The next day, I found myself at my parent's house, sitting on the front steps and watching my sister's two toddlers harass my parent's aging dog.
"You poor thing." I muttered as Sadie came to seek protection from me. While Addie and Zachary were here to celebrate their engagement, Addie had been sucked into cooking and I chose to watch the toddlers run around to avoid my mom.
"You know, you could be inside helping." Addie sighed, coming out side and handing me a raspberry lemonade.
“Why would I do that when you and Zach were in there and your kids are unattended?” I beemed. My older sister rolled her eyes and quickly shouted out to her kids.
“Madison, do not hit your sister!” Addie groaned as Payton came crying to the steps. I picked up the little ginger baby and bounced her on my knee.
“Awe, is your older sister being a controlling bitch and forcing you to do something you don’t want?” I cooed, throwing blatant shade at my sister.
“You’re a horrible person. Why do I let you around my kids?” she rolled her eyes.
“Uh, cause I’m the best godmother ever!” I smiled, gently waving Payton’s arms, who was still crying.
“Can you give me my kid, please.” She rolled her eyes and took the crying toddler, actually soothing her unlike me. “So, your back with Oh Captain, My Captain?”
“How do you know that?: I whipped my head around and looked at her. She jumped at the sudden change of my voice.
“M-mom told me.” She stammered. “You didn’t tell her.”
“No, Addie. God, she wasn’t supposed to know. She called me yesterday and didn’t bring anything up and she literally called me an hour before I got here. She had to know and now she’s going to make scene. Oh my god.” I took a deep breath.
“Savannah, you know how she is.” Addie began.
“I’ll be back, okay?” I hissed.
I left the steps and began walking down the street, taking my phone out of my pocket and dialing Sidney’s number. Sadie followed close behind, still seeking protection.
“Hey, Van.” He said, a smile evident in his voice.
“Sid, my mom knows.” I spat out almost instantly.
“Fuck.” He sighed. “Taylor knew. She saw the texts on my phone.”
“Why would she tell your mom?” I practically whimpered.
“Because I tried to convince her not to as my mom was walking in and my mom heard us.” he explained. “Shit, Van, I’m sorry.”
“I’m at my mom’s house now and she hasn’t said a single thing to me. We’re supposed to be celebrating Addie and Zach’s engagement and she’s going to bring it up at dinner and totally ruin it.” I rambled on.
“I’m on my way.” He said, daringly.
“No!” I yelled. Poor Sadie had just squatted to pee and jumped up, thinking I was yelling at her. I rolled my eyes and pet her to reassure that I wasn’t mad at her.
“Savannah, if you deny it tonight and then she finds out in a few weeks that you lied, she’ll make our lives hell. Just, let’s just tell her and your family. We can tell them it’s just for the summer to see if anything is still there.” Sidney explained.
“I guess. God, she’s going to be a crazy bitch.” I sighed.
“I’ll be there in ten minutes and it’ll all be okay.” He reassured me. I nodded, as if he could see and heard the line drop.

---

I stood in the living room, leaning my head on Sidney’s arm as his hand rested on my hip. Sadie still cowered near me, clearly traumatized by the two toddlers who were now coloring. I let one of my arms drape around his waist and felt the heat radiating off his body. His cologne filled my nose and overwhelmed my senses as I closed my eyes and wished to be somewhere else.
“Dessert is ready!” My mom called and ushered everyone back into the dining room. I let Sidney pull my chair out for me and I reached for his hand almost as soon as he sat down. My mom had been quiet about us during dinner, still fawning over Addie and Zachary, but I knew that my time was coming.
“It;s okay.” Sidney whispered into my ear, leaning close enough for no one else to hear. He placed a kiss to my temple and gave my hand a squeeze. I nodded and took a deep breath.
The cake was passed around and my mom had left the room to get coffee. While everyone else ate their piece, I poked at mine and pushed it around the plate. Sidney had one arm resting across the back of my chair and rubbed my shoulder with his hand. I turned to him and offered him a light smile. He returned it with a wink.
“So, Sidney when did you and Savannah plan on telling us you were back together?” My mom asked, coming back into the dining room with guns blazing.
“Well, we only started talking again about two days ago, so we really wanted to wait to make sure it would work out before we told anyone. If anything, it was a mistake that Taylor found out. We kinda wanted to keep this private.” He explained, squeezing my shoulder.
“We’re just going to try it for the summer. I’ll be busy with school once September comes and he’ll have hockey camps and the start of the season.” I added.
“Maybe when the season starts you can follow him to Pittsburgh and maybe begin a new career in a different field.” My mom snapped. Addie dropped her fork and my dad choked out a “Joyce” as I closed my eyes.
“With all do respect-”
“What the hell is your problem with my job and my life?” I roared, cutting off Sidney. “I get it, I’m not a doctor. I made mistake and didn’t have the perfect life you wanted me to have. I don’t have kids, I don’t have a ring, but I have a steady job and a house and car I pay for myself. I never ask for anything from you or dad. I buy my own things, I live my own life, and for some reason that just isn’t enough for you.”
“Now, Savannah,”
“No, Mom. You wanted your scene, here it is. Go tell all your little friends at brunch tomorrow that I had an outburst and I told you to fuck off.” I shrugged. “Addie, I’ll text you later and sorry for mom ruining this.”
I grabbed Sidney’s hand and walked out of the house. I made a point to slam the door and almost instantly, I began going off on another rant.
“Why is it that when I do something, it’s never enough, but if it’s Addie or Jared or Ty, it’s like they discovered the Holy Grail. I hate that because I didn’t get a job as a business owner or a doctor that I don’t get the same praise as them. It’s like nothing I do is going to be-” I was cut off my Sidney’s lips on mine. The kiss was slow, but passionate and pent up emotion was flowing. He cupped my face with his large hands and pulled me close. I relaxed, grabbing onto his wrists and kissing him back. Even though I was 5’9”, I was still on my tip toes to reach Sidney.
“You are more than enough. Anyone in their right mind would be proud of you. Your mom might not be, but Addie and Zachary and your dad are. I am too, Savannah.” Sidney whispered. I searched his hazel eyes for any sign of a lie, but didn’t find it. I closed my eyes and let go of his wrists so I could hug him. Sidney laughed and wrapped his arms around me, holding me close to his chest.
“I missed this.” I whispered.
“I did too. I missed it so much.” Sidney admitted. We split apart and walked to our cars.
“Wanna go get some ice cream?” I asked. Sidney smiled and nodded.
“Yeah, go drop your car off and I’ll bring us somewhere.”
“Sounds great to me.” I winked, leaning up to leave a quick peck on his lips.

Notes