Chapter 48: Awkward

-Molly's POV-

Scott looked just as worried as I was, yet he still was not moving as quickly as I would have expected.
"Molly! Honey, are you up?" Mom called again and then gave the door knob a rattle.
I almost lost my breath until I realized that Scott had thought of locking it last night.
"One second, Mom. I'm not dressed!" I called back, hoping the panic didn't show in my voice.
"Molly? Why is your door locked?"
The bewilderment in her voice might have been comical if Scott hadn't been slow at moving.
"GO!" I whispered urgently. "Please! Go!"
"Where am I supposed to go, Molly?" Scott whispered back. "There isn't anywhere to hide!"
"Molly! Open the DOOR!"
"I'm not dressed, Mom!" I called again.
My panic continued to grow as I looked from Scott to the rattling door that my mother was still trying to open.
"I'll be there in a moment!" I tried desperately to stall her.
I knew I couldn't hold her off much longer. Knowing my mother, she would probably kick down the door if I didn't open it soon. I turned back to Scott, pleading with him silently. He let out a sigh and grumbled as he trudged over to the closet. I couldn't understand everything he was grumbling about, but I definitely heard something like "Adult" and "Not doing anything wrong." But I didn't have time to worry about his complaints as I jumped off the bed and searched for my robe. I stumbled over the pile of clothes in the middle of the room and bit back a curse when my knees hit the ground hard.
That was definitely going to bruise up nicely, I thought, in a haze of pain.
I shoved the clothes under the bed and raced to the door as it jiggled again, knowing my time was up.
"Molly! Damn it! Open the damned door!" Mom shouted through the wood.
"Fine! Fine, Mom, jeez!" I said as I opened it.
I forced a look of annoyance on my face, which wasn't so hard with how pushy she was at that moment. "What's going on?"
My mother looked me up and down before shaking her head at me.
"What has been going on with you lately? If I didn't know better, I'd think you were hiding something from me?" she demanded.
Besides several wild nights of hot, amazing sex with the one person I shouldn't be hooking up with... no, nothing, I thought sardonically. I carefully schooled my facial features as best I could before she read my thoughts on my face. I let out a forced laugh.
"Mom! Don't be silly! What's going on? Why are you trying to break down my door?" I turned the question around in hopes she would get sidetracked.
"Have you seen Scott?" she asked, causing my heart to skip a beat.
My breath caught in my throat, and my head screamed that she knew everything. I felt as if my indiscretion was tattooed on my forehead.
"I-I... umm... N-no... H-haven't seen him... ummm... why?" I stuttered.
My mother gave me an odd look. "Are you alright? Your face is turning red. Are you running a fever?"
I pushed her hand away from my head and took a breath to calm myself.
"I'm fine, Mom. Why are you looking for Scott?" I asked when my facade was safely back in place... ish.
"Well, Scott and Paul are heading home in a few hours, and I thought we all couldn't have breakfast before we headed off. But I'm having a hard time pinning Scott down."
Mom looked up and down the hallway as if Scott was going to pop out of a wall somewhere. The feeling of almost being caught by my mother paled in comparison to the gut punch that came with the knowledge that Scott was leaving today. All I could do was blink at her a few times before finally finding my voice to speak again.
"I'm sorry. What did you say?" I asked for clarification.
Surely, she didn't mean they were heading back to Hamford, Connecticut. That was... that was all the way back over there. Scott wouldn't go so far away without telling me.
"Oh! Scott and Paul have to head back home. There's a problem with... well, I'm not sure exactly what. But Paul made it sound really important. So he has to head back and needs Scott's help. So we're going to have some breakfast first... as soon as we find Scott. After breakfast, we'll see them off," Mom explained with a smile, as if my heart wasn't twisting in pain.
Oh, I knew where Scott was, and I was going to give him a piece of my mind.
I forced a broad smile on my face. "I'll finish getting dressed and help you look for Scott. I'll bet he just stayed at his club last night. They have a little apartment attached to it."
Mom gave me another odd look. "How do you know that?"
I winced internally, making sure my smile didn't slip. "Scott mentioned it."
"Oh! Okay, well. That must be it. Thank you!" Mom replied happily. "We'll see you downstairs when you're done."
I would have said anything to get my mother away from my door. But thankfully, my mother didn't seem to notice my quick dismissal as she gave me a jaunty wave and headed off down the stairs.
The instant I closed my bedroom door, Scott burst out of my closet.
"Molly, I can explain," he said before I could even speak.
"It had better be a damned good one, Scott. Because at this moment, I can't think of any good excuse not to tell me last night," I snapped at him as I crossed my arms over my chest.
Scott held his hands up defensively, like he was afraid I would walk up and smack him. To be honest, I seriously considered it. But I managed to maintain... barely.
"Dad just told me last night that we were leaving. I tried to convince him otherwise, but he insisted he needed my help. I wanted to tell you last night. But I was afraid it would ruin our evening together. Then I was going to tell you this morning, but..." he waved at the door, indicating our little interruption. "I honestly didn't want you to learn like this. But please understand that I just didn't want to ruin our night."
I sighed heavily as my shoulders slumped. That was a good reason, and I knew it would have ruined our night. Especially if I had felt as upset as I was at that moment.
"I don't want you to go," I admitted dejectedly.
I sounded like a spoiled child that had been told no more cookies. I hated it, but that was how I felt. I wanted to pout, stomp my feet, and demand that he didn't go. It just didn't seem so fair after everything that had finally happened. I knew we weren't going to be apart for long. But even the few short weeks would feel like forever without him.
Scott moved closer and pulled me into his arms. "I know, baby girl. I don't want to go either. Last night was fucking mind-blowing, and this morning was just as amazing. I hate the idea that you'll be out of my reach again. But Dad needs help, and it sounds really important. Otherwise, neither my father nor I would be going," Scott explained as he held me softly.
I nodded morosely as I breathed in his scent. I knew he was right, even if I didn't want him to be.
"We'll be together again before you know it, baby girl. Just have fun with your mother and BE GOOD," he whispered into my hair.
I couldn't help but giggle at his warning. "I'm always good, Scott."
"Yeah, good at driving me crazy," he replied with a chuckle.
"Gotta be good at something," I countered.
Scott pulled away and tipped my head up. "You are good at a lot of things. Some things I can't think about at this moment, or we'll never make it out of this room."
That sounded good to me. But I knew that wouldn't be possible. Instead, I forced myself to let Scott go and watched him gather his things from their hiding spot before he pressed another kiss on my forehead and headed back to his room.