Five Steps Away

Chapter 2

I wake up in a slightly better mood than the day before. I roll over in my bed to check my alarm clock. It's 5A.M. I underslept.

To be honest, 5 A.M. is later than I usually wake up.

I drag my legs out of bed, still tired out of my mind. But I can't go back to sleep, even if I tried.

Instead, I go to the bathroom, actually do my makeup this time, and get dressed in jeans and a tank top. When I'm ready, I grab my bag and head downstairs.

"Goodmorning." looking over to the kitchen I see my mom near the stove, already in her scrubs.

"Morning." I reply. "What time are you coming back home?" Same question I ask every morning—that is, if she's even still here by then.

Mom turns around to face me with a sad smile. "Another late shift tonight... sorry honey." I nod, heading for the door. I'll just skip breakfast today.

"Hey, come here." My mom calls from behind me. I turn around to see the sad smile still on her face, with her arms outstretched. I can hear the desperation in her voice. She really is trying.

I walk over to her and awkwardly wrap my arms around her. She does the same. It almost feels unnatural. Makes sense, I mean it's the first time we've had any type of physical contact since last week.

I pull away, and from this distance, her eye bags seem deeper.

I walk out of the door hastily, throwing a final "Bye." behind my shoulder before beginning the walk to school. That was painfully uncomfortable.

When I get to school, I head to my locker, surprised to see Cire there, a wide grin on his face with one hand behind his back. I smile as he pulls me into a one-armed hug.

"Morning baby." He kisses my head.

"Hey."

I furrow my eyebrows when he pulls out the hand that was behind his back to reveal a single red rose.

"What's this for?" my smile widens.

"Do I need a reason to give my girlfriend a flower?" I raise an eyebrow as he hands me the rose. "Ok yeah there is a reason." I chuckle, intertwining my fingers with his. "Come to my football practice? We could go out to Ivy Cool after." His smile is hopeful, and I nod instantly.

"Of course I'll come." I peck him on the lips, before grabbing my English books and putting the flower in my locker. "I wouldn't miss it." He gives me another one of his smiles before he leaves for class.

I close my locker just as the warning bell rings, and when I turn around, I see Lily walk to me, the excitement visible on her face.

"Ok, what was that?" She grabs my arm and we start walking to class.

I smile. "What was what?"

"You know what I'm talking about! I saw him give you that flower." she nudges my side.

"Calm down, it isn't that big a deal." I hide my excitement.

"Sorry..." she trails.

I ignore her. I've lost track of how many times she's apologized to me. "He just wants me to come to his practice," I say. "...and we're going to Ivy Cool afterward"

"How the heck did you get so lucky?"

We reach our English class and both sit down next to each other at the back.

"Jealous?"

"Uhm, yes! You've got like the cutest guy in school wrapped around your finger."

"Yeah, I do, don't I?"