Back Home Pt 4

They were having a quiet, tense dinner, do to the argument at the mall, when the doorbell rang. Desperate to escape the awkward silence Cathy jumped up and practically ran to the door. However she instantly regretted it when she was met with the face that was behind the door.

"Tom, what are you doing here?" Cathy was absolutely stunned to be looking at the face of face of her ex-fiancé. Her jaw dropped, and her heart speeded up.

"Cathy, please let me explain myself. I've been going crazy without you. I know what I did was wrong, and I could never expect your forgiveness right away, but could you please just hear me out," Tom, a grown man, was begging, and as sad as it was for Cathy to admit, she was slowly breaking. She wanted to hear him out, she actually wanted to forgive him. Cathy may never know what Tom was going to say though, because before she could even response her mom walked into the room.

"Ah, and you must be Tom. Hello I'm Linda, Cathy's mother that you haven't had the pleasure of meeting yet. Sadly, Cathy isn't going to be able to hear your horrible sob story that you most probably made up on the way here. So if you would excuse us, we were having dinner. Have a wonderful night Tom," then she proceeded to slam the door in Tom's face.

"What was that?" Cathy turned towards her mother in confusion. "Are you fighting my battles for me now Mom?"

"Of course not, Cathy. Please don't be so dramatic. He was interrupting our dinner, and you didn't look like you were going to do anything about it."

"You didn't give me time to say anything!" Cathy yelled exasperated. She was annoyed and tired. She was still in shock over seeing Tom, let alone the way her mom was reacting over it.

"It looked like a bad situation, I was trying to help, Cathy alright! Is that okay with you? Is it okay if I try to help my only daughter who had been away for two years?"

"Sure, Mom! You can help; give me some advice. But please, don't slam the door on my ex-fiancé and try to convince it's in my best interest. I moved! I moved to New York and I got a job. I moved on without your help okay? So please, give me a chance here, and you might find I've grown up a bit Mom." Cathy was out of breath after her outburst. She looked at her mom and felt the guilt start to seep in.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry if sometimes my actions seem rash to you, but they have always been out of love and to help you Cathy. I hope you know that by now. And you might have moved on without my help Cathy, but you're back now. Don't forget that."

Those few words were like a slap to the face for Cathy. How could she forget the reason she was home to begin with. However, there was still a part of her that couldn't help but remember the reason she left. Cathy wanted so much, had the biggest dreams, but they were ripped from her. The worst part was there was no body to blame but Cathy herself; she let herself forget her plans and ambitions. Yet, here she was doing it again. Fighting with her mom, once again bringing up moving, it was repeating just like two years ago.

Tom was still sitting outside when the argument began. He too was in complete shock over the situation. He never thought he would've gotten rejected, let alone by Cathy's mother. He was embarrassed to say the least. He thought he was doing the right thing coming here and apologizing. He still was confused on what he did that was so wrong. It wasn't like their relationship was super serious, at least not to him. But if he was being honest with himself he did like Cathy, but that was it. Tom didn't love her, or really even want to marry her. He didn't even propose, he just joked about it and she took it seriously. However for whatever reason, he just couldn't break up with Cathy.

There was something about her. She had a fire, that most girls lacked. She would always talk about her dreams, and how she wanted so much. For Tom, that was enough. He loved her in his own way. However, he knew from the start that he wasn't good for her. Cathy was going somewhere, and maybe Tom was too, but he wasn't going to go there with Cathy. Tom didn't enjoy cheating on her, he did it because he reality he was a coward. He couldn't break up with Cathy, so he made an excuse for her to do it for him.

"But please, don't slam the door on my ex-fiancé and try to convince it's in my best interest." Tom cringed when he heard Cathy yell at her mom. He really hadn't meant to start an argument. He had just wanted to apologize to Cathy. Instead he was outside all alone, while an argument he caused raged on inside. He was really contemplating just leaving when he heard the door open.

"Oh, you're still here. I thought you have left by now," Tom didn't need to turn around to know that it was Cathy standing behind him.

"I was just leaving." Before he could even take one step off the porch Cathy spoke up.

"Tom, please stay," Cathy sounded close to tears, and as much as Tom wanted to walk away he just couldn't. So he decided right then and there to make things right. Not with their relationship, he had already shattered that to pieces, but to make things right with Cathy. This talented, beautiful girl was breaking apart in front of him, and he just couldn't stand it. So Tom turned around and instead of walking away, he decided to stay with a girl who deserved much more than he could give.