to the dishwasher. "Just ignore them; it will all blow over soon."
I couldn't believe that she was telling me to just ignore them. I was supposed to stand by and let people talk about my friend? No way.
"Well, / can do something about it, Mom." I felt anger taking over now. I was furious. "I can stand up for my best friend. Even if you're not willing to."
Stalking out of the kitchen, I left the water behind, and pounded my way upstairs to my bedroom. I slammed the door shut to let her know that I meant what I'd said. She would probably yell at me later for doing that, but I didn't care.
I only meant to close my eyes for a minute or two when I lay down on my bed, but I must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I knew, Mom was leaning over me and calling my name.
Struggling to a sitting position, I yawned loudly and rubbed my eyes. "Tired… just taking a nap… Why did you wake me up?" I mumbled.
"How would you like to go to that new herb store with me?" she said.
"The one up by the cabin?" I asked groggily. "But it's an hour away. Do you really want to go there?"
"Sure, why not?" She shrugged. "I have a couple of papers to drop off at Mayor Archer's house along the way, but other than that, I'm up for it if you are."
I was too tired to argue about whether or not this was a trip for me, or Mayor Archer, so I let that one go. At least she was trying.
"Okay." I forced a smile. "Let's go."
We headed down to the car, and I grabbed some grapes to eat on my way out. Skipping breakfast and lunch so often was finally catching up with me. It didn't take long to finish them off, and I popped the last one into my mouth before climbing into the passenger side and buckling my seat belt.Mom got into the car too and put the key in the ignition but didn't turn it on. I tensed, waiting to see if a lecture on how I should control my anger was coming my way.
"Abbey…," she started. Clearing her throat once, she tried again. "If you ever need to talk about Kristen… or anything else, well… I wanted to let you know that you can always come to me. If I can't help, we can find you a professional to talk to." Her blue eyes were full of concern, showing the tiny wrinkles around them.
"Thanks, Mom." I smiled weakly. "I'll let you know if I need something." I must have looked as close to the edge as I felt, if Mom was talking about me seeing a professional.
My response seemed to satisfy her, and she smiled back at me, looking relieved that her part was over. She started up the car, and we headed toward the Archer residence. Ten minutes later we arrived at their front door and Mom promised she'd be out in five minutes. As her door slammed shut, I grabbed a pen and small notebook from the glove box, knowing that I'd be in for a wait. Mom's "five minutes" were usually more like twenty.
I started making a list of all the things that I hoped to find at this new store, and was completely lost in thought when Mom's door opened again. "Sorry that took so long," she said, climbing into her seat and adjusting the rearview mirror. "I had to go over a couple of things with the mayor."
"Not a problem," I responded, still occupied with my list. I added tester vials and bergamot oil to the page. I was running low on both of those. We got back on the main road again, and I put the notebook down as soon as I felt myself begin to get sleepy. I knew I wasn't going to last long.
The sound of a door opening startled me, and I woke up with a jerk. Looking over at Mom, I smiled sheepishly. "Sorry I fell asleep. I guess I was still pretty tired."
"Don't worry about it," she said. "We're here."
I craned my neck to take everything in as I climbed out of the car.
A large green metal sign with a glossy finish greeted us, proclaiming the name of the store to be A Thyme and Reason, and I fell in love with it instantly.
The shop itself looked like it had once lived a past life as a grand old turn-of-the-century house, complete with gingerbread trim,
I couldn't believe that she was telling me to just ignore them. I was supposed to stand by and let people talk about my friend? No way.
"Well, / can do something about it, Mom." I felt anger taking over now. I was furious. "I can stand up for my best friend. Even if you're not willing to."
Stalking out of the kitchen, I left the water behind, and pounded my way upstairs to my bedroom. I slammed the door shut to let her know that I meant what I'd said. She would probably yell at me later for doing that, but I didn't care.
I only meant to close my eyes for a minute or two when I lay down on my bed, but I must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I knew, Mom was leaning over me and calling my name.
Struggling to a sitting position, I yawned loudly and rubbed my eyes. "Tired… just taking a nap… Why did you wake me up?" I mumbled.
"How would you like to go to that new herb store with me?" she said.
"The one up by the cabin?" I asked groggily. "But it's an hour away. Do you really want to go there?"
"Sure, why not?" She shrugged. "I have a couple of papers to drop off at Mayor Archer's house along the way, but other than that, I'm up for it if you are."
I was too tired to argue about whether or not this was a trip for me, or Mayor Archer, so I let that one go. At least she was trying.
"Okay." I forced a smile. "Let's go."
We headed down to the car, and I grabbed some grapes to eat on my way out. Skipping breakfast and lunch so often was finally catching up with me. It didn't take long to finish them off, and I popped the last one into my mouth before climbing into the passenger side and buckling my seat belt.Mom got into the car too and put the key in the ignition but didn't turn it on. I tensed, waiting to see if a lecture on how I should control my anger was coming my way.
"Abbey…," she started. Clearing her throat once, she tried again. "If you ever need to talk about Kristen… or anything else, well… I wanted to let you know that you can always come to me. If I can't help, we can find you a professional to talk to." Her blue eyes were full of concern, showing the tiny wrinkles around them.
"Thanks, Mom." I smiled weakly. "I'll let you know if I need something." I must have looked as close to the edge as I felt, if Mom was talking about me seeing a professional.
My response seemed to satisfy her, and she smiled back at me, looking relieved that her part was over. She started up the car, and we headed toward the Archer residence. Ten minutes later we arrived at their front door and Mom promised she'd be out in five minutes. As her door slammed shut, I grabbed a pen and small notebook from the glove box, knowing that I'd be in for a wait. Mom's "five minutes" were usually more like twenty.
I started making a list of all the things that I hoped to find at this new store, and was completely lost in thought when Mom's door opened again. "Sorry that took so long," she said, climbing into her seat and adjusting the rearview mirror. "I had to go over a couple of things with the mayor."
"Not a problem," I responded, still occupied with my list. I added tester vials and bergamot oil to the page. I was running low on both of those. We got back on the main road again, and I put the notebook down as soon as I felt myself begin to get sleepy. I knew I wasn't going to last long.
The sound of a door opening startled me, and I woke up with a jerk. Looking over at Mom, I smiled sheepishly. "Sorry I fell asleep. I guess I was still pretty tired."
"Don't worry about it," she said. "We're here."
I craned my neck to take everything in as I climbed out of the car.
A large green metal sign with a glossy finish greeted us, proclaiming the name of the store to be A Thyme and Reason, and I fell in love with it instantly.
The shop itself looked like it had once lived a past life as a grand old turn-of-the-century house, complete with gingerbread trim,
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