“I’ve already said that I was sorry and cleared everything up,” she replied.
It took everything I had not to snap at her. I’d never done anything to the woman and she seemed to have some major problem with me. I just didn’t understand it. I thought about leaving, but only for a second.
“Listen,” I said, leaning against the doorjamb like I planned to be there for a while. “I’m here for one reason.”
“I don’t have any more available sons,” she muttered. It was a low blow, but I let her take it.
“I love Trevor,” I said, my voice quiet but strong. “And he adores you.”
She flapped her hand in the air like she didn’t care what I was saying, but she didn’t reply.
“I don’t understand why you’re so upset with us, but I hope that we can move past it. Not for my sake—I can handle anything you want to dish out—but for Trevor and Etta.”
“Don’t you dare—” she practically growled, getting to her feet.
“Mom,” Trevor snapped, startling me. I looked over my shoulder to find him coming down the hallway, his expression dark.
“Trev,” I said, putting a hand on his chest as he reached me. “How did you know I was here?”
“Hard to go shopping when you left your purse at home,” he said, still looking at his mom. “Good thing Etta’s seat is still in my truck, or I would’ve had to walk, and then I’d be really pissed.”
“Go home,” I murmured.
“Not a chance in hell.”
“I am happy for you, you know,” Ellie said to her son, her lips trembling with emotion.
“This is a real good way of showing it,” Trevor replied.
“You don’t know what it’s been like.” She lifted a hand to her mouth and shook her head once. “He was my baby.”
“I know that,” Trevor said softly.
“And suddenly he was gone,” she rasped out. “But then we found out he had his own baby. My baby had a baby.” She sniffled and my eyes began to water.
It didn’t matter how horrible she’d been, or if she didn’t like me, or if I didn’t like her. In that moment, she was a mother and I was a mother, and I couldn’t even fathom the pain she must have been in.
“But that baby was so far away,” she said, her voice barely audible. “And with a mother who didn’t seem all that interested in us.”
I wanted to argue, but I didn’t. This was her story to tell.
“I was so worried about Etta, so concerned that she was okay, that I may have seen some things that weren’t there,” she said, meeting my eyes. “I am sorry for that.”
I nodded.
“But I thought we worked that out,” she said, lifting her hands in an I don’t understand gesture. “We were in contact after that, and everything seemed okay.”
“Everything was okay,” I replied quietly.
“So then why didn’t you tell me you were in town? Why wouldn’t you let us see Etta? Why all the secrecy and sneaking around with my son?” Her eyes went to Trevor. “You knew what you were doing was wrong. That’s why you hid it.”
“No,” Trevor said, cutting her off. “I knew that you wouldn’t like it. That’s the only reason I didn’t talk to you about it. Everyone knew, Ma. Everyone.”
“Well,” she said, her face paling with shock. “That’s good to know.”
“I love you,” Trevor said. “And I’ve never wanted you to be hurt or sad. Honest to God, Mom, I have no idea why you have such a problem with Morgan.”
“I don’t,” his mom yelled in frustration. “I never have.”
“Then what the fuck?” Trev replied, making me glance at him in shock. I’d never heard him talk to anyone that way.
“I was jealous,” Ellie finally said, looking away from us. “That’s all it was. Jealous and scared.”
“Of what?” Trevor asked in confusion.
“Oh,” Ellie hiccupped tearfully. “Everything, I guess.” She laughed humorlessly. “I was jealous that she’d spent time with Henry, probably more time than I had in the past few years, and that she had a small piece of him in Etta.”
Her words hit me like a ton of bricks, and if I’d thought she would let me, I would have hugged her. God, I’d been so concerned with how she felt about me from the beginning that I’d ignored the pain she’d been in since Henry died. I’d assumed that she was still dealing with the loss but I’d never really thought of what her pain looked like in real life.
“And then after you met her you started acting different,” Ellie said, a rueful smile tugging at her lips as she swiped at the tears on her cheeks. “You stopped coming by as often, stopped telling us about your life. All I could see was you slipping away, and I knew it was because of this relationship that the two of you had started.”