The In-between

Chapter 3

Tuesday 7th February,2017
7:29AM
Abby.

We all slept off on the couch.
Dads footsteps wakes me up.
I open one of my eye,the sitting room is so bright,the curtains have been drawn,sun rays peeking through the windows.Then I had a quick flashback of yesterday,I feel a mixture of anger and frustration,thinking there is no worse feeling in the world,not knowing I still had a long way ahead of me.

"I stand up,hey dad,good morning".

"Morning Abby,you should go take your bath,we need to go to the hospital.We have a pretty busy day ahead of us."

Max wakes up from the couch too,he stretches his back,he looks in my direction and looks away.

"Good morning dad."he says

"Morning son,please go tidy up,we need to get to the hospital"

"Ok dad"

As I enter my room,it is so scattered,there's clothes on the floor,books on the bed.I walk to  the window,I  draw the curtains,the streets looks busy as usual ,cars moving,people walking.I go to the pile of clothes,I see a wine hoodie,I pick it up,sniff it,it doesn't smell bad so I put it on.There is a pair of joggers peering through the other pile of clothes next to the wardrobe,I walk over,pick up the joggers and enter the toilet,I hang it on the towel rail,move to the  sink,I look at myself in the mirror my hair is so messy,the eyeliner I applied yesterday has smeared,my skin is so pale.I brush my teeth in a hurry,pick up my soap,wash my face.pick up my hair brush,I pack it into a ponytail.I walk back to the towel rail,dry my face with my towel,pick the
joggers and put them on.I leave the bathroom.

"Oh God!this room is a mess"
I pick all the cloth piles and dump the in the laundry hamper.While removing the books on the bed,I could see the wrapped gift on the bed,I pick it remembering I didn't give mum her present, I was looking for it but was to lazy to check for it properly.Dad knocks my door ."Let's go Abby."
Before leaving the room,I put the present in my pocket,it is  a pen so it fits in the right pocket perfectly.

      

                                            *

I peep in the kitchen,I can smell something cooking which makes my tummy churn.
"Good morning M.j and Mrs.Rodriguez.

"Morning Abby"they both reply

M.j moves to me,she hugs me without saying anything.

"We made toast to go"Mrs Rodriguez says.

"Oh I don't have appetite,my tummy is churning"

I go out of the kitchen,Max is downstairs already,he is doing something by the edge of the dining hall,I glance at the sitting room,my eyes scanning all the possible places my phone could be,it's doesn't seem to be there so I move into the Library,checking underneath my piles of paper,I turn to the shelf.I felt a wave of sadness wash over me,looking at the books on the shelf,touching them.Those books were there before I was born,they were the first edition of every one of mums books.Anytime she writes her book,she and dad reads it together,she makes dad sign on the front page then put it on this shelf,the shelf is a small  white one with three rows hanging on the wall,the books there are never dusty,even though they are older than me.I reach out to the first book on the first row,mum's first book,I touch the book then let go.Back in the sitting room,this time I check for it,I move to the couch where we all slept off on,check behind the third throw pillow,there it is.I put it on and I see so many notifications.

Phone
29 missed calls
WhatsApp
50 new messages
Instagram
14 new followers
5 new messages
FaceTime
3 missed calls

I sigh,press the side button and drop the phone in my pocket.
"Is everyone ready??"
"Max!!"