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Two days before the end of spring break, I had Kai over while my parents were gone. We spent the entire day together at my house. It was early in the afternoon when we decided to watch a movie together.

Kai was in the kitchen making popcorn while I grabbed the blanket and pillows. I had another three hours before my parents came home. It was more than enough time to finish a movie and for Kai to go back to the motel he was staying at without my parents noticing.

I was in the living room when I heard someone put a key in the front door. I froze and my eyes went to the door. Panic sets in and I didn't have enough time to call out to Kai. The door opened and my mom walked inside. She had her work clothes on. Her eyes found me first.

"What a surprise? You are home this time. I feel like you've been so busy lately. Your dad and I haven't seen you for a while now."

She accessed the living room area and looked back at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Are you planning to watch a movie?"

The microwave beeped, and I heard Kai opening and closing the microwave door. She stopped putting her keys away and looked back at me.

"Do you have friends over?" she asked.

"Mom..."

My mom walked to the kitchen just as Kai turned around with a bowl of popcorn. He looked just as surprised to see my mom as she was to see him. I could see that she was looking at him. Her eyes doing a scan of his black v-neck t-shirt, chained necklace, black jeans, tatted up body, and messy hair.

If looks could kill, my mom would have split me open the second her eyes settled back on me.

"M-mom, this is Kai. He's a student from my school."

"And how old are you?" she asked Kai.

"Eighteen, ma'am." Kai cleaned up his speech.

"And you are Tamsin's friend?" My mom was pushing it. Her body language was a telltale. She wanted answers.

"Mom, he's my boyfriend," I replied.

My palms feel sweaty. I think the walls in our room moved several inches. Did my mom move closer to me? Why do I feel suddenly threatened? Kai sat the bowl of popcorn on the counter. The longer my mom stayed silent, the thicker the air became.

"I think I should go."

"Yes, it's time for you to go now." My mom's voice was cold and scary.

Kai walked past me. I turned to follow him. I wanted to reassure him and also see him out. My mom grabbed my arm.

"Where do you think you're going, young lady?"

"I'm going to say goodbye." I pulled my arm from my mom and hurried after Kai. Surprisingly, my mom didn't follow.

Kai was already outside and on his bike when I caught up. I grabbed his arm and squeezed it. He placed a hand over mine.

"It's fine, Dollface. Take care of things at home. I'll see you at school."

"She's upset with me because I haven't told her yet. She doesn't hate you."

He nodded his head before putting on his helmet and then revving off.

I walked back inside to find my mom in the living room window. She looked at me as soon as I walked in. Her arms crossed over her chest. She looked livid.

"Your boyfriend?" My mom accused me.

I shoved my hands into my jean shorts and shrugged. "It's what you see, mom."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means he's my boyfriend."

"No. That will not happen. You're going to break up with him whether or not you like it. If you don't, your dad will hear about this and I swear, young lady, you won't get away with it." My mom walked over to me with one finger pointed at my face. Her voice rose with every single word. She was livid.

"I'm not breaking up with him." That was not an option.

"Excuse me?" My mom blinked with her mouth wide open. She scoffed and then laughed. "If you are going to be staying in my house, you will follow my rules. There is no way in hell I will let you hang out with that boy. No way at all!"

"I'm eighteen. You don't get a say in what I do or who I like."

"As long as you're my daughter, I'll always have a say in everything in your life. I'm your mother. I gave birth to you!"

"And I'm grateful for that. I love you and I love dad. I don't want us to argue. I want to be the person you want me to be, but I love him, mom. I won't break up with him."

My mom rubbed a hand over her face.

"I can't believe you, Tamsin. How long did you know this boy?"

"Since grade school. He's Mr. McGrath's son."

My mom laughed cynically.

"That boy is the baddest apple in this town. You will not continue seeing him. I'm stopping it."

"He's not a bad person!" I shouted.

"That's what you think, because you don't know the reality of the world. There are bad people out there, Tamsin. They'll use you and dispose of you without feeling anything. That boy is that kind of person. Have you seen how he looks?"

"Looks means nothing, mom. You taught me that. It's what's inside that matters."

"No! You don't get to use that on me."

At this point, we were screaming at each other. Our faces were red and my mom was throwing up her hands. She was angry, but I was furious.

"It's the truth. I know him, mom. He's a good guy."

She scoffed. "Is that what he told you?"

"It's what I've seen."

"I don't need to know him more to know what kind of person he is. He's not going to be a good boyfriend or friend."

"I can't believe that you would judge people by their looks. You, of all people."

My mom crossed her arms again and glared in my direction.

"I don't care. Whatever I say goes, and in this house, he isn't welcome."

"Then I guess I'm not welcome too." I stomped away from her and to my bedroom. I slammed the bedroom closed before collapsing onto the bed and crying into the comforter.

It hurts that my parents won't accept Kai. He wasn't a bad person and they judged him like the rest of the town. I could see it in Kai's eyes. He was uncomfortable around my mom. She looked at him with judgmental eyes.

I took out my phone and texted him to see if he was okay. He responded a minute later with a simple yes. I picked up my phone and dialed his number.

"I'm sorry that you had to meet my mom this way. I haven't told them about you because I was trying to find a perfect time to introduce you to them."

He gave a short laugh before sighing. I could tell he was smoking because he didn't respond for a few seconds.

"Don't sweat it, Dollface. It's a typical response I receive from parents. Do you blame them though? Look at the way I am dressed. I ain't exactly fucking Dean material."

"I don't need you to dress like Dean. I love you the way you are."

He went silent for a while.

"Kai?" I asked.

"Yea?"

"I'll make my parents understand. You deserve at least that much and if they don't, I don't need their approval. I'll still be with you."

"It's not that easy, Dollface. Being alone isn't easy. You have parents that love and care for you."

"So, what? You're just going to leave me, just like that? Not even put up a fight?" I grew angry.

"That's not what I'm saying, Tamsin. I'm saying I understand where your parents are coming from. I'm not exactly perfect. It's not your job to prove to them what kind of person I am. It's mine." He was right. I wanted to cry, and I did just that. I couldn't talk because I knew my voice would crack under the severe emotions I was experiencing.

"Dollface?" Kai said after a long silence. I sniffled and took in a deep breath.

"Yeah?" Nice try hiding the cracks in your voice. I could totally tell that I was crying.

"Baby, don't cry," he sighed.

"I'm not," I lied.

He laughed. "You're crying. Don't worry about it. I love you."

"I love you too."

I hung up the phone with him and laid in bed. My eyes staring at the spinning ceiling fan. My heart feels like it's breaking into a million pieces.

Thirty minutes later, my mom walked into the room again. She sat on the edge of my bed.

"Tamsin?"

I didn't answer her.

She sighed. "I'm your mother. I'm supposed to protect you. I can't see you hurt and when I see that the direction you are heading is potentially dangerous, I want to stop you before it gets bad."

I sat up and looked at her.

"I know it is hard to believe, but I know what I am doing. I might only be eighteen, but I am an adult. Even if the decision I make will lead me awry or broken, it is a learning experience for me. I have no one else to blame but myself. You need to trust that you raised me right and that I'll make the right decisions when it comes down to it.

The look you gave Kai hurt both Kai and I. I never thought that my own mother would place a biased judgment over a boy she never knew. Do you think I would suddenly become a bad person because of him? Because of him, I've learned to stand up for myself. When I was bullied and thrown into the pool, he was the one who saved me. When I saw the video of myself circling through social media, he was there to prevent me from falling into a dark hole. Shouldn't these things matter? Shouldn't these things make you feel grateful to have him with your daughter?" I blurted everything that was in my heart out to my mom.

My mom inhaled slowly and closed her eyes.

"I'm just worried about you."

"And you have every right to be. I'm grateful that you love and care about me. I just hope that you are able to be the mother that I thought you to be. We shouldn't judge people for who they are without getting to know them first. Please get to know him."

She sighed again before nodding her head.

"Fine. I'll meet the boy. Do you think he is able to come over to dinner tomorrow night?"

I nodded my head and smiled.