Nicki didn't leave. Every hour she ordered another coffee and another plate of onion rings. She stayed until the kitchen closed, and when Nancy came out to tell her that the café was closing, she had the guts to introduce herself as my mother and say she was waiting for me.

Every time I went into the dining room, I tried to avoid her eye contact. There wasn't anything I could do. She wasn't going to leave.

I hadn't seen my mother since Christmas. She'd gotten me a solid gold necklace, and I had no idea where she'd gotten the money, but she expected me to act like she'd moved mountains to get it. Then when I was packing to go back to school, the necklace was gone.

Calvin had asked Nicki if she had seen the necklace. She said she thought I hated it, and she'd exchanged it. When pressed to learn what she exchanged it for, she said it was for the very faux fur coat she was wearing today.

She'd pulled stuff like that my whole life. I was used to it. Alcohol and pills were more important than her family. She enjoyed being pregnant but not raising the kids. The family wasn't even sure if Calvin or Mason were my father's kids. Calvin was the only person in our family with a dimple on his chin and black hair.

I volunteered to mop the dining room for Nancy so I could have a little bit longer to get my head straight after closing. Nicki tried to talk to me, but I ignored her until the last crumbs were off the floor, and I'd put the cleaning supplies away.

Once the mop was in the closet, and Nancy said something about locking up in ten minutes, I walked into the dining room.

Nicki sat looking at her new phone, and her long nails clacked on the screen. I didn't want to know how much money she'd spent on the phone or those nails. She was constantly maxing out credit cards.

"Alexis," she said. "I don't like to be kept waiting."

I took a deep breath. Nicki was my mother. She liked to be needed, except I didn't need her. I'd done well without her for so long.

"Why are you here?" I asked.

Her face fell, and she pouted. "Can't I miss my daughter?"

If you asked where I got my acting skill, I'd usually say the answer was my mother. She was excellent at playing the victim or whatever other part she so desired. She could go from victimized to sweet and then to angry in moments.

When I was a kid, I wondered if maybe a doctor could help her. Perhaps my mother had the misfortune of a mental illness. If you pressed her, she'd say she was healthier than a doctor and therapy was a waste of money. She knew exactly who she was, and she didn't want to change.

"You're welcome to miss me," I said. "But I'd rather know if you're coming."

"But I thought you'd like the surprise," she said. "And your café is just darling. Your whole town is cute."

"What did you tell Dad when you left?" I asked.

"Does it matter?" Nicki asked. "I'm an adult, Alexis."

I resisted the urge to kick something. She only thought about one person ever: herself. It made her a selfish wife and a neglectful mother.

"The boys were worried," I said.

"I came here to see my only daughter," Nicki held out her arms like she wanted a hug. "You look well. I bet you made great tips today."

There was only one reason she'd come here. She was about to shake down her own daughter since she refused to keep a job herself.

"I make enough to pay my rent," I said quickly, trying to change the subject.

It wasn't a lie. I made it paycheck to paycheck. I didn't have any extra money.

Still, this was Nicki Thaxton, the queen of the guilt trip. She wouldn't leave until she got what she wanted, and inevitably I'd have to scrimp more this month. Or admit to Emma Kate I couldn't pay rent. That had only happened once so far in two years, and it was beyond embarrassing for me to watch my friends pass around a hat to pay my rent.

"I'm so proud of my self-sufficient girl," Nicki smiled and wrapped me in a hug. "You're making something of yourself. And when you're a famous actress, you won't forget your momma."

I didn't smell alcohol on her breath. That didn't mean anything, though. I doubted Nicki was clean. She hadn't been truly clean since she'd been pregnant with Mason almost eight years ago, and she swore things would be different. That was the first time it sunk in that I wasn't ever going to get the doting mommy I deserved.

"The manager is locking up," I said, breaking the hug. "I should probably get going."

She looked almost crestfallen. I didn't know what she expected. The café was closed. My job was over. It was time to go home.

"Well, I probably should check in at my hotel," she said. "I'll be seeing the sights for a few days. I know you don't have a car. Can I drive you home?"

I blew out my cheeks. The obvious answer was yes since Emma Kate was so distracted with her call back for Giant Patrol that she'd forgotten to pick me up the last three nights. Still, I didn't exactly want my mother to know where I lived.

"Let me help you out, hon," she said. "I'm your mother."

There was the guilt trip. I glanced out the window, and I didn't see Emma Kate. Taking my mother up on her offer would keep me from interrupting Emma Kate was doing. Not to mention Nicki would never let me forget if I turned down her ride.

"I suppose," I said.

Nicki led me out of the restaurant to a small silver BMW. Hopefully, she was just renting it because the was no way she couldn't afford it.

She unlocked the car and swept half a dozen makeup boxes I hoped weren't part of an MLM from the passenger seat into the back of the car. Then she climbed into the driver's side and patted the seat beside her.

"Come on then," she said. "Don't mind the mess."

Nicki chatted nonstop about some party she was throwing later in the week to sell makeup. I made some excuses about having to work when she invited me. I gave her instructions to my house, and she pulled up to the apartment five minutes later.

"I love you, Alexis," she said. "Never forget that."

My face forced a smile, and I got out of the car. I didn't turn around until I reached the door of my apartment and unlocked the door.

Once I got inside, I peeped out the window until she drove away. Once her car turned down the street, I finally released the tension in my body.

This was supposed to be my escape. My family didn't come here, especially not Nicki. College was my place to be away from it all.

My body gave out against the door. I wasn't sure if ever feel safe here again. Nicki knew where I lived now. She'd likely show up again.

I wasn't sure how long I sat there, and I didn't move until there was a jangle of keys and someone unlocked the door.

That brought me to my feet as the door swung open, framing Emma Kate. For the first time in days, she looked like herself. She'd tied back her frizzy hair under her beanie, and her clothes were only a school shirt and jeans.

"Hey," she said.

"Are auditions over then?" I asked.

"Well," Emma Kate shut the door with a solid thud. "I'd been waiting to hear back all day and..."

"Oh, I'm sorry," I said.

She looked sad, and I knew Emma Kate took failure hard. If she hadn't heard from the directors, she'd likely been out all day trying to distract herself.

She smiled slightly. "Hey, no long faces. I made it through the first and second rounds of callbacks. But it turns out there's a third."

A third-round? If she'd made it through, I didn't get why she looked so upset.

"They need me to fly out to Hollywood," she said. "They need me in the same room as some other actors now that they've narrowed the search down to three potential Tess Jacksons."

That had to be nerve-wracking. Most of the time, companies cast the main role and then did chemistry reads. The fact that they were doing it all at once and the actors reading with Emma Kate weren't unknowns had to be making her nervous.

"Apparently, there are some much bigger names involved in casting Davis and Bastien," Emma Kate said. "The Tess Jackson chemistry decides Tess, Bastien, and Davis."

"Do you know who's up for the roles?" I asked.

Emma Kate bit her lip. "Maddox only told me they were famous. I'm not supposed to know until I get there, but I can guess."

"Xander Maddox isn't not making you convince his son to take a role or anything, right?" I raised an eyebrow.

Emma Kate rolled her eyes. "As much as it doesn't seem like it, Xander Maddox actually has good professional boundaries. If I get the part, filming will start in the fall," she said. "I won't be in school for the semester."

That knocked the smile off my face. I couldn't imagine the theater department without her. Emma Kate had always been here, a year ahead, as a mentor. Her being gone seemed impossible.

"Did you tell Dean Ryder and Dr. Tunstelle?" I asked.

"I had to, Lex," she said. "They need me in Hollywood in three days for almost a week."

I gaped. "Wait, what?"

She couldn't leave. We were in the middle of a show. She was my co-director. We were opening in less than two weeks, and she was playing Ariel.

"I know it's inconvenient, but Dean Ryder and Dr. Tunstelle understand it's the opportunity of a lifetime," Emma Kate said.

"So you're going," I said

She couldn't not go, even if it blew the plans for our show to smithereens. I would be a horrid friend if I asked her to stay. She'd never get another chance like this.

"I have to go," she said. "Mr. Maddox is taking care of the flight."

"I get it," I said. "You're not throwing away your shot."

Emma Kate grimaced. "Hamilton, really?"

"If the shoe fits," I said. "I can handle the production... probably..."

"Something happen?" Emma Kate asked.

"Nicki is in town," the words were sour in my mouth, and the moment I said them, I knew I'd messed up.

"WHAT?" Emma Kate exploded. "I'm not leaving if she's weaseling her way around here. Hollywood can wait."

Emma Kate liked Nicki about as much as she liked spumoni, which she'd once described as the most useless and nasty flavor of ice cream. Venting to her about Nicki was likely to result in copious threats and a speech about how she was good for nothing.

"I'll deal with Nicki," I said. "You go do your audition. You don't have to protect me. Nicki is my mother."

"Why is she here?" Emma Kate asked.

"That's for me to figure out," I said. "She probably wants money."

"Which you don't have," Emma Kate pointed out.

I bawled my fists because I was always aware of exactly how little money sat in my bank account. I worked harder than anyone I knew, and it was never enough. I blinked back my forming tears.

My voice felt like jagged glass. "I'll figure something out."

That was my life's mantra, after all. I carried everything on my shoulders. Every penny was spent on something, and there still wasn't enough to go around.

"She won't change," Emma Kate said.

"You think I don't know that?" I was shouting now.

I loved Emma Kate, but it was the same every time when we talked about Nicki. She'd never understand.

"Nicki will always be my mother," I said. "She'll forever make decisions that will sink my family. I can't save her, but I sure as hell won't let her drag my brothers down with her. I know it's easy for you to judge, but you aren't a part of my family. You don't get it."

She crossed her arms. "Maybe I don't."

I couldn't let her see me cry. Before I could fully process what I was doing, I pushed past her and pulled the door open.

"I'm going for a run," I said.

My legs started moving before the door before I heard the door slam shut. Hot tears fell down my face as I ran down the street.

Nicki was here. Emma Kate was leaving. My production was in shambles, and all I could do was run faster and faster.

Hey friends!! Thanks for your patience. Things are heating up for Lexi since EK is leaving, and Nicki is in the picture. I know there was a little confusion with Summer Tempest's sister story Before Opening Night. I added a new opening chapter I hope adds some clarity. If you want to check that out, I guarantee it has similar vibes to this story, including theater drama and a few cameos with Parker. Any predictions? I love to hear what you have to say. Let me know what you think, and don't forget to vote. More is coming soon.

---- Eliana