Love Me ~ Through the Storm by Renee Kennedy

He’ll do anything and everything possible to keep my mom happy.”
    “They sound great.” He doesn’t realize how lucky he is to have his parents.
    “They are most of the time. You’ll have to meet them parents’ weekend. Are your parents going to come in for that?”
    “No, they can’t make it.” I let out a slow breath. “The truth is they both—” I look down at the sweat ring my glass has formed on the napkin. “They passed away last year.” I said it. I got it out. I breathe in deeply through my nose.
    “I’m sorry to hear that. You can just hang out with us. Mom would love to have a girl around to talk to. She gets tired of all of the testosterone in the house.” He picks up his soda and takes a swig.
    He didn’t put me through twenty questions, and he didn’t push me to talk about my feelings. He simply acknowledged what I’d said and went on. The pity I get from most people was missing. The way he handled the news of my parents’ death made the whole thing a tiny bit more bearable. Right now, I’ll take that as a win. I need every teeny achievement I can get. I actually just told someone that my parents died without my throat closing up. Yay, Oakley! I’m counting that as a win. I can’t wait to tell Kane.
    “Thanks for inviting me, Keith. I really needed to hang out with someone tonight.”
    “It was my pleasure. Let’s exchange numbers so we can do it again.” He hands me his phone.
    I type in my number then hand it back to him. “Okay, my number is in, just send me a text.”
    On our drive back to the dorms, we get to know each other better and the more I find out about him the better I like him. He walks me to the door of the building and I give him a goodbye hug.
    “I’ll text you later and maybe we can get coffee one morning this week,” Keith says.
    I put my key card in the slot to open the door. “Cool, I’ll be looking for that text.” I smile at him. “See ya around.  Night.”
    “Yeah, I’ll see ya, Oakley.”
    I bounce into my dorm room with a renewed excitement for the semester to come. I want to talk to Kane and tell him about everything that has gone on the past two days. I pull my cell from my back pocket and fire off a quick text.
    Oakley : Kane! Are you busy? I need to talk to you!
    He doesn’t text me back all night and that’s so unlike him because he’s normally glued to his phone as much as I am. I’m going to try to not let it bother me; he is probably busy.
     

11
    Kane
     
    Work. That’s how I plan to keep my mind off Oakley. While I’m writing my script for the new girl that CJ hired, my mind keeps drifting back to Oakley. With these scenes being so sexual, of course my mind chooses to think of her. I need to get laid and this will be over.
    I pull out my little black book of former conquests and thumb through the pages. None of them piques my interest. In frustration, I toss the book into the trash.
    Wouldn’t you know, Oakley texts me again.
    Oakley:   Where are you? You didn’t ever text me back last night!!
    I stare at the screen; this is for your own good . She doesn’t need me around, fucking up her life. She and Quinn seem to have it all figured out.
    I look over at the book in the garbage . Fuck it! I retrieve it. There has to be someone in here that I can use for the night. It never mattered to me before who I hooked up with, why should it now?  I come across a name that I know I’ll regret but I call her anyway.
    “Hey, Megan, I’m coming over.”
     

     
    If you told me that I’d be visiting my mother three times a week when I moved back to Nashville, I’d have called you a liar. Regardless of what Dr. Fowler tells me, Deb’s not getting better. She was always good at fooling everyone, but I don’t buy her shit, not any more.
    Dr. Kristina Fowler is Mom’s therapist; she keeps encouraging me to have a weekly counseling session with Deb. I refuse to be sucked into the dog and pony show. Deb might dry out, she may get her