Page 22 of Part of Me
“Morning, darling,” my mother says, disrupting the questions whirring through my mind.
“Morning,” I reply as I force a smile and I make my legs move. I walk over to the kitchen table and take a seat.
“Would you like something to eat?” she asks me as she continues to chop up carrots.
“No thank you,” I reply, not feeling hungry in the slightest.
“How about a drink?” My mother is a creature of comfort as she likes to look after everybody.
“Sure.” She smiles at me and then goes to make me a cup of coffee. I notice that the clock on the wall says that it is just gone half past eleven. My mother finishes making my coffee and brings it over to me, taking a seat beside me as she places the cup on the table.
“Thanks,” I say to her as I take the cup.
“How are you feeling?” she asks me as she tucks a lock of my hair behind my ear.
“Honestly? I have no idea.” There is no point in lying to my mother. She knows me far too well and we have always been close, so I don’t need to hide my pain from her.
“Do you want to talk about what happened with Luke?” she asks tentatively. I look to the ceiling and let out a breath of air.
“Not right now. I need to figure some stuff out in my own head first.”
“Okay. You know that I’m here whenever you feel ready to speak about what’s bothering you.” I look to my mother and give her a genuine smile. She has kind eyes and a soft nature, something I must have inherited from her according to people that know us both. “I don’t want to cause you anymore stress, darling, but Luke is outside.” My eyes widen at her words.
“Outside?” She nods her head at me.
“He’s been sat out on the porch since eight o’clock this morning.” I let out a groan. “I told him that you were sleeping, and he said that he would wait there until you woke up.”
“Oh God.”
“I had to stop your father from going out there and giving him what for.”
“Oh no, I don’t want Dad to get riled up about this.”
“That’s what I told your father. I said that until you had decided what you wanted to do, we should stay out of it.”
“Thanks, Mum.” If it wasn’t for my mother, I am positive that my dad would have been out there telling Luke to bugger off. The last thing I want to do though is alienate Luke from my parents.
“I can go and ask him to leave, if you want me to?” she offers.
“No, I’ll go and speak to him.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah,” I say as I stand up, picking my coffee up as I do. “I’m going to have to speak to him at some point. I might as well get it over with now.”
“Okay, darling. I will be waiting here if you need me.”
I lean down and place a kiss on my mother’s cheek before I leave the kitchen and walk down the hallway. I stop to look in the mirror that hangs on the left wall. I look a mess. My long brunette hair is all in disarray, my eyes are puffy and red-rimmed, the green of my irises looking dull and lifeless. My skin is pale, and I look completely washed out. I make a quick trip to my bedroom and place my coffee on the bedside table. I run a brush through my hair and put it up into a ponytail before going into the ensuite that is attached to my room and splashing some cold water on my face. I don’t bother with trying to make myself look more presentable as nothing is going to miraculously make my appearance look good right now.
With a sigh, I pick up my coffee cup and walk out of my bedroom. I make my way back down the stairs and take a deep breath as my hand pushes down on the front door handle. As Luke comes into view, I see that he is sat on the steps leading up to my parent’s porch, with his head in his hands and his elbows resting on his knees. Time seems to slow down as he lifts his head and turns in my direction. His eyes widen when he sees me, and he jumps up to his feet.
“Charlie,” he says quietly. I close the front door behind me and go over to the steps, sitting down next to where he was only seconds ago. He goes quiet and retakes his place on the step, our legs only millimetres apart. I decide to get the ball rolling with this conversation. The last thing I want to do is drag out the uncomfortable feeling between us for any longer than I have to.
“So, my mum says that you have been out here since earlier this morning.” I look at him and he nods his head.
“I needed to see you. I don’t want to leave things the way we did last night.”
“Me either,” I say as I take a sip of my coffee. I see some of the tension leave his shoulders at my answer.
