Darker Than Blood

.17

Breakfast was awkward.

The environment forced.

Pin drop silence.

Just the clanging of fork on plate and slurping of tea.

Sarah could add another reason to why she left her town , her mother's house . .it was to avoid this.

This forced we- are- a -family situation.

The everything- is- normal.

When nothing was.

Nothing ever could be.

There was a force in her heart that kept pestering her to just tell her to go back!

Get out of her space.

She didn't want her brooding presence in her house.

Now if only she could have said that earlier. .life wouldn't be how it was today.

"Was someone here yesterday?"

Her mother's neutral tone dropped a bomb on her. Wildly she glanced from her coffee to her mother's face.

She wasn't looking at her.

She was busy with her omelette, her eyes downcast.

Waiting for her reply.

"N-no. No one at all. Why ? did you hear something?" Sarah tried to not let her voice trip .

It was hard to lie to a woman who knew her like the back of her hand.

While cutting the omelette , her mother glanced up at her.

The gray eyes freezing her.

Almost subduing her to spit out the truth.

Sarah didn't even dare to swallow the piece of boiled egg in her mouth. it stayed on her tongue for such was the weight of those murky gray eyes.

Sarah knew what she was doing.

Staring at her with spit it out already look.

She would stare at her until Sarah's nerves would give out. And she would give away everything but this time it didn't.

This time something in her just . .snapped.

What came out of her mouth gave her septic shock.

"Mother. .stop it."

She didn't yell nor snap but she could hear the lash in her voice.

"Stop what? Asking you to tell the truth?" Her clipped voice grated on her nerves , she reached for her tea. .her approach so cold and so. . Cold.

As if there was nothing wrong with Sarah's tone.

Nothing at all.

Sarah fisted her hands on top of the table.

"I don't want to do this right now. ." Sarah said edging towards losing herself.

The anxiety in her flaming up at her mother's coldness.

Her heart going thud thud thud .

Her mother sipped on the tea, looking at her over the rim of the cup.

" Looks like this city has caught up with you with it's. .lies. All your mother, " her voice dipped sarcastically, " wants to know is the truth .  Nothing less."

The final cut to her tone didn't do anything for Sarah.

It made her feel from bad to worse.

And then a smile that had nothing to with humor creeped up on Sarah's face.