We Aren't So Different, You and Me

The dorm mother walked hurriedly up the stairs, past the halls of sleeping girls, until she came to a single dorm room. She knocked on the door hurriedly yet slowly.

"Taylor? Taylor, you have to get up. It's urgent!"

The door opened slightly as I opened it.
"What is it, Mary Helen?"
"Your mother, dear."
"My mother?"
"Yes.. She's..."
"She's what...?" I looked up at the dorm mother and quickly scanned her face for an answer. "She's what, Mary Helen?!"

"She's passed, dear. You're to pack your belongings and leave tomorrow morning. Immediately."

And with that, she pulled the door shut, leaving me to cry myself back to oblivion.

********************************************************************

It's been a couple of days now, being back in New Jersey. Going to school in France isn't the ideal thing for a girl in America but with hard work and determination, scholarships fall into your hands like putty. I looked out the window of the cab, taking in my surroundings of Belleville. I haven't been here in ages, only with mom to visit her parents, but it still looked the same. The cab driver, get this shit, I knew by name. First and last. I used to be good friends with his daughter before she moved to Texas with his ex-wife.

"I'm sorry to hear about your mom, Taylor," he coughed out. "She was a wonderful woman."
"Thanks, Jack," was all I could muster.
"Grandparents' place, yeah?"
"No, it's some family that lives a few blocks from mine, I guess," I mumbled, fumbling with my bag for the piece of paper. "Ummm... Donald and Donna Way.."
"So.. Grandparents' place..."
"What do you mean?"

He turned back to look at me through his mirror, his face registering something that I didn't know.

A few minutes later, he pulled up to a curb.

"Here you go, kid."
"Thanks.." I reached for my bag for a couple of tens but he shook his head. "From now on, any ride from me is on the house."
"God.. Thanks..." I whispered, getting out of the back seat, walking towards the trunk, and grabbing my suitcase.

I started towards the door, sighing dramatically. I could almost hear my mother now, telling me to straighten my posture and to take my strand of hair out of my mouth. I flipped my fringe out of my face and knocked on the door four times, waiting as I heard a dog bark and the sound of the floorboards creaking. The door opened and a woman with obviously store-brand blonde hair peered down at me, smiling sadly.

"You must be Taylor, right?"
"That's right. And you must be Donna?"
"That's right, sweet pea. Come in, come in. No use standing in this rain."

I obeyed her orders and stepped inside, immediately being greeting by a pair of arms. I felt a firm yet gentle rubbing sensation on my back and a warm, wet sensation on my palm.

"Jake! Get!" Donna laughed, shooing the dog away from me. I pulled back to look up at who must Don and smiled slightly.
"Your mom was a wonderful woman, Taylor.."
"Yeah, I've been told.."
"Did she.. Ever mention us to you?"
"No.. Was she supposed to?"

The couple looked a little offended but shook their heads.

"We just thought you would have known by now."
"Known what?"
Donna looked up at her husband and sighed. "Don... She doesn't know... Adrienne never told her... Oh my god... Imagine how Gerry will take it..."
"Donna, I know... I know..."

What are they talking about? Is there something my mom never told me? Of course there is. She never told me anything.

Notes

Yes. I've decided to start a new story. I'm not sure why, but I have.
holla.