didn’t come back with her boys?”
“No idea. Aaron didn’t say. He just said that he had to grow up a lot in the past year.”
“Hmm…” Sloan could see the wheels turning in her mind.
“Look, I don’t know the backstory, but I’m sure it’ll get around town soon enough.”
“You’re probably right.” Her mom knew all too well how fast gossip could travel. She’d been the butt of a lot of it when her dad traded her in for a newer version.
Sloan walked back to her mom and kissed her cheek. “I’m going to wash this gunk off me. I’d hate for it to soak into my pores.”
Her mom kissed her back. “You and me both.”
When Sloan reached the top of the s
taircase, she heard the phone ring. A few seconds later, her mom yelled, “Sloan! It’s Mackenzie! She wants to know if she should call the police!”
Astraea Press
Pure. Fiction.
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