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Chapter 29

Leigh stepped out of the shower, wrapping her hair in a white towel and catching the vanilla scent wafting from a small canister at the sink. Her wet toes touched cool linoleum and only her quick muscles were able to catch herself from a sure slip. She smirked at herself in the frosted glass before wrapping another white towel about her middle.

White towels, she thought. You knew you were in a hotel when all the towels were white. It was just a given. She breathed in the heady vanilla scent with a reluctant smile. All in all, it felt good to be clean and healed. She was determined to push all the negative feelings away and just enjoy herself for now. Soon enough she would be on the attack…but for now she would rather just deal with mundane life and get lost in a couple cheesy shows.

She nodded to herself at the idea. It would be good to stretch out and forget for a while. She quickly began to dry off and pulled on some clothes that she had picked up from her house. She'd had to bring enough clothing for herself as well as Amber and Jamie. Both of the girls had lost all their clothing in the fire. Jamie hadn't minded much—seeing as she was still in the middle of replenishing her supply. Amber, on the other hand, had been furious. All her designer clothes were gone for good. And she didn't particularly care for Leigh's clothing style in general.

Leigh snorted, thinking about Amber's reaction. She was sharing a room with the two other girls at the hotel. A lot of families had decided it would be a good thing to stick together…and a hotel presented large enough housing for them all. Besides, Rollson was less likely to attack a public building than a house in the Suburbs. There were no woods here for him to hide his men.

Leigh finished dressing and pulled her hair out of the towel. It fell about her shoulders, damp and blue-black. She stretched, still feeling a little sore and headed for the bathroom door. She could feel the cool air sliding through the half inch line under the door. She placed her hand on the warm metal door handle.

Someone knocked softly on the door before she got the chance to turn it.

"Leigh?" Jamie's voice was muffled slightly by the door. That didn't stop Leigh from realizing that her tone was slightly apologetic. "There's someone here to see you."

Leigh's heart dropped into her stomach. Jamie's tone couldn't mean good things. Whoever had come knocking was obviously choosing to disregard Leigh's demand for some alone time. And Jamie hadn't been able to deter the person.

"Who is it?" Leigh asked, trying to sound nonchalant through the wooden barrier. She crossed her fingers.

"It's your mom," Jamie replied.

Now Leigh could understand the apologetic tone. She understood why Jamie couldn't drive Mrs. Bennett away, though. It was really hard to persuade her mother to do anything when she had her mind made up. Leigh had half a mind to bar the door and wait her out. But she knew that her mother wouldn't leave until she had said her piece. She didn't know what her mother had to be angry about now…but she might as well get the argument over with.

Leigh sighed and twisted the knob. A bout of cool air met her body as the hall was exposed. Jamie was standing there with a pleading expression, wearing a shirt of Leigh's that was both too short for her frame—exposing a good two inches of midriff—as well as a little loose. Jamie had never really had much shape. And the jeans she was wearing just barely reached her ankles.

Her pleading gesture was easy to read…especially since the emotion was palpitating off her in waves that Leigh's telepathic senses could pick up easily. She was hoping Leigh would forgive her for allowing her mother to enter the room.

It was then that Leigh caught sight of her mother, wearing a pink suit jacket with a skirt. She had her arms folded across her chest and one high-heeled shoe was tapping against the floor impatiently. She was glancing at some of the art placed on the walls.

Leigh nodded her concession to Jamie.

Jamie smiled reluctantly, but then her face screwed up in a wince. She began to move toward the door. She sent one last uncomfortable glance between Leigh and her mother before slipping out the door. She shut it softly behind her.

Leigh moved to the desk against the wall that held a small white telephone and an address book and pamphlet that explained Lampton Hill's unique traits and tourist info—although there wasn't technically anything to know. She sat sideways in the chair and brought her knees to her chest, observing her mother warily.

Mrs. Bennett didn't seem inclined to start the conversation. She was still tapping her foot impatiently against the floor.

"Well?" Leigh asked finally. She couldn't stand the strained silence any longer. "You wanted to talk to me?"

She didn't know what she had been expecting her mother to say. Probably yell at her some more. She didn't expect the rather random but pertinent comment.

"That was quite a scare earlier," Mrs. Bennett said, finally looking at her. Her arms dropped from where they were folded across her chest to hang loosely at her sides.

"Yeah," was all Leigh could think to reply. She chewed her lip, feeling discomfort roil through her.

"I thought," she continued a little more slowly, almost reluctantly. "That you were going to die. I was really scared there for a while."

Leigh's eyes widened in surprise. She hadn't thought that her mother would actually care. After all these years of yelling at her and then turning around to praise her brothers, the words seemed a little hollow.

The only thing she could think to do was shrug.

The older woman looked a little squeamish. She pulled a fretful hand through her dark curly hair, streaked with gray.

"I've been thinking about what that boy said," she deigned while still refusing to say Doug's name. "And maybe I've been a little overly harsh and judgmental."

Leigh wished that she wouldn't have mentioned Doug. It brought up a picture of his face when she'd yelled at him. She was still feeling guilty about that. After her anger had faded she realized that even though Doug had been a jerk, he wasn't the heartless person she'd been making him out to be. She'd been more than a little too harsh. It was hard not to think of all the good things he'd done for her. All the sensitivity and care he had shown.

He'd let her take his car so that she wouldn't have to walk home at night. He'd tried to protect her countless times. He'd let her sleep at his house when she'd needed a place to stay. He'd defended her in front of her mom.

How could she have told him that he only cared about himself? As much as she wanted to take back the hateful words, she couldn't. Nobody could turn back time. And she didn't know if she'd ever be able to make it right again.

Leigh snorted softly at her mother's comment, pulling her mind from its mulling. "A little?"

Mrs. Bennett winced. "Was I that bad?"

Leigh only shrugged. She didn't really want to answer that question in case it came back to bite her in the rear. But she knew the answer was written all over her face—not to mention it was probably emanating from her in waves. She had forgotten to block her emotions. She'd had a hard time keeping a tight handle on them lately.

"I only did it because I worried about you…because I wanted the best for you."

Leigh wasn't feeling inclined to respond. She was just to weary to make a whole fight over the issues. But the resentment in her burned pretty deep. She wasn't ready to just let it go, especially when she was expecting to be disappointed again.

Mrs. Bennett just stood there, waiting for her to respond. Finally, Leigh said. "It couldn't have all been for my good. There were some times that you just wanted someone to yell at and I was an easy target."

The older woman looked horrified by this statement. She neither agreed nor disagreed with it. Instead, she crossed the room and sat at the edge of one of the beds. Leigh could feel the irritation flowing off her mother that the woman was hurriedly trying to quench.

"I was also thinking," her mother said, disregarding the earlier statement. She was able to speak without sounding too sharp. "That maybe my punishments were a little too harsh. I know you've been pretty good with the boys over the past few years—watching them and all. They really adore you. And they were my primary concern in getting so upset with you. So I was thinking that I would lift my sentence."

Leigh frowned. She couldn't remember which punishment the other woman was talking about. "What sentence?"

"You don't have to leave the house when you graduate," Mrs. Bennett said in a rush. "You might as well stay for the summer. You can use that time to save up some money for school. That way you won't have to pay rent."

A lot of things had become jumbled in her mind over the past while, but there were some things that had also become clear. This was one of them. It felt so good just to have one thought in her mind clunk into a resting spot—to feel comfortable with her decision.

"I want to move out," Leigh replied.

Her mother started to protest, but Leigh blundered over her protests. "I'm ready to move out," she said. "Before, the idea scared me. I wasn't ready to grow up…to leave home. I didn't want to think about the future. But now I am and I think it's a good idea for me to move out. I think it's a good idea to put some distance between us."

"Are you sure?" Mrs. Bennett questioned with a probing look. There was an uneasiness etched in her features and her foot was still tapping against the floor. At least now she was tapping against carpet so it wasn't quite so distracting.

"I'm sure," Leigh responded firmly, feeling rather content with her decision.

Then she had to ask the one question Leigh didn't have a straight answer for. She said it weakly, wincing slightly. "Are you ever going to forgive me?"

Leigh tried to answer as best as she could. It wasn't the nicest answer, but she wanted to be honest with her mother. "Eventually, I hope. But it's not going to be easy. It won't happen right away."

"I understand," the other woman said, although Leigh didn't think that she really did understand. But that was Leigh's fault. She wasn't truly ready to open up and show what she was feeling. Long past scars kept her wary.

Her mother got up from the bed and moved toward her. Leigh stiffened slightly when she realized the other woman's intent. Mrs. Bennett embraced her in an awkward hug. Her perfume clung in Leigh's nostrils. She backed away to look at Leigh with an earnest expression.

"I love you," she managed to say. It was a phrase Leigh hadn't heard in a long time. In fact, she couldn't remember the last time her mother had said that to her.

She was really worried that I would die, Leigh realized as she saw the look on her mother's face. It offered a small measure of comfort. Maybe, slowly over time, she would be able to heal. She wanted to be whole again—was desperate for the comfort that came from letting go of long held grudges. But she wasn't quite ready for it.

With one last forced smile, Mrs. Bennett turned and left the room.