The school day went smoothly after the roller coaster it had been during the first few hours. I hadn't seen one sign of Sam after fourth hour, and to be honest I was disappointed. It wasn't like I went to the bathroom and did all that work for nothing. Well Puck seemed to like my change, but I've been there and done that.

Mom picked me up after school to my surprise, and I haven't said a word to her yet. Not because I didn't like my mother, I loved her with all my heart. I wasn't talking because I didn't have anything special to say. My mom was always moving, always on the go, always away somewhere on a business trip making money our family didn't need. Most of the time she'd donate her earnings to a charity overseas in Africa, or she'd put it in me and my brother's ever-growing trust fund.

I didn't want to waste time talking about my petty trials and tribulations to my mom. She had so many bigger and better things on her mind; I couldn't burden her with my issues. It wasn't like she wouldn't listen if I started talking to her, I'm sure she would have. Either way, I didn't know. I never spoke up.

"How was your last first day of high school?" Mom asked, striking up conversation as she accelerated onto the busiest freeway in Ohio.

I've mentioned to mom many times to not take this route to our favorite boutique, and every time she would take the freeway regardless. Maybe she wasn't listening to me when I did say something. Maybe she forgot what I said along the way to one of her meetings and never thought about it again.

"It was fine." I replied, staring at out the window and seeing other cars whizzing past us. How slow were we going? My eyes darted over to the speedometer. Mom was going 50 mph on the freeway.

"Really? Just fine? You didn't meet anyone new? Did you see any cute boys?"

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "No, I didn't. I haven't seen any cute boys, and if there's anyone new at that school I haven't met them." Sometimes I was such a good liar it scared me.

"Oh." She sounded let down. Would she have had asked about more if I would've said something? Did I miss an opportunity to have a heart to heart with my mother?

She didn't bring the subject of school up again, and I couldn't help but feel that I didn't miss a thing.

"How about this?"

"No."

"Well do you like this one?"

"Not really."

"Oh Mercy, look at these beautiful knee knockers!"

My eyes rolled at mom's vocabulary before checking out the capris' she held. They were cute, I couldn't deny that. I was about to say yes to her about getting them before my eyes zoomed in on the brand. These jeans were Rock Revivals, and I knew their trademark very well. Every time my mother would take me to a boutique, she'd urge me to buy them. Rock Revivals cost two hundred dollars a pair, and there was no way I would go around school flaunting my lifestyle like that. If I wanted to be obnoxious about being rich, I'd go to a private school.

"Mom…" I started, getting mad just thinking about her wanting me to buy these.

"Oh no Mercedes, don't you look at me like that. I know that their pricey, but you know very well that I could afford to buy you a hundred pairs of these if I felt like it. Children your age all have expensive clothes, or shoes. Them kids up north even have Air Jordans, and you know that they don't have a dime to their name. Even poor kids want the finer things in life. Your father and I have worked hard all our lives to give you and your brothers the life we didn't get the fortune of growing up with. And every time you refuse to buy nice things for yourself, it's like a slap in the face to me." She said, picking up two more pairs of Rock Revivals and walking over to a rack that I knew had shirts with prices going for eighty dollars and up.

I stood there slack jawed. I thought all she cared about were appearances, and trying to make money. I knew she cared about me and loved me, but I didn't know that sometimes she wanted to spoil me just because that's what every good mother wants to do to their child.

"Hey mom I'm sorry, I"

"I know." She said, turning to me and smiling. Her face looked young and well taken care of, but in her eyes I could see the sadness and stress she must've gone through to get to this point in her life. My mom was a normal woman living a life only one-percent of the people in this country got to live. But she wasn't always like that. She came from less than comfortable roots, and now she was living the American dream. It was something to idolize, not frown upon. I wish I saw this side of my mother a lot sooner than today. Then again it was better late than never.

"I'm going to buy you these clothes Mercy and I don't want to hear a word about it. Now go get me a sprite from one of the ladies up front, and make sure to tell them not to use too much ice."

Make no mistake about my mother though; she was a woman that had been taken good care of for a very long time.

"Okay mom." I said, walking away with the hint of a smirk on my face.

"When's Dad gonna be home?" I asked, walking into the house with two bags in my hand, and mom with three in hers. Luckily they weren't all mine, I'd feel terrible if they were. Baby steps I chanted in my head, going over to the Sub Zero fridge and grabbing a bottle of water.

My house was a place people dreamed of occupying, I knew, but to me it was just home. I lived in a gated community, and my house had over seven thousand square footage of space to live on. The mansion had two large stories, six bedrooms and seven bathrooms. I lived on about two acres of land; I had an indoor pool and an outside in ground pool. When Kurt came over for the first time, his eyes almost popped out of his head. It was a reaction I was anticipating, however nothing could've readied me for the look on his face. He was my first real friend, and I don't know, I guess I expected him to just walk in my home like it was his. Kurt eventually started acting like my house was welcome to him anytime, but the first few times he was over he acted as if I lived in a house made of glass.

"He told me he'd be home next week. Is there something you wanted to say to him?" Mom asked, laying her bags next to the spiral staircase she was sitting on.

"No, not really." I never had something new or exciting to say to anyone of my family, but that didn't mean I didn't want to talk to them. Besides, he was my father, why did I need a purpose to speak to him? I wasn't a client, I was his daughter.

Dad had a job on Wall Street, and he made all his money that way. Some people don't condone working for that job sector from the bad rep it gets, but when my father was just starting out it put food on the table. My dad didn't have a college degree, and neither did my mom, they never had the money or the opportunity. However you don't need a degree to work on Wall Street; you just have to be reliable and very persuasive.

What really sucked about my dad's job was he was constantly away from home. He was in high demand, and I knew he couldn't just drop everything he worked hard for in order to give his children the world. Still, sometimes I wish he would. Between mom always working and dad always busy or gone, I was truly lonely. When I was a child it wasn't so bad, I had four other brothers to keep my company. Now it was just me, myself and I in this big house.

Mom eyed me for a moment before walking into the kitchen and pulling out stuff from the fridge. "Do you want some of this left over lasagna? Or I could call in a pizza, or we could have this fried chicken, or"

"Lasagna." I said, cutting her off.

"Alright, you go upstairs and get comfortable and I'll call you down here when I'm done heating this food up. You want a salad with it?" Mom's head was partly in the fridge, and I could hear moving the various food items around.

I thought about what it must be like for families that didn't have anything to eat. My stomach growled then, but I didn't have an appetite anymore. "Yeah, sure."

"So have you gone shopping yet?" Santana asked me on webcam.

I just got through taking a shower when she video called me, and I hadn't even gotten out of my robe yet. "Yup, and mom bought all the clothes without my consent. Expect me to look like a preppy bitch tomorrow."

"Well at least you'll be rocking an actual style." Santana replied with a shrug.

Ouch, that hurt. I wouldn't mention it though, because that's just how she was. Rude. "Should I do the braid thing again tomorrow? Should I look for Sam? Should I be sporting some cleavage or should I"

"Slow your rolls, Wheezy. Cleavage is a mandatory thing, but let's be keeping it minimal. You're a virgin, not a homie hopper. And yes, do braid your hair, but get your mother's help this time. And"

"Why do I need mom's help with something I'm capable of doing?" I interjected, getting offended again. My face was hot, and I wasn't sure if it was because I was insulted, or because of the shower.

"A mother's touch makes everything better. Now can I finish?" Santana asked before going on anyway. "Look for Trouty Mouth, but don't make it noticeable. Follow him somewhere and pretend you have a purpose to be in the same vicinity as him. However I don't recommend doing this everywhere he goes, because then it'll be flat out obvious. Walk like you're the diva you are, yady yada etc."

I nodded, taking all this information in.

"Mercy!" I heard my mom on the intercom of my house.

"Hold on." I said to Santana as I got up and went over to my receiver to reply.

"Yes?" I asked, pressing the intercom button.

"The food's ready, so come eat!"

"Okay, I'm coming." I replied before leaving the receiver and returning to my desk.

"I have to go."

Santana nodded, almost looking disappointed. "I know."

"I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Yeah, okay." She looked everywhere but at me, and I knew something was up.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's nothing." Santana wiped at her eyes before cursing.

"Tana…" I warned, not even about to put up with her elusive lies.

"Okay, it's not nothing." She confessed looking me in the eyes. Her eyes said it all, something bad had happened. I wish I didn't have to comply with everything my mom asked of me. I'd much rather stay on the computer and demand what was going on with my best friend.

"It's okay, you have to go. I understand." She sniffed, looking away again breathing heavily.

"No, look I can"

"No, don't skip dinner to talk to me. I don't want to talk about it right now anyway. I'll tell you in the morning." She said goodnight and ended the call before I could say goodbye.

Later that night after dinner as I was about to go back upstairs and attempt sleep, mom called for me. "Yes?" I asked, grabbing her plate and stacking hers on mine.

"I know its hard being without you're father honey. It's hard for me too, and I know its hell for him." Mom said inhaling deeply and sniffing. Oh God, first Tana and now her?

"Okay." I nodded, not sure where she was going with this. It wasn't abnormal for me to miss him; I spent more time missing my father than I interacted with him.

Mom grabbed my hand and squeezed. "Call him when you get up in the morning. He wants to talk to you, too."

A lump suddenly appeared in my throat, and I tried to swallow it down. "Alright, I'll call him. Thank you." I turned and walked into the kitchen feeling my eyes water, yet I was happy. I'm gonna talk to Dad for the first time in two weeks.

"Goodnight baby, make sure to turn all the lights off!" I heard mom as she left the dining room.

"Goodnight!"

"Love you!"

"Love you too!"

The chapter is actually longer this time lol. Did you like it? I thought I might've gotten a bit carried away. Comments? Questions?