Omission

You've Got Me

Riley was still too gobsmacked to say anything, his jaw hanging loose and eyes blown wide. He'd checked the list! Every single routine item had been checked off and he was supposed to be in the clear.

As if reading his thoughts, his Mom gave him a knowing smile. "Brad was home this afternoon and I sent him to go pick up Matt and Andy." The knowledge that he'd been tricked deflated him like a balloon.

"I thought it was time for you and me to patch things up."

Riley's shoulders slumped as the adrenaline fled him in one fell swoop. This wasn't- he wasn't- Riley didn't want to have this conversation. Not now, not ever. Okay, maybe not ever was a little dramatic on his part, but he didn't want to do it now, not when he'd been baited and trapped like prey. Tricked like a fool.

He'd just wanted some snacks...

Appearing to have fully expected every single reaction he'd given so far, Riley couldn't be surprised when Sharon took her designated spot at the kitchen counter, clearly expecting him to take his. It was how they had most of their non-screaming conversations in the kitchen, good and bad. It was the same dynamic as when she told him about the grandparents that didn't know about him and he'd felt awash with his usual feeling of worthlessness.

Riley's Mom still looked nervous this time, but it didn't feel like there was a black cloud hovering over them, threatening to strike at any second. This time, she looked apologetic, and maybe a little sad. Truthfully, Riley was still trying his best to not look at her, hoping instead to find the familiar patterns in the marble that he'd come to know through repeated periods of scrutiny.

Apparently Sharon had been prepared for that reaction too, because, against his expectations for their "chats," she slid a cupcake across the counter into his line of sight. Confused, he looked up and saw she had a matching cupcake in front of herself as well.

"Truce?" She offered hopefully. "We don't have to resolve everything right now kiddo, but I haven't seen you in a few days, and I've missed you."

The stinging sensation of being hoodwinked eased when she removed the pressure of a serious conversation between them. Cupcakes and catching up. That didn't sound too hard. It didn't sound emotionally draining, which was good, because hours of depression and losing arguments against his ghoul had already wrung his feelings dry.

Meeting his Mom's expectant and hopeful eyes he gave a hardly discernible nod and began to unwrap his cupcake. "Truce."

The chocolate cupcake with buttercream icing and sprinkles was his favorite. Maybe it was a coincidence, or maybe she knew more about him than he thought. Either way, the silence between them was actually amicable while they ate, which wasn't what Riley had predicted for their first interaction since the blow out.

Riley practically inhaled his cupcake; it being the first food he'd had the energy to eat all day. He noticed that his Mom picked at hers as though it was just a distraction from everything she wanted to say.

"That was really good," he said, licking the extra frosting from his fingers and picking up the crumbs from the wrapper and eating those too. If she was disgusted by his poor etiquette, she didn't show it, only smiling fondly at him before she took her first full bite.

"Sugar has always been the quickest way to your heart Ri." He surprised himself when an unwitting laugh bubbled up and he accidentally spit some cupcake crumbs out. Sharon only laughed alongside him, wiping up the mess he'd made with a paper towel before their laughter settled back down into a silence that was actually jovial. Like they could put the hard stuff aside for a minute and just enjoy being with each other, acting like a normal parent and teenager.