She'd spent years sheltering and protecting her daughter, because she never wanted Cassie to experience what she'd gone through. Yet, if her daughter judged Sydney by her actions and how she treated men and relationships, her less-than-exemplary behavior contradicted everything Sydney wanted to teach Cassie about relationships, and intimacy with the right person.
But in order to do that, Sydney needed to show her daughter that a monogamous relationship could work, that stability with one person was important. That a healthy, mature, and caring relationship could exist, if she made the right choices in her life. And it was time that Sydney changed her own ways and led by example.
With that decision made, she reached for a Kleenex, dabbed at her still-moist eyes, and blew her nose. She needed to go and talk to Daniel, and she prayed that she hadn't ruined any chance of a future together by shutting him out so completely.
"Mom? Are you okay?"
At the sound of Cassie's soft, worried voice, Sydney turned around and found her daughter standing just beyond her bathroom door. Quickly she summoned a smile, but there was nothing she could do for her puffy eyes and red nose from her crying jag. "I'm fine, honey."
"No, you're not," Cassie insisted with a concerned frown. "What's wrong, Mom?"
"Nothing, really." Sydney tossed the tissue into the trash and headed into her bedroom, with Cassie trailing behind. "Just a little PMS. You know how that is." She wasn't ready to talk about her relationship with Daniel with Cassie, not until she talked to Daniel himself to see where things stood between them.
Her daughter didn't look convinced, but she didn't push the issue, either. Instead, when Sydney started making her mussed-up bed, Cassie went the other side of the mattress to help smooth out the covers and pull up the comforter.
It was almost noon on Saturday, and as she glanced at Cassie, this time she noticed that her daughter had straightened her hair and had put on a light application of makeup, including lip gloss. She was wearing a pair of brown cords and a long-sleeved V-neck sweater, and while the outfit itself was casual, Sydney was used to seeing her daughter in jeans or sweats on the weekend. And more disturbing was the scent of the Love's Baby Soft perfume her daughter had put on.
"What's up with you?" Sydney asked lightly as she fluffed her pillow before folding the comforter over it. "You going somewhere today that I don't know about?"
Cassie shifted on her feet as Sydney rounded the bed to where her daughter was standing. She looked a little anxious, and the way she chewed on her bottom lip was a dead giveaway that something was going on with Cassie. It was one of those mannerisms that a mother picked up on early in her child's life that gave her the edge of being able to read her kid before they even spoke. In this case, that lip chewing thing was enough to tell Sydney that Cassie was feeling uncertain and nervous about something.
Finally, Cassie said, "I wanted to know if I could go to the mall today with Becky, and maybe catch a movie, too."
Normally, a fun day out with her girlfriend wouldn't be a cause for concern. However, coming only days after Sydney's meeting with Daniel about her why her daughter had been deliberately sabotaging her math grade, Sydney couldn't help but wonder if an outing to the local mall was a ploy to meet a boy.
Sydney inhaled a deep breath and forced herself to remain calm. Since she'd been so upset and emotional after her conversation with Daniel, she hadn't talked to Cassie about her deception, but she knew it was time. Time to let her daughter know that she was aware of what was going on, and time to let her little Tinker Bell be the fifteen-year-old teenager she'd become-no matter how difficult that would be.
But first, she needed to know what she was dealing with, and what, exactly, her daughter was up to. "Is Ryan going to be there?" she asked.
Cassie's eyes widened into huge pools of panic at the unexpected question. "I… uh… how did you know about Ryan?"
It wasn't a yes or no answer, but overall Sydney was grateful that her daughter hadn't denied knowing Ryan, or worse, lied and said she had no idea what Sydney was talking about. And if she wanted to keep that trust and line of communication open with her daughter, then she knew it had to start here and now.
Sydney sat down on the bed, and patted the space beside her. "Come here and sit down, honey," she said gently, knowing that anger wouldn't resolve this situation. If anything, it would push her daughter away, and that was the last thing she wanted. "We need to talk."
Reluctantly, and with a worried look on her face, Cassie did as she asked.
"A few days ago, Daniel called me and said he needed to talk to me about your inconsistent homework and math tests," Sydney told her. "After watching you in class and at after school tutoring and seeing how Ryan was flirting with you, he realized that you might be deliberately dropping your test scores and grades for the sole purpose of getting into after school tutoring so you could be with Ryan. Is that true?"
Tears filled Cassie's eyes, along with a healthy dose of dread. "Yes," she said, her voice cracking.
Sydney closed her eyes, trying to process the truth, and trying, as well, to deal with this revelation on a rational level. When she looked at Cassie again, it was clear that her daughter expected her to come unglued over the situation. And oh, Sydney wanted to, in the worst way, but managed to tamp down the urge to yell at Cassie for doing something so stupid. She'd learned a lot from Lora over the years, and even more from Daniel.
So instead, she gently thumbed away a tear making its way down her soft cheek. "Cass, why would you do something like that?" Sydney wanted, needed, to understand, even though she suspected she already knew the reason-that Cassie's overbearing, way-too-protective mother had pushed her daughter to sneak around to be with a boy.
"Because I really like him, Mom, and I knew you'd never let me go out with him or see him after school," she said, confirming Sydney's greatest fears. "I'm so sorry."
There was a wealth of regret glimmering in Cassie's gaze, which reassured Sydney. Cassie wasn't a defiant child-never had been-and Sydney didn't want to give her any reason to start now. But there were a few more questions she needed to ask her daughter.
"Was he at the Halloween party you went to?" she asked.
Cassie nodded. "Yes, but we didn't do anything. We just talked and danced. I swear!"
Sydney chose to believe her, and as long as Cassie told her the truth, they could work through any situation together. "And were you going to meet him at the mall today?"
Cassie swallowed hard. "Yes. But I was going to be with Becky, too." Then, she buried her face in her hands. "Oh, God, you're going to ground me for life, aren't you?"
Holding back a smile at her daughter's dramatic display, Sydney pulled Cassie's hands away so she could look into her eyes. "Truly, if I had my way, I'd keep you my little girl forever, but that's just not going to happen, now is it?"
Cassie shook her head. "No. I'm fifteen years old, and you need to let me grow up."
"I know," Sydney admitted. "It's just hard for me to accept sometimes, but I promise to work on being better about it."
Cassie stared at Sydney, a humorous look changing her expression. "Who are you and what have you done with my real mother?"
Sydney laughed, knowing that this sudden change of hers must be a shock to her daughter. "I'm still your same old mom. I'm just trying to handle things differently, in a way that will hopefully strengthen our relationship."
Reaching out, she smoothed Cassie's auburn hair away from her beautiful face. A face that had matured over the years and would no doubt turn male heads one day-if it wasn't already. Cassie was a good kid, and Sydney's goal was to keep her that way as much as possible. "It's important that you talk to me and tell me the truth, always, and I promise to listen and give you the best advice that I can. But this doesn't mean you have free rein to run wild and do whatever you want. I still have final say, okay?"