Mom was finally coming home. It was Sunday and the sun was shining brightly from between fluffy white clouds. Even the sky was showing its happiness for me, for us.

I was very happy. I had cried from happiness in Chris's arms for some minutes last night. After long months finally mom was coming home and I had the feeling that everything was finally fine and bad things won't happen again.

I was better, a lot. I was feeling free and Chris's constant presence was helping me greatly. True to his words he had stayed at my home for the past two days and nights. It was so nice to sleep in his arms and feel his warm and reassuring presence beside me. I was able to sleep peacefully in his arms.

We had gone to therapy sessions two times and it was helping greatly. Most of the time I wouldn't remember the assault especially because of the excitement I had.

Liam and Daisy were overjoyed. Last day, they had taken it upon themselves to clean the house spotless for mom's arrival. We had moved my stuff from mom's room and had put my old bed back in Daisy's room.

It felt nice that everything was back to normal, even better than normal.

So that day, Chris and I went to the hospital, and Liam and Daisy stayed home to prepare a welcome party. Mom was overjoyed as well. She looked like a happy little child, jumping around and getting ready with utter happiness.

Finally, mom was discharged, fine, and ready to go home. I was supporting her as we walked toward the hospital's front doors, although she didn't need any help. Chris was walking a step in front of us, carrying mom's bags.

Mom stopped once we were out of the sliding doors and closed her eyes and tilted her head up. My heart melted at seeing the content smile on her lips. Her face was bright as the wind caressed her beautiful face. I couldn't help but kiss her cheek.

She smiled brighter and squeezed my hand before opening her eyes and looking at me. Her eyes were glossy. "I feel free." she chuckled and wiped her eyes. "I feel like a prisoner, released from prison after long years."

"We are so happy that you are coming back." I said and leaned my head on her shoulder, basking in the feeling of having her in my arms.

It felt like the safest place in the world.

"I am happy as well." she sighed in contentment. "This feels like a dream that only came true with your hard work. I really don't know how to thank you, Ellie."

I kissed her cheek once again and guided her down the stairs. "I'm ready to give my life for you." I said. "A few months of working is nothing really. Besides, I found something very important along the way."

I spoke while staring at Chris, who was leaning on his car, looking at us with a smile. He was wearing a black T-shirt and jeans with a leather jacket on top. His beautiful eyes were hidden under sunglasses and he looked so handsome.

"He is a great boy." answered mom, looking at Chris with a soft smile. "I'm so happy for you, dear."

"Your carriage is ready, my lady." beamed Chris at my mom as he opened the backseat door, making me and mom chuckle.

"Thank you, my fine son." said mom as she kissed Chris's cheek and then sit inside.

Chris closed the door and then opened the passenger door and gestured for me. "Hop in, love," he said. "The ship is about to sail."

"Thank you," I whispered and pecked his lips, making his grin wider.

Soon we were home. Liam and Daisy were sitting on the front stairs. They jumped to their feet and began to wave and jump up and down at the sight of the car, making mom begin sobbing. Crap, even I was crying.

Mom practically jumped out of the car when Chris parked it on the driveway. It was a very emotional scene. She knelt on the ground and Liam and Daisy who both were crying threw themselves at her and hugged her tightly.

I got out and stepped around the car to watch them. Tears were running down my face from true happiness. I felt arms snaked around my waist and I leaned back on Chris's body who was standing right behind me. He kissed my temple and swayed us a bit.

"Your hard work paid off." he whispered in my ear. "I'm proud of you, angel."

And I was proud of myself as well. It was like all of the exhaustion left my body as I stared at the scene in front of me. All of the stress, sadness, fear, and anxiety that I felt in the past few months just flew away. I turned and hugged Chris tightly and buried my head in his chest.

"It wouldn't happen without your help." I said and looked up into his bright green eyes that I loved dearly. "I owe this moment to you, Chris."

"Well, I accept your thanking." he said playfully and kissed my lips. "You owe me a lot of kissing for repayment."

I giggled as he whispered, his lips hovering above mine. Our moment was ruined by someone coughing. I turned and saw Liam with crossed arms, glaring playfully at us. Mom and Daisy were nowhere to be seen.

"Keep it private please." he whined defeated before walking to the door. "Come on. Lunch is ready and I'm starving."

"I could have just eaten you for lunch." grumbled Chris as we picked mom's bags and headed toward the house.

I giggled and kissed his pouty lips. "Don't worry." I whispered and winked at him. "We will have plenty of time later to continue where we left."

I then turned my back to him and hear him mumble tease under his breath.

The lunchtime was so lively. The four of us were trying to beat each other to tell funny memories. The entire time we were eating the table was filled with laughter and happiness. After lunch, Liam and Daisy took mom upstairs for a nap.

They left Chris and me to clean the table and wash the dishes. I was drying my hands with a towel when I felt Chris's strong arms wrapping around my waist. I smiled and turned in his arms. I locked my hands around his neck as he kissed my lips rather hungrily and lifted me off the ground for a second.

We devoured each other's lips for some minutes before he finally broke away. "God! I love you, Eleanor." he whispered in my ear as he swayed us a bit while hugging me tightly.

That was when I saw his bag on the table and my heart sank a bit. I looked up at him frowning. "Are you leaving?" I asked sadly. I knew I had no right to ask that. He had spent so much time with me. He had every right to go home and rest for a few days, away from my troublesome life.

"Yeah," he said and scratched the back of his head. "I thought you may need some alone family time."

"You are family." I commented quickly and blushed instantly once I realized what I said.

He is not your husband dumbass.

My mind reminded me and I bit my bottom lip and dropped my head. I felt Chris's finger under my chin and he tilted my head up to look into my eyes. There was a strong emotion swirling in his eyes that I couldn't name it. His eyes were shining and he looked very happy.

He leaned down and gently pecked my lips. "You don't know how honored I am to hear that, angel." he whispered in a husky voice. "You don't know how much it means to me."

I smiled up at him but my smile faded as I remembered he wanted to leave. "I'm sorry to force you to stay with me for three days." I said apologetically. "I'm sorry you have to waste your time to console and help me."

"Shut up." snapped Chris and scowled down at me. "Don't you dare. If staying with you is wasting time then I want to waste my life and you can't do anything about it."

"Okay, sorry." I chuckled at seeing his grumpy face and pecked his lips. "Though I'm sure you yearn to go home. You must have missed sleeping in your bed."

"Oh, that's not true babe." he smirked and pulled me closer to him. "I may return at midnight to snuggle in your bed. I don't think I can go to sleep without you in my arms anymore."

"Then I should come to your house." I giggled. "We can't snuggle and kiss with Daisy present in the same room."

"I should give you a key to my house, then." said Chris and his eyes turned darker and a bit distant.

I chuckled and cupped his face. "Aren't you going to be bored without me tonight?" I asked and pouted.

"I'm sure you want to stay with your family today or I wouldn't hesitate to take you out on a date." he said firmly but then sighed and pressed his forehead to mine. "But for now I can trust Chase to keep me entertained. He had threatened to decapitate me if we don't go out with our friends tonight."

"All boys I assume?" I said seriously and raised an eyebrow.

He laughed throatily and squeezed me to his chest so I could feel the rumble of his chest. He then leaned down and nibbled on my earlobe, making me moan slightly, and clung to his collar for dear life as my heart began to race in my ribcage.

"Don't worry, babe." he rasped in my ear, his hot breath sending shivers down my spine. "I can't even look at other girls without comparing them with you and find them so so beneath you. You are in my fucking mind 24/7. I am all yours."

"Good," I managed to whisper but my breath caught in my throat as he kissed his way from my ear to my lips and then kissed my lips with such a passion that lifted my spirit.

"I should leave really." he whispered when we pulled away. "Or I can't be able to leave at all. Fuck!"

Gaining back my breath and sanity, I pulled away from him reluctantly and put a strand of hair behind my ear. "I will see you tomorrow at school then." I said.

"Nope." said Chris, popping the p. I frowned as I watched him grab his bag and slung it over his shoulder before looking back at me. His face was dead serious. "I will pick you up tomorrow morning and you can't argue on this. We will go to school together."

I nodded my head. I had learned in the past two days that he had become extremely overprotective and possessive. I understood him though. The horrible event of last week had affected him as much as me.

"Okay," I answered and closed my eyes in bliss as he kissed my forehead. My heart would flutter every time he was doing that.

"Goodbye, angel." he whispered. "I see you soon."

I plopped down on the sofa in the living room after Chris left. I closed my eyes and leaned my head back, enjoying the silence around me and the happiness, joy, peace, and love inside of me.

"He really loves you."

I jumped a bit startled and saw mom standing at the bottom of the stairs, watching me with a smile. My heart flip-floped at the sight of her. I was still not used to her presence after long months of her absence.

She had showered. It was so great and refreshing to see her in her casual clothes and wearing her slippers, the same clothes that I used to hug and cry to sleep when I was so worried and stressed during the few months she was not home.

"Yeah. It seems." I answered awkwardly, suddenly wondering if mom had watched our little kissing moments in the kitchen.

We should be more careful about PDAs.

"But I'm sure." said mom as she walked forward and leaned on the back of a sofa. "It's obvious from the way he acts around you and for you. I'm so happy that you have him by your side. he seems too passionate while kissing you as well."

Yup! Definitely got busted.

I blushed and dropped my head but then glared at mom as she chuckled. Mom shook her head and mumbled something under her breath in the line of teenagers these days.

"Liam and Daisy are taking a nap." she said and clapped her hands together. "I want to make tea. Do you want some?"

I quickly jumped to my feet. "I will prepare it." I said. "You just sit and ..."

"No!" said mom sternly and stopped me from walking. "No more resting like a pateint. The doctor said that I'm completely fine to continue my normal life. So please don't treat me like I'm still sick."

I was shocked a bit. But she was completely right. It must have felt so bad for her to be forced to do nothing for so long and be dependent on others. It must have been so refreshing for her to be able to do even a simple thing like making tea. So I just nodded. She smiled, kissed my cheek, and walked toward the kitchen.

I couldn't help it. My legs followed her after a moment. I stood at the entrance of the kitchen and watched her walk gracefully around the kitchen while humming a tune under her breath. It was surreal and brought tears to my eyes.

My mom was home. Home! We were normal again.

She turned to me and her smile dropped a bit when she saw my teary eyes. I literally jumped into her arms as sobs shook my body. I hugged her tightly and smelled her soothing motherly scent that I had missed a lot.

"Mom," I sobbed. "It's so good that you are back. So good. I don't know how to thank God. Thank you for coming back."

Mom hugged me tighter. "I'm happy to be back too, my dear." she said with a shaky voice. "I'm sorry that I left you on your own for long. I'm sorry that you have to bear the weight of life like that. I'm terribly sorry. It's over I promise. I'm here now, my daughter. I'm home."

Her words just made me cry harder, relishing in the bliss of having her back. I calmed down after some minutes finally. Mom pulled away and smiled before wiping my face with a napkin. Her eyes were teary as well.

"Okay, the water has boiled," she said. "Sit down."

I nodded and went to the sink to wash my face as mom poured tea into the pot and readied the cups. Soon we both sat at the table sipping on our cups of tea silently.

"You look so mature and grown up." said mom, breaking the silence.

I looked up and smiled at her. "I worked with adults." I shrugged. "I think being around them for long and interacting with them has made me grow up soon."

Mom shook her head sadly. She put her cup down and looked at me. "You have sacrificed your teenage life for the family." she said. "I want you to enjoy the last few remaining months of your official teenage life. I'm going to look for jobs from tomorrow. Maybe if you resign I can take your ..."

"No!" I said firmly. "Look, mom. It's great you are back. But please take it easy. The doctor said you should still rest for another month before deciding to work. You should not exhaust yourself."

"But I can't let you work any longer instead of me." protested mom.

I shook my head. "It's okay." I smiled and grabbed her hand on the table. "I have gotten used to it. Plus I have Chris working there too, Chase is there as well. I enjoy working in the hotel. Now that I don't have to worry about hospital expenses I can easily afford us plus pay a bit to Chris every month. You are free to work from next month. For now, it's more than enough that you are home with us. Just use this month to tend to Daisy and Liam. They need you a lot. This way a great burden will be taken from my shoulders knowing that you are handling everything at home."

"I really don't know how to thank you, Eleanor." said mom and smiled sadly. "I know it must have been so hard for you."

"The past is past." I answered. "Plus, Chris's presence in the past two months was a blessing. I'm feeling so stronger and hopeful with him by my side."

"I'm so happy to hear that." answered mom. "We should invite him for dinner one night, maybe this weekend. I want to thank him properly and get to know him better."

"That would be lovely." I smiled warmly which mom returned.

We sat there and talked a bit more as I briefed mom on everything from my siblings' educational matters and lives to my relationship with Chris and finally my assault. It felt so nice to have mom hugging me as I talked with her about my nightmares. It felt so nice to have her caress my hair with her motherly love.

It felt so nice to have her back and I knew that I was going to be fine.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Are you awake?

My eyebrows rose as I read Chris's message.

Yes. How are you? Did you enjoy your time with your friends?

His response came almost instantly.

Yeah, it was fun. But I prefer to be with you.

Are you up for coffee?

I smiled as I replied.

Chris, it's almost 11. Are you not tired?

Are you?

I sat at the edge of my bed and replied while biting my lip from excitement. I really wanted to see him before sleeping. I have already missed him.

No. I miss you.

Then come down. I'm waiting in my car with coffee.

I almost ran to the window of the room that had a view of the front of the house and surely, I saw Chris's car parked there. I giggled before rushing to the wardrobe and pulling out a kitted cardigan and putting it on top of my PJs.

Thankfully Dasy was sleeping with mom that night so I didn't wake her up with my movements. I quickly grabbed my phone and keys and rushed out of the room, tiptoeing down the stairs.

"Where are you going?"

I jumped and whirled around toward the entrance of the kitchen and saw mom standing there. She was frowning and looked confused.

"Um," I said suddenly nervous, and rocked on the ball of my feet. "Chris is outside and um, he has brought coffee and ... um ..."

Mom raised one of her eyebrows and put a hand on her hip. "It's almost 11 and you have school tomorrow." she stated, sounding like a stern parent.

Okay, I wasn't used to this. In the past two months since I started my first relationship ever, I had no parent figure or no adult to restrict me a bit. Now, I was feeling a bit nervous.

"He has brought coffee." I literally whined. "I will come back soon. I usually return home later than this from work."

Mom sighed and rubbed her forehead. "And that is entirely my fault and is wrong." she said, eyeing me for a moment before rolling her eyes. I should have looked like a puppy with flat ears and big pleading eyes. "Okay, go, just because I trust Chris. But don't get used to this routine. Not until you are at school yet."

I squealed and rushed to her, kissing her cheek soundly. "Thank you, mommy." I said.

"Okay, off you go now." chuckled mom and shooed me away. "Don't keep the poor boy waiting for long and come back before midnight."

I rushed outside and closed the door softly behind me before flying toward Chris's car and getting in.

"It took you long." asked Chris suspiciously. "Were you ready to sleep?"

"No, mom caught me sneaking outside." I giggled. "You should bring me back before midnight, mister."

"Oh, No." whined Chris and leaned his head back. "Don't tell me we are now having restrictions. Your mom is going to be this cruel?"

"No whining." I said with a smile and raised a warning finger playfully. "Or there will be no dates and going out."

Chris glared at me but then rolled his eyes with a smile and leaned forward to kiss me. I happily met him halfway and kissed him back.

"I have missed you too." whispered Chris when we pulled back. I stared into his eyes which were dark green in the darkness as he stared back at me. "I don't like to stay away from you for long or sleep without you."

"Me too." I sighed and caressed his jawline. "But we have to live this way until graduation."