Glass Sneakers

23rd ♕

23rd ♕

Trust me.

L

The text message had arrived three days ago. I didn't know the sender's name. So far, my cell phone number hadn't been broadcasted to the whole world yet. And given the circumstances and my lack of a wide range of friends, L could likely stand for Love.

Even before, she always put her initial at the end of a text message, one space down. She probably got hold of my number from someone in the palace. But why would she tell me this?

I was almost sure that Love had planned all this. That she had even cooperated with Robin. But the Queen herself had told me that she had asked her private investigator to look into the matter, and Robin's name was the only one who had turned up.

I'd already accepted the fact that Love would be the next princess. Slowly, I'd reached the point of self-awareness and analyzed how things were going. I told myself to think of Love as just another girl who was the next in line.

From the start, I'd never wanted the title. All I'd wanted was to have a part-time job. Then life made fun of me, gave me a taste of my own medicine, and took it back right when I was starting to get attached to it.

"Georgey? We're going," Mom no. 1 said from outside my room.

"I'll see you off," I shouted, closing the ambiguous text message.

Mom no. 1 was waiting for me outside my door. She pulled me into a tight hug when she saw me, and I was intoxicated with the smell of the expensive perfume I'd been sniffing around in our house lately. "Honey, I'm going to miss you. Let's see each other again, okay?"

"You know where to find me," I replied, placing an arm around her back.

She held me on both shoulders. "It was fun staying with you for a whole month. And the kids also had fun."

"I'm going to miss both of them."

"And honey, I know I did a lot of things I shouldn't have done. I made you lose the competition," Mom no. 1 said apologetically.

"Don't worry about it. I was also at fault. I should have told you and them sooner," I broke off and sighed.

"I'll... I'll try to be better, Georgey," Mom no. 1 said, rambling with the words. "I know I haven't been the best mom to you. I know you already have Hannah and you treat her like your real mother. I can't go back and do everything right, but I want to be at least someone in your life."

"Mom," I said, calming her down. "I already got used to the fact that I have two mothers. There's no need to feel like a stranger to me."

"I'm sorry for everything, Georgey. I'm sorry for being a bad mother to you and the twins." Mom no. 1 started crying. "I'm really sorry."

I sighed. "Good news is, it's not too late. You can still start over with the twins. Just focus on them while they grow up. As for me, we can just continue where we left off. I'm already eighteen and have my own life now."

She held on tightly to my hands. "I'm so glad that you've grown up so well."

"I had a lot of help," I said to her. "So what are your plans?"

"Roger and I are going to try fixing our marriage. He promised to take me back if I would attend therapy sessions," Mom no. 1 continued. She never looked more sober, and I was glad for this improvement.

"I hate to say this, but I think he's a great guy to some degree," I admitted.

"If he could take me back despite what I did, that has to mean something," Mom no. 1 replied. "Since we had the twins, he always tried to be a better person. Come on, Georgey. Roger already put our luggage in the car. It's a shame we couldn't say goodbye to your dad and Hannah."