Chapter 33

Lauren watched her son as he came out of his dorm room the next morning, his hand firmly clasping Denise's. The tension and wariness that had been tightly wound into his body the night before was no longer there. The large hickey that was present on the woman's neck was proof of just how he had relaxed. Truth be told she couldn't remember the last time he had walked around without tension in his shoulders and his eyes shifting this way and that. It saddened her that she'd never seen her son like this before.

"What do you say we grab some breakfast and go sit outside?" he asked as he ambled up to her. He seemed at peace with himself, much more comfortable in his body than she could ever remember him being.

She looked into his eyes, trying to gauge whether he really wanted to give her a second chance at being his mother. Her heart couldn't take it if he wasn't truly interested in this. What she saw there made her hopeful. It looked as if he wanted this as much as she did. "That's fin