𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐍

thirty four

『 thirty-four 』

LEILA WAS HOME THE NEXT morning. The family stayed together that week. 

Natalie's heart was warmed to see Hawk genuinely wanted to spend more time with her mother. They had never had the best relationship; as great a relationship as an average stepmother and stepson could get. Same as Natalie's relationship with his father. But this didn't seem to be pity quality time coming from Hawk. It truly seemed like he cared. 

He was gone now, though. Movie date with a sophomore girl - last Natalie recalled her name was Heidi. 

She spent a lazy afternoon at home with the parents. Jackson was in the living room, enjoying a football game against two equally mediocre teams. Leila was spending as much time in the kitchen as she could - to make up for time lost in the hospital, she claimed. 

Leila was fair on her feet and feeling fine by her words in the torso and head. Jackson and Hawk had remodeled the spare bedroom to act as her office. She was officially working from home. The house was her palace. Natalie knew she was in no place to judge or comment on how her mother was spending her days now. What would she do if a doctor had given her an estimated end date?  

Not an exact estimate, yet. But likely not long enough to see Natalie walked down the aisle. 

And this was a reality the family just needed to find their way through. 

Natalie lay across a couch in the front family room, eyes scanning over the yellowing pages of a book she dug out of her closet. It was a fine read; tedious and beyond necessarily extensive at times. But she enjoyed it. It kept her mind off of things well enough. 

God, was there so much to keep her mind off of. 

She heard the faint sound of footsteps leading up to the door. She was already up before the person could alert the house of their arrival. Natalie answered the knock at the door. She jogged across the room before her stepfather could open his mouth to yell from the living room. 

The door opened, and the welcoming smile she adorned for every greet instantly fell. 

Robby stood on the other side, hands in his pockets. His skateboard rested on the brick wall. He said nothing, only stood there in silence. Natalie took a deep breath, barely able to force a smile. 

"Please?" He mouthed, without a voice. 

This was the first time they had been within thirty feet of each other in two months. It had been two months since the Christmas party. Two months since his allegiance with Sensei Kreese had become apparent. 

"Who is it, sweety?" Leila shouted from the kitchen. 

"Xandra!" Natalie shouted, not looking away from him. "I forgot to tell you; we're having a girl's day. Shopping, nails, maybe visiting her brother's frat house. Casual stuff."

Leila began walking down the hall. "That's nice," she said. 

Natalie heard her mom's voice drawing closer. She muttered a swear and frantically waved for Robby to move away from the door. He did so, knocking his skateboard over in the process. She slammed it shut as an extra precaution. 

"Yep. I'll be back before dinner, promise," she told Leila, searching for her purse. By the piano, she risked a look at the window. By mere luck, the blinds were drawn. No one could see Robby outside. 

"Can I say hi to Xandra? It's been so long since you've had her over-"

"She's already in the car!" Natalie exclaimed, throwing her purse over her shoulder. Leila wiped her hands on her apron. "But I'll tell her you said hi. Love you, Mom." She gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.