bottle of pills she had brought. After reading the label, he opened the small, plastic bottle and threw a couple of the pain pills down his throat.
Kyle’s attempt to downplay the previous night’s events did not work. His unkempt appearance and his refusal to open up to her were making Mrs. Garrett more worried than she already was. She handed Kyle the cup of tea so he could wash the pills down with it.
“No, Kyle. You are not fine. You are not the type to get drunk and then go driving. You took my car without my permission and didn’t tell anyone where you were going. What if something terrible had happened to you? And you definitely are not the type to pick fights with random men at bars. What is going on with you, sweetheart? Talk to me.”
“Jesus Christ, Ma,” Kyle snapped. “Would you stop treating me like I’m a little kid? I’m twenty-one years old for God’s sake.”
The harshness and loudness of Kyle’s voice startled his mother. He had never spoken to her like that. She took the cup from Kyle’s hands and placed it back on the nightstand. It broke her heart to see her baby spiral out of control like that. She felt helpless. She wanted to help her son, but Kyle refused to confide in her.
Kyle sighed, realizing his mother didn’t deserve his outburst. He reached over to hold her hand. “I’m sorry, Ma. I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that. I’m fine, really. Don’t concern yourself with me. Phil should not have told you anything about what happened last night. He is blowing it out of proportion. The fight was just a little misunderstanding.”
“I’m also sorry for taking your car without your permission,” Kyle continued. “It was reckless of me to go driving in the condition I was in. You’re right. It won’t happen again. I promise.”
Mrs. Garrett was not buying her son’s attempt to downplay what happened. Her friend Margaret had told her everything. “Margaret also told me what you were doing with some girl in the parking lot of the bar. How could you do such a thing, Kyle? How could you cheat on Abby just when you are about to propose to her? How could you do that to that sweet girl?”
Kyle chuckled bitterly and shook his head. He wished he could tell his mother that the girl she thought was so sweet and pure was nothing but a back-stabbing, lying, cheating slut. But he decided to hold his tongue for her sake.
“Look Ma, I don’t really want to talk about any of this anymore. My head is still pounding from last night, and I need to go throw up some more. Can we please drop it?”
“Talk to me Kyle. I’m your mother. Whatever is troubling you, tell me so I can help you.”
Kyle kissed his mother’s hand. “Thank you for caring about me so much, but you can’t help me on this Ma. No one can. So let’s just drop it please.”
“The only reason I’m being so nosy is because I love you, Kyle. I see you’re hurting, and I want to help you. You’re my baby, and I love you. I’m just worried about you.”
Kyle gave his mother a sweet smile. He was grateful that there was at least one woman in his life who cared about him and loved him unconditionally.
“I know Ma. Please stop worrying. You can’t help me with this, so there is no point in telling you anything. This is something I will solve once I get to New York. After I handle it, I will tell you all about it, but not now. Trust me on this. Everything is going to be fine.”
“Okay, sweetheart. I won’t ask you again. You should stay in bed until you feel better. I will bring you something to eat later.” Mrs. Garrett gave her son a kiss on the top of the head and walked out of the room.
Kyle flopped back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. He needed to get off the bed to take a much needed shower and change out of his stinky clothes. But he couldn’t summon up the will. Abby had robbed him of his will to live and his joy for life, and Kyle hated her for it.
He reached for his phone lying next to