Eternally Bleeding | Discontinued

Chapter Six: Back

Chapter Six: Back 

'That's the thing about pain. It demands to be felt' ~ John Green [The Fault in Our Stars].

He's coming, I thought, 'He's really coming.' I didn't know what to do at all. My emotions so muddled up that even science wouldn't be able to decipher it.

I ran up the stairs, only to run back down the stairs not knowing what on earth I was intending to do. My Mum was busy cleaning the house and surprisingly didn't ask me to help her. And Josh, being Josh, was busy playing on the game console. He obviously wasn't affected by our situation. But I feel as though he could help comfort me like he used to do. He's become colder and less friendly since his parents had left him with us. Nevertheless, his presence was all I needed.

"Mia, can you just calm down? It's just your father after all," my Mother said as she turned off the oven and pulled out a turkey. "I hate Christmas dinner," I heard her mutter loud enough for me to hear. It made me smile a little at her joke. Mum loves Christmas more than anything. Everything thrills her - even the washing up - and it's nice to see her energetic and happy.

I decided to play on the PlayStation with Josh as there was nothing better to do. I tiptoed as quietly as I could to avoid any drama which ends up with the controller down my throat. Josh hated losing games. Sadly for him, that didn't mean he always won. But if I was the one who caused him to lose by distracting him, my life would be O-V-E-R.

I waited for him to finish the game and then sat down next to him. "Can we play two players?" I asked. Josh just looked at me with a weird look on his face.

"Are you for real?" he exclaims, "You do realise that this is a one player game."

"OK then," I said, crossing my arms over my chest, "Let me play then. It's my turn."

"You don't even know how to play?" he scoffed. He picked up his controller and started his game again.

I'm wasting my time here, I realised, I'm distracting myself.

I headed towards the kitchen to help my Mum with the dinner but the doorbell rang, which caused me to become a nervous wreck. My heart was beating so fast that I felt that it could burst out of my chest. My breathing was irregular, and I couldn't think straight.

"Answer the door, Mia," Mum said casually from the kitchen, she started carrying the plates into the living room and set it on table. She stared at me hard as if she was undressing my mind. All my secrets exposed.

I moved towards the direction of the door which then in order, let my Mum relax her gaze and get back to her work.

Josh gave me the tiniest of smiles and then went back to his game.

"Who is it?" I said, practically shouting at the door.

"It's me," a familiar voice replied.

I opened the door and moved aside, looking at the floor to avoid any awkwardness. However, I ended up looking up because it had started to feel awkward looking down.

My Dad stepped in and he was followed by a woman with a pushchair. I avoided looking at the pushchair. I didn't want to stir more emotions inside of me and burst out at my Dad. I have never seen the baby before but heard oh so many stories about her.

It's my entire Dad ever talked about. It's all about his wife and their kid, but never about me. I wish he talks about me the same way he does about her...

My Mum walked in, an air of confidence around her. "It's nice to meet you," she said in a professional tone. Since I knew my Mum more than what she knew about herself, I was able to read her every emotion and intention.

She made eye contact with my Dad and the pain in her eyes was too much to face. I turned away from them and walked past them. I felt my cheeks reddening from all the embarrassment. I felt like I didn't belong at all...

* 

* 

*

Dinner was strange. Everyone was quiet. The only things that were said were "Can you pass the ketchup?" and stuff like that. On the other hand, the amount of staring was unbelievable. Any old woman would point a finger at us and comment on how rude we are being.

Dad's new Wife was stunning, which made everything worse. She often tossed her hair back and gave pearly white smiles at my Dad. She acted like she was used to being hated - which wouldn't be surprising according to her obnoxious behaviour.

"How old is Mia?" she asked, breaking the silence with her nasally voice.

"She 15, almost 16," my Mum boasted as if it's a great achievement that I'm still alive. I wouldn't be any longer if life starts to keep me on my knees for longer...

"Oh that's nice. But she looks younger and rather small," she commented. I looked at the reflection on the silver metal of my spoon; my cheeks had become a rosy colour.

"I'm not small!" I exclaimed suddenly. I let my emotions get better at me at that moment. "And stop asking about me, I don't like it."

"That's my Mia," my Dad said, sounding rather proud of me for once, "No one can bring her down. My strong daughter's all grown up."

I glanced at my Dad's direction and saw that he was smiling at me. I resisted the urge to smile back, but gave in with the vaguest of smiles.

Things weren't so bad after all.

A/N: I'm sorry that this was short. I wrote this right now and I was busy defending a girl from a cyber-bully. Everything's fine now!