Forgotten [#Wattys2015]

Chapter 2; The Breakfast Club

I woke up later than normal on Sunday. I heard something downstairs, coming from the kitchen. I walked down the stairs, still in my old, dirty pajamas. It was bright downstairs. brighter than it had been in a while. I walked around the corner into the kitchen and saw my Mom standing in front of the stove. She looked disoriented and had food stains on her robe. She was trying to make breakfast. She rarely made breakfast because Dad did. I slowly walked into the kitchen still adjusting to the light.

"Mom? What, what are you doing?" I stuttered. She turned around quickly. She gave me a smile, then turned back around and kept cooking. She didn't answer. I sat down in one of the old, chipped chairs at our brown kitchen table that was covered with a red table cloth. We sat there in silence for a while until Mom started burning something. She grabbed the pan off of the stove and threw it in the sink. She then rested on the counter and laughed.

"This, this really isn't my type of thing. I hope you'll be okay without bacon." She turned around and smiled at me again. But there was something about this smile that was different. I couldn't explain it. Maybe it was how her eyes sparkled, or how it made her look...happy.

At first I was going to return the smile, but I didn't.
Instead, I asked, "Where's Amber?"

"I'm not sure. She left early this morning. She left a note but I didn't read it yet. It's sitting on the living room table. If you want to read it that is." I got up and walked into the living room. The note said "From Amber" on the front. I picked it up and started reading.

"Dear Mom/Taylor,
I'm going to be out all day. I think I just some time to sort things out. If you need anything you can call me. I will probably be at the park or maybe I'll head to the beach. I still haven't really figured it out. But I'll be back before 8.
Love, Amber."

I picked up the letter and sat it on the kitchen table. Mom had some eggs and was putting them on two plates. She had also made some slightly burnt toast. I grabbed two cups from the cabinet and filled them with some store brand orange juice. I knew Mom didn't like that kind but she would drink it if we didn't have anything else. She pointed to a chair telling me sit.

"Oh, honey," she began. We had already started eating. "How was your night?"

"Fine."

"How are you feeling?"

"Fine." She could hear the irritation in my voice. For a while it was quiet. By the time she said something again, we were both nearly done.

"I heard you and Amber talking about Maddy. Your sister didn't just-"

"Mom. It's fine. I'm fine! I don't care. I know dad is nothing like Madison. That's all that matters. You and Amber can think whatever you want."

"Taylor, I don't think that. But I just want you to know that your sister didn't just leave."

"Mom I don't care! Madison was, she was never like a sister to me anyway. She hated me. She hates everyone! Everything! I'm actually happy that she ran off with that guy. I didn't want her here anyways." I could tell that hurt Mom. I knew how fragile she was. How sensitive she was. I didn't want to make things worse, so I cleaned my plate and went upstairs.

When I went upstairs, I threw myself on my bed. My mind wondered back to Mom's smile. My mother was beautiful. She always looked beautiful, even we she cried. But that smile, it wasn't just beautiful but it had, well it felt like it had meaning. Like it was full of love. A smile full of...hope.