Coming home later that day, I didn't feel any different. I was coming home with no information. Mission failed. Florencio did kiss me until I was a puddle and could barely focus on the road though. That did nothing but fry my brain.

My mom's car in the driveway plummeted my mood. Avoiding her was all I wanted to do.

"Mom?" I called out. "I'm home."

Usually she liked to greet me. Whether it was nice, rude, she liked to make her presence known.

After a few minutes, I gave up and was about to go to my room when I heard a phone ringing. After a moment of listening, waiting for her to pick it up, she didn't. I followed the noise and found my moms phone in the kitchen.

Felix, the contact read.

I answered it hesitantly. It felt wrong, yet I still pressed the phone to my ear.

"Grace?" A child's voice came.

I tried to wrack my brain for someone who had a child and my mom knew them... I drew up a blank.

"Who's calling?" I asked.

"It's Aaron!" The child, Aaron, laughed. "Grace, my dad wants to know what you're doing."

Dad? Who was this? "I'm sorry?" Was all I could let out.

"Aaron, give me the phone," a mans voice said. "Sorry, Grace. I said to text you, I guess you trust a ten year old." He cleared his throat. "What are you doing? We flew in to surprise you. I want to see you." The man chuckled nervously when I said nothing.

"I'm Parker," I blurted stupidly. I slapped my forehead.

"Parker?" The man questioned. "You're Grace's daughter, right? She talks about you a lot."

"I am," I confirmed. "Pardon me, but who are you?" I was beyond confused.

"Oh," he sounded uncomfortable. Good, me too. "I'm Felix. Look, I would talk to your mom. Tell her I called." He hung up.

My moms entered the kitchen wrapped in a towel. "Who was that?" She asked me, snatching the phone from my hands.

"Felix."

My mom looked shocked. "What did he say?"

A hot feeling bloomed in my chest. "Are you really trying to skim over this situation? Who's Felix?"

She held the phone close to her chest. "Felix is my friend," she said carefully.

"Yes, because a man with his child surprises their friend by flying in." I couldn't believe she had a relationship I didn't know about. Sure, she had gone on a date but I assumed it didn't amount to anything.

"Don't start with that," she snapped. "I had to find out about some boyfriend by myself. God, and he was in my house? I'm the adult here, Parker."

She was right. "W-we've only been seeing each other for three months..." I trailed off. "How long have you and Felix been together?"

She bit her lip, her face turning red. "Seven months."

I was pretty sure my brain stopped functioning. "I'm sorry?"

"Look, Parker... I've trying to tell you. It just never came up." Her excuses were being pulled out of thin air.

"Are you ashamed or something?" I couldn't understand why she didn't tell me.

She pressed her hand to her face. "I'm not doing this today," she muttered. "We'll all probably go to dinner later. Come with us." She offered an awkward smile.

I said yes, but couldn't stop wondering what excuse she'd make if I hadn't found out.

-

Later that night, I mindlessly brushed eyeshadow over my lids and swiped lipstick on.

I was going to meet my moms boyfriend Felix and his ten year old son Aaron.

Okay. It was a lot to take in. I took a few deep breaths to calm my nerves. I left my vanity and slipped on a plain blue dress, black cardigan, and ballet flats.

I left my room and found my mom standing in the living room, texting someone on her phone.

"Let's go," she murmured, not looking at me. She dressed up in a tight fitting black dress. It made me feel underdressed.

The car ride was painfully silent. I wasn't expecting anything else.

"How'd you meet Felix meet?" My voice was quiet.

My moms hands tightened on the steering wheel.

"We met the first time me and Samantha went to Oregon," she said quickly, pulling into the parking lot of an expensive restaurant.

"I hear everything is ridiculously overpriced," I commented.

"Felix owns this restaurant," my mom snapped. She got out before I could say anything.

I gaped. How the hell was I supposed to know that your mystery boyfriend was a restaurateur?

I got out of the car and had to resist slamming the door.

I practically had to jog to keep up with my mom. I was breathless when we entered the building. It was small inside and the warm toned colors made the place feel intimate and cozy.

The hostesses smiled at my mom. "Grace, how you been? We've all missed you here. I think Felix has missed you more though." The hostess, I read her name tag, Julie, smiled kindly. "Is this your daughter?"

My mom laughed, her mood in the car forgotten. "I've missed you guys too, and I hope so." She placed her arm over my shoulders lightly. "Yes, this is my daughter, Parker."

Smile, stand up straight, and pretend you're not absolutely fuming, Parker. You'll be okay. "Hi, nice to meet you!"I said sweetly. I sounded fake and Julie noticed. Her smile faltered.

"I'll show you guys where Felix is," she voice was less cheery than when we walked in. She led us to a more secluded area of the restaurant where no people were.

We approached a table with a handsome man, blonde hair, blue eyes and a child, who looked just like his father.

Felix stood up when he saw us. He brushed passed me and hugged my mom tightly. She returned the hug and kissed his cheek briefly.

When they pulled back Felix gave me a grin. "I'm sorry, Parker. I just missed her."

"It's okay," I said, my voice cracking. I cleared my throat. "Excuse the phone call earlier today... the phone was cutting out and I never check the contact name—"

"So you didn't hear me. It's okay, kid. I was worried there for a second you didn't know who I was." He laughed at my expression. If mines was funny, my moms was priceless. The tips of her ears were red and she was biting her lip so hard it had gone white.

"Daddy, move! I want to see Parker!" I heard a child's voice.

Felix complied and moved so Aaron could see me. Aaron stared at me before nodding.

"You're pretty," he stated, taking a breadstick out of the basket on the table and eating it.

"Aaron," Felix warned, sitting next to him and pinching his ear.

"Ow! Sorry," Aaron grumbled, shoving more bread in his mouth.

I forced a laugh. "It's alright. Thank you though."

"Sit, please," Felix encouraged.

Upon sitting, Felix asked me, "so, Parker, have you been to my restaurant before?"

I just found out you owned one, so no, I thought bitterly. "No," I answered.

Felix rolled his eyes. "Grace, I've been telling you to bring her here, especially on her birthday! Would've given you a slice of our famous chocolate cake."

My mom reached over the table and slapped his arm. "She's been busy. She's rarely home now."

I had to bite my tongue to keep from screaming.

"Is school occupying all your time?" Felix asked me.

I glanced at Aaron who looked bored out of his mind, staring at the fancy chandelier above us.

"No, I've been—" my excuse was cut short by my mom.

"She's been distracted by a boyfriend." A sad look settled on her face.

Felix smiled gently. "Grace, we were quite distant with others when we first met." Felix looked at me. "Who is he?"

"Um," I had no idea what to say. Florencio was the absolute opposite of who I thought I'd end up with. The nice guy next door type. He was not that. "He's really nice. He does keep me distracted though." My face flushed.

"What's his name?" Felix pressed.

"Florencio." I took a drink of the water already in front of me. Someone please kill me now. We weren't even together...

My mom changed the subject and asked how Felix's restaurant in Oregon was going. He talked for a while about that and how he's opening another location in Nevada.

Aaron tried to talk to me about his favorite subject in school, but I couldn't really focus on him. I smiled nonetheless, and related with his dislike for math.

Felix insisted he'd order for us, asking us to try the new menu items.

I was served the baked salmon with pea cream sauce drizzled on top, placed on a bed of white rice. It tasted delicious. I was sure I ate the whole thing in less than twenty minutes. Desert was fried ice cream with chocolate sauce.

Although the meal lifted my spirits, it immediately fell when Felix started to talk about my life and moms. I didn't know who this man was and I had to just pretend I did.

I excused myself from the table and rushed to the bathroom. I was oddly angry the bathroom was as perfect as the food, the decor, Felix.

I pressed my fingers to my temples to try and calm my headache.

When my phone started to ring, I groaned in annoyance. I answered without looking.

"What?" I snapped.

"Honey, who pissed on your food?" Came Florencio's reply. It was loud in the background and I could barely hear him.

"No one," I grumbled. I was too pissed off to try and have a conversation. "What do you need? I'm not home."

"I want to go on vacation," he said. I heard a door slam. His breathing was heavy for some reason.

My eyebrows scrunched up. "Good for you?"

"What are doing for the next few weeks?" He asked, ignoring my harsh tone and behavior.

I had to laugh at his question. "A few weeks? I can't just leave. And I'm not going on vacation with you."

"Why not?" He said simply. "I want you there."

"I just can't," I argued. "I don't even know where you're going."

"Mexico. I leave in two weeks, I want you there Parker."

My eyes widened. "You expect me to leave for a few weeks to Mexico? I don't even know how—" I stopped myself before I word vomited. What would I tell my mom? Did it matter? I thought about my passport that sat peacefully on the top shelf in my closet. I only had it because my grandma insisted I needed one before I turned eighteen. Maybe she was right.

"No," I finally said. "This is too crazy and random." Another problem popped up. "I have no money. I couldn't even help pay for a plane ticket."

"Who said you have to pay for anything?" His tone was serious.

"It's too much money," I said weakly. The dreamer part of me was excited that I was being offered a free trip. The logical part told me it was stupid. Especially considering who I was going to be alone with

"Parker," Florencio murmured.

I pressed my ear to the phone harder to hear him. I think he was driving.

"Where are you?"

I closed my eyes. "I'm not telling you. I just saw you. I'm busy meeting my moms new boyfriend, I gotta go." I pulled my phone back in front of my face to check the time. Have I been in here too long?

"Think about it, honey," he said, his voice low.

My breathing picked up. "Florencio—"

I was cut off when the bathroom door opened. My mom stormed in, staring at me with a furious look. I really should have gone in a stall. I hung up the phone and turned off my ringer incase Florencio called again.

"Go back to the table," my mom hushed. "And at least pretend you're excited."

I almost broke my phone in half. "I can't be excited when strangers are at the table and I just have to pretend I know them!" My voice raised higher and I hated it.

"What about Florencio," she spat. "Who is he? I'm your mom Parker."

I ignored her question about Florencio. "You've been with Felix for seven months. Almost a year. When were you going to tell me?"

"When were you going to tell me you were leaving?" She raised an eyebrow.

"E-excuse? Were you listening from outside?" This was unbelievable. I needed to leave this bathroom. "I'm not even going," I muttered and pushed past her.

When I got back to the table, I put on a big smile and asked Felix for more ice cream. My mom came a few minutes after, laughing as if nothing had happened.

-