No, not before her mother comes in

This chapter was written collaboratively with an AI at aidungeon.io.

“Who is it?” Anna asked.

“It’s me.” Anna heard the voice of her mother on the other side of the door.

"Come in, Mom," Anna said. "I was just doing my homework.“

Her mom came in and shut the door behind her. She had a worried expression on her face.

"What's the matter? You seemed… different when you came home today. I can tell something's happened."

Anna’s heart skipped a beat. Her breathing grew shallow. Her mother could tell?!

"I had a dream," Anna blurted out. It was the first excuse she could think of.

"A dream?" her mother asked in confusion.

"Yeah, last night. A really bad dream."

"About what?"

"I dreamed… I dreamed the whole school was laughing at me. Like I had done something wrong, humiliated myself in front of the whole school.”

Her mother looked at her with compassion in her eyes.

"Sweetie, it was only a dream. No one would do that. Anyway, what could you possibly do that would embarrass you like that?”

Anna knew the answer. But, of course, she said nothing.

"I don't know," Anna said, her voice wavering. “I guess nothing.”

“That’s right, sweetie. So don’t worry about it anymore."

“I guess. Thanks, mom.”

“Of course, sweetie. I’ll let you get back to work.”

"Okay."

Her mother turned to leave. On her way out the door, something caught her eye… the journal lying open on Anna’s bed. It was filled with Anna’s furious scribbles.

“Honey, what’s that?” her mother asked, concerned at the unbroken stream-of-consciousness scrawl.

“Oh, um, that’s my… dream journal,” Anna said, praying her mother would not ask any more questions.

“I didn’t know you kept a dream journal.”

"Yeah, I do. The, um, school counselor thought it would help with my bad dreams.”

“More bad dreams? Does this happen often?”

Shit! Anna kept digging herself in deeper and deeper. Why wasn’t she a better liar?

“Not really. I mean, sometimes.”

“Well, it’s obviously enough to make the school counselor concerned. Let me see that.”

Her mother reached for the journal.

“Wait, what are you doing?”

“Sweetie, the key to your bad dreams must be in here. I know it feels difficult, but you’ll never get past your problems unless you confront them head-on. Now, let me see.”

Anna could not believe she was having her privacy invaded like this! Her most intimate thoughts and experiences were on display… to her mother, no less! She felt more exposed than she was when she was literally naked in public.

Her mother began reading. Anna wanted to scream at her mother to stop, but she knew that would make things worse.

"You have a crush on this teacher, Ms. Rayne," her mother said at last, looking up from the journal with a smile on her face. Why was she smiling?

“Uh, I don’t…”

“It’s okay. I had a crush on my teacher, too. Mr. Moreland. He had the dreamiest face, and a mustache like Tom Selleck.”

Tom Selleck? …her mother was so gross, Anna thought. Was that what people were into back then?

"Anyway, it's nothing to be ashamed of," her mother said. "It’s only natural. You’re at ‘that age’. Heck, you’re already an adult, even if your father doesn’t want to see you that way. You’re going to have these feelings… for lots of people, if that classroom scene is to be believed,” she joked. “These dreams aren’t bad, they’re the kind of imaginings every teenager has. I don’t mean to intrude, but you can talk to me about them, if you want to.”

Was she serious right now? What was going on? Who was this person sitting across from her? Anna had never seen this side of her mother before.

“You don’t have to be anxious about these feelings around me. They’re not nightmares, just fantasies. Whatever your fantasies are, they’re fine with me.”

“Uh, thanks, mom,” Anna stammered. “I… really appreciate that.”

“Now, don’t be nervous about these feelings anymore. Anything you tell me about, no matter how wild, it’s okay to think about.”

Anna couldn’t believe it! She just got a get out of jail free card! Whatever happened during her day, her mother would dismiss as just a fantasy!

"Thanks, mom," she said again.

"Oh, sweetie, come here." Her mother gave Anna a big hug, her big soft curves squashing against Anna's body. Anna unexpectedly didn’t feel embarrassed, she felt safe and protected. She felt accepted.

Her mom pulled away. "I’ll let you get back to work, sweetie. I’ll see you at dinner.”

“Okay, mom,” Anna replied, as the door clicked shut.