Lexi's Final Year

Chapter 21

Isaac stretched his tall, strong body out on the family loveseat, letting his legs dangle off the side. He had only been back in Buffalo since last night, but he was already getting extremely comfortable being in his childhood home. He couldn't help it; it felt great to be home for the holidays.

On this particular day, he had slept in until almost 10 AM, which felt him feel refreshed for a change. It was a welcoming feeling after the stress of final exams.

"You look pretty comfy," his mother remarked as she sat on the nearby couch.

"I'm happy to be home," Isaac declared with a wide smile. "It feels good to kick back and relax with you guys."

Isaac's mother grinned in return. "Well, I'm glad that you're home for the holidays. I missed you, sweetie."

"I missed you too," Isaac said. "How have things been?"

"Quiet, but good. Nothing too crazy's been going on here. Your father and I have talked to Laura off and on. She and Jacob have decided to not get married next year."

Isaac frowned with concern. "Oh, really? I didn't know that. Is everything okay with them?"

"Everything's fine, dear," his mother replied. "They just wanna save up first before splurging on a wedding. Laura told me that they've been looking at houses for a little while now. They're gonna stay in their apartment for now, but they definitely wanna buy a house soon."

"Makes sense," Isaac remarked.

His mother suddenly grew quiet. She looked into her coffee mug and pursed her lips with uncertainty. Isaac frowned again, unsure of what was going on inside his mother's head.

"Mom, are you okay?" he asked, his voice taking on a worried tone.

"Well...there is one thing I've been wondering about for a while now," she admitted in a hesitant manner.

Isaac raised his eyebrows. "What is it?"

"How have things been between you and Lexi recently?"

The question left a bad taste in Isaac's mouth due to last month's drama, but he decided to answer anyway. "Things have been really good between us. She did well on her exams too, and we celebrated our two-year anniversary before that. We're really happy, Mom."

Isaac's mother visibly relaxed. "Oh, good. I'm truly happy to hear that."

"Why do you ask?"

"I've just been worried about you two, that's all."

Isaac hardened his dark brown eyes. "Is that so?"

"I was worried that everything that happened back at Thanksgiving hurt your relationship," his mother clarified. "I know how upsetting it was and how bad things got. I still feel incredibly guilty that I created such a terrible mess and hurt you two. I know I apologized for what happened to both you and Lexi, but it still bothers me even now."

The explanation gave Isaac enough reason to relax. He had been concerned that his mother would badmouth Lexi while on break since his girlfriend wasn't around now to defend herself. So, to realize that that wasn't the case made him feel a lot better. (Then again, he would have defended his girlfriend if his mother had trashed her, no matter what.)

I'm glad she still feels bad about upsetting Lexi back at Thanksgiving, he thought. I know Lexi forgave her and Dad for what happened, but still... That doesn't make what happened okay.

"Yeah, everything's good with us," he said nonchalantly. "To be honest, we haven't talked about what happened since then. There hasn't been a reason to, Mom. Besides, we've been so busy with school and whatnot that it hasn't been on our minds recently."