Chapter 9: Birthday Confrontations

You've got to be kidding me, I thought as my estranged mother of 10 years stepped forward. I took a step back and she froze. What did she expect? For me to welcome her back with open arms?

"Maybe we can sit down and talk. I know you must have a lot of questions for me." She said warily.

"I have nothing to say to you." I told her. I didn't sound angry like I thought I would. I didn't sound remotely happy though.

My Dad put a hand on my shoulder which I quickly shook off. Sighing, he turned to my Mother. "Cassie, would you give us a moment?"

"Absolutely!" She walks back into the den to wait. As soon as she's gone, I turn to the door to escape. Of course, my dad stops me.

"Stella, wait-"

"No, dad. If this is your idea of a birthday present, then you should seriously work on it." I try to move past him, but he wouldn't budge. "Dad, please jut mo-"

"You're not going anywhere until you talk to your mother." He said sternly.

I snorted. "Some mom. She decides to come back as some stupid surprise after 10 years of nothing, Dad. Nothing!" I quietly fumed. "Why would I even want to be in her presence?" Tears are starting to burn the back of my eyes. Damn it, control yourself Stella!

Dad gripped my shoulders and bent to my eye level. "I know Stella, I know. But no matter what, she's still your mother. You have to hear her out, okay. I'll be in the kitchen the whole time if you need me."

I sighed heavily. "Why is she back?" I whispered. Dad kissed my forehead.

"Go listen to her and you'll find out, sweetheart." I nodded and with one last squeeze of my shoulders, he released me. I turn and walk towards the den. I can do this. I can face the woman who is quite possibly the main reason of my insecurities.

Cassandra, or Cassie as my father called her, sat in the armchair across from the couch. She smiled brightly as I came in. Why is she so happy? I thought and sat down across from her on the couch. Silence. I hope she doesn't think I'm going to talk first.

Cassandra cleared her throat. "Well, it's certainly been awhile." Silence. "You look beautiful Stella." She says admiringly. I just stare at the floor.

"I know you must hate me for leaving you all that time ago." Understatement of the year. "You have to understand, Stella. I was very young then. Only nineteen years old. I wasn't ready for a marriage. Definitely not a child."

"So why did you do it?" I questioned. "If you didn't want either, why did you have them to begin with?"

She hesitated for a moment. I jumped on that hesitation. "Is it because you wanted money? Dad was rich then, so you decided you wanted in on it too, huh?"

"What? No! Not at all!" She looked appalled. "Your father is the greatest man that I have ever known. I would never take advantage of him like that."

"Then why did you do it?" I raised my voice. Calm down Stella, she's still your mother.

"I thought that's what I wanted. It was a perfect life with the perfect guy. If I didn't jump on it then, I would never get the opportunity again." She tried to explain.

"Wait, wait, wait. So my Dad was just a opportunity to you? I mean, did you even love him?"

She sighed wistfully and looked towards the kitchen. "That's another story for another day, Stella. What I want you to know now is that I love you." She said, looking into my eyes. I glanced away from her stare.

"If you loved me, you wouldn't have left me." I softly say.

"I know that Stella. If I could go back, that would have never happened." She readjusted herself in her seat. "You were only eight and I thought that leaving then would cause the least amount of damage to you."

I looked at her incredulously. "Damage? You mean the kind of psychological damage you left me in? The stares and whispers from everyone in town? People giving us sympathetic looks because my 'gold digging' mother skipped town? The fact that I can hardly trust anyone anymore not to leave me? That kind of damage?" I ask and her eyes grew painful with every question. "Yeah, you were a little to late not to inflict that kind of damage."

I stood up. "I really don't want to talk about this anymore." I try to leave, but she stands in front of me quickly. I take a step back as she says, "Please, stay. Just let me explain a little more. I left because I felt suffocated. This town is so small and I never wanted to be here."

"Where did you go? New York? California? Texas?"

She relaxed a little. "I went to Florida. Got a job in clothing designs and worked my way up the latter from there. I'm the CEO of a fashion modeling firm."

I clapped my hands. "Well good for you. Did you happen to meet anyone? Find your fairytale husband? Start a family…again?" I ask sarcastically. She looks away guiltily.

I narrowed my eyes. "You did didn't you?" I couldn't keep the slight disgust out of my voice.

"I am not married nor engaged nor in any relationship like that." She said defensively. "But…I do have two other daughters."

"Wow. This is classic. You didn't like your first family so you ditched and started a new one. Very classy Cassie." I try to hide my hurt. "Do they know about me at all? My dear half-sisters? Are they good enough for you? Must be why you didn't think to visit, call, or engage in any type of communication with me for ten years." I am desperately trying to keep the old feelings of rejection and hurt that she caused me. That she is still causing me.

"That's not why, Stella. Yes, your sisters know about you. They even want to visit you sometime." She smiles slightly, her eyes misting over. "Please understand this, Stella. I know I should have called, should've visited and all. I just thought you were better off without me."

"Then why did you come back?" I shouted, voice cracking and tears inevitably spilling over. "Maybe I am better off without you." I walk past her frozen body, towards the door. My Dad walks out of the kitchen and looks at me.

"Stella, stop."

I wasn't paying attention to him though. I stared at my mother's back. "Tell my sisters I said hello." I say mockingly and slam the front door shut behind me.

I pull up to Brandon's driveway at promptly 6:20. I contemplated what house I should have gone to before I came here. I could've gone to Aunt Faroganda's house, but I didn't feel like having Mitzi breathing down my neck every second. I could've gone to Flora's house, but… I had no idea where it was. So Brandon's it is.

I knocked on the door six times before someone answered. It was a beautiful dark-skinned woman who must have been Layla's mom. The resemblance between the two was astounding.

"May I help you?" she asked politely.

"Yes." I cleared my throat because of my scratchy voice. I was crying for a bit before I got here. "Is Brandon home?"

She nodded slowly. "Just wait a moment." She turned around and yelled Brandon's name, telling him he had a visitor. She turned back to me with a warm smile. "Come on in, sweetie."

I smile back and walk into the quaint home. A dog comes running down the hall and jumps up at me excitedly. I was startled at first, but realized it only wanted to play.

"Rose! Get down now!" Brandon's step-mother scolded. Rose immediately did as she was told, but whined as she laid down.

"It's okay. I love dogs." I told her has I scratched Rose behind the ear.

"You must be Stella then?" She asked. I nodded and she grinned. "Brandon talks about you very fondly." I smiled at the thought of him bragging about me.

Suddenly, I hear footsteps down the hall. "Who is it, Gre-" Brandon stops his sentence as he turned the corner and saw me. "Stella, hey!" he greets me.

Layla's mom said, "I'll just be in my room. Nice to meet you Stella." I return the sentiment as she walks into her room.

"Is something wrong?" Brandon asks, giving me one of his signature bear hugs. I hold onto him for dear life. I felt safe in his arms, and I didn't want to leave. He pulled back though, concern filling his eyes. "What's going on, princess? I thought you were about to chock me out with that hug."

"Sorry." I mumble and rest my forehead in the curve of his neck. "My mother is here. She's back in town."

"Whoa." Is all Brandon says as he leads me to the kitchen. He sits me down in a chair. "You need something to eat?"

I shook my head. "Lost my appetite." Which was true.

"Aw, come on, Stella. I know you haven't eaten." He went to the refrigerator and pulled out a black plastic box. "Here are some leftovers from my lunch. You can eat it." He didn't leave room for argument as he put it on a plate and warmed it up in the microwave. I just stared at my hands, thinking about my encounter with my mother.

I noticed that his German Sheppard, Rose, followed him around, until he scratched her head and told her to go to his room. She trotted out happily.

"Why did you name her Rose?" I ask.

He had his back to me as he said, "It was my mother's name," very softly.

I responded with a low sounding, "Oh.", and we were silent after that.

"Did it hurt?" Brandon inquired, standing by the microwave, waiting for the food to be ready.

"Did what hurt?" I asked, looking up at him.

"Seeing her again."

"Well…yeah. It hurt a lot. She tried to explain why she left and never contacted me, but I didn't care. She could've had a thousand excuses and I wouldn't care. There is no excuse for that." I snorted. "And get this. I have two sisters."

Brandon looked shocked. "Are you serious? So she basically..."

"Left the family she had and started a new one? Yeah, she did." The microwave beeped, signaling it was done, and Brandon brought the plate over to me with a fork.

"Here. Get some food on your stomach." he said as he plopped down in the chair beside me. Smelling the food made my appetite come back some. I was about to take a bite, when I remembered where he said he got the leftovers from. I dropped the fork.

"Not hungry." I push the food away with a huff, not looking at Brandon's puzzled face.

"Why not?"

"This is the food from your lunch. Which means it's the lunch from your date with Bloom. Which means I'm not eating it." I explain. He put on an exasperated look.

"Come on, princess. You can't honestly still be on that. It wasn't a date."

"I heard you the first time Brandon. It's still a date." I snap. He sighs and walks over to the counter. Ugh, why am I being such a bitch? My mother really put me in a bad mood, but I didn't want to take it out on Brandon.

He came back with bread, peanut butter, jelly, and a butter knife. "Hope you like PB and J." He grumbled.

I smiled at his gesture. He really is just looking out for me.

I grabbed his hand to stop him. "I'll fix it. You can eat your…leftovers." I say, trying to keep the bitterness out of my voice. I really needed to get a grip. He is with me, not her. Get over it, Stella.

"No, I'll probably just throw it out. I don't like it anyway." He said with a smirk.

"Then why did you save it?"

"I didn't want to be rude and not eat what she bought me, so I packed it for later. Thought you might like it." He rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well, I'll solve this little problem." I picked up the plate and tossed it in the trash. I brushed my hands together. "All better." I grinned

Brandon laughed whole-heartedly and gestured me over to him. "I'm going to teach you how to make a sandwich the right way." He kissed my cheek and we got to work, laughing and bumping each other the entire way. My sandwich was definitely better than his, even though he tried to dispute the fact. He made me forget all what happened with Cassandra. Our playful argument and laughter got so loud that Brandon's step-mom had to come out and ask us to quite down.

"Sorry, Ma." he chuckled and turned towards the table to clean up. Before I turned around as well, I saw the way her eyes lit up when he called her 'ma'. He most likely did it subconsciously, but it still meant something to her. I smiled to myself and helped Brandon clean up.

Brandon's phone rang out and since I was closer to it, I looked to see who it was. Bloom.

Bloom. Bloom? BLOOM!

My mouth is still hanging in shock when Brandon asks, "Who's that?"

I pick up the still ringing phone and walk over, thrusting it at him. "Your girlfriend, apparently." I turn and march to the bathroom. I heard Brandon follow, but I slam the door in his face.

"Princess, open the door."

"No! If you want to talk so bad, talk to Bloom. Since you gave her your number and all."

"Stella, come on! This is getting ridiculous." He nearly shouted.

I open the door and face him. "Why does she have your number, Brandon? And why is she calling you at this time of night?"

He rubbed his face. "It's only 8, Stell. She probably thought I was still awake."

I snorted and went back into the kitchen. "That doesn't answer my other question."

"Which was?"

"Why does she have your number?"

"For committee stuff. I'm one of the executives and everyone on the team has my number. I strictly told them no calls after 6 though. Which means," He held up his phone, "I wouldn't have answered this."

I looked down, feeling ashamed. "Oh." Brandon heaved a sigh.

"You gotta start trusting me Stella. I know about your trust issues, but-"

My phone vibrated and I sighed. I knew it was Dad, but I didn't want to talk to him. Not really.

I glanced at Brandon. "It's my Dad."

"You knew he would call eventually. It is like almost eight."

I groaned, but answer the phone. "Hello?"

"Stella. Your mother has left for the hotel so…you can come home now."

"She just left? I mean, she stayed there that long?" I questioned my dad suspiciously.

"No, she left hours ago. I knew you probably needed time to blow off some steam. It's getting late though and I wanted you to know she wasn't here." He clarified.

"Okay, Dad. I'm on my way." I hung up and turned to Brandon. "Looks like I'm leaving. Thanks for…keeping me company.

He nodded tightly. "Alright." I started to walk out when he reached out to grab my shoulder. I turned around as he wraps me in his arms. "I love you, gorgeous." He kissed my lips. "Happy birthday."

I smile. I know he's still upset over the trust thing, but he still loves me.

"Love you more." I respond. He smirked down at me.

"I don't think that's possible." I just grin and push my forehead into the side of his neck. I kiss the skin there. "We'll just have to see."

I finally arrive at my house 30 minutes after my Dad's call. Brandon just couldn't let me go. Who am I kidding, I couldn't let him go. I walk into my house and go in the den. My Dad tried to wait up for me, but was lightly dozing on the couch, with his head in an unnatural position. I smirked and shook him gently.

"Oh! Your home. Good." He stood up. "You'll be going to breakfast with your mother and…sisters tomorrow."

"What?!" I exclaim. "You can't be serious." Did he really expect me to make nice with her after today?

"It will help you, Stella. If you don't develop a relationship with her, at least have one with your siblings. They did nothing wrong." He was right about that, but I still didn't want to go.

"I…have plans tomorrow morning." I lie indignantly.

He is already walking towards the steps. "No you don't, Stella. The breakfast is at 9. That place right beside the restaurant Me Gusta. You know where." He is almost out of sight before he steps back down and looks at me sheepishly.

"Happy Birthday." And he proceeds to his room.

I fall back on the couch and just look at my promise ring. There was nothing else to do. Bloom had my man's number. Even if it is for committe stuff, she will most likely find a way to take advantage of it. On top of that, I just found out I had two sisters and I had to meet them tomorrow. Should I be excited? I don't know how I feel, really. All I know is, I am far from forgiving my mother, if ever, for her past deeds.

Happy Birthday to me.

A/N: First, Thanks for reading and reviewing. You guys really liked last chapter, so I hope this one pleases as well.

Aw, poor Stella. Did she act to crazy with her mom or did she control herself the best anyone could?

So she's going to meet her sisters tomorrow. Can you believe that? Two sisters she never knew about. Three guesses as to who they are. It won't be that hard to guess ;)

Summer should be over in a couple of chapters, but you guys want more, so shall it be then. Can Stella get over her trust issues and confront Bloom head on? Or will Bloom do something that is beyond forgiving? Stick with me on that.

So…Review!