Him

Just a normal day, until!

"Oh you did not just do that," I shouted as Tara gave me a smirk. She just took a handful of fries from my plate. "What you gonna do about it?" She said folding her arms across her chest. "Aye?" She cocks her head to one side as she speaks.
Tara's Australian, she moved here when she was six. She lives across the road from me and we've been friends for clearly a while now. She's 16, as am I. I'm American though.

We live in a small neighbourhood north of Carolina. It's quiet. But not too quiet, just enough to sleep at night, and to sleep in through the morning. I live with my mom, and we live with my two little brothers. Twins, I should add. Tyler and Michael, they're six. The only way to tell them different--if you're not related to them of coarse-- is by their freckles. Tyler has brown ones and Michael has orange. They're both lil' rangas, like my mom, I'm blonde like my dad. He had strawberry blonde hair, but I have like snowy white hair.

Dad died a few years ago, in a truck accident. Nothing has been the same.
Mum hasn't been the same. Although I never see her. She's usually sleeping on week days, so I get the boys ready for school then we catch the bus. And on the weekends, she works, like, 24/7.

I have a job and I start again tomorrow after school, it has been winter break. I enjoyed not having to go to school. I enjoyed not going to work--. Oh yeah, I work in a surf shop at the mall. Tara works across from me at the women's underwear place. That place makes me so uncomfortable. I cant stand walking around all those bras and underwear. I don't know how Tara does it. I start work at 2pm and she starts work at 3pm so we do actually see each other a lot even when we're not at school. We have a lot of free periods on school days, some in which we work, and some in which we go down town for ice cream or something.

*************

Tara looks away from the TV. "You ok?" She asks, her voice sounding weak with concern. She always does this. She knows how I think about my dad. How he took me for long bicycle rides and swims at the beach. God how I miss him.
"Yeah, I just don't want to go back to work tomorrow. Or school." Which isn't what I was thinking about at all, but it wasn't a lie either. She looks at me as if she knows I'm lying but plays along. "Yeah me too."
I smile as if I'm gesturing a thank you without speaking. She knows how much I hate talking about it. She smiles back and finishes her handful of my fries.

"It's 10:00," Tara says. "We should get to bed."
I nod and reach for the TV remote to turn it off.
She walks out of the living room before turning right towards my room.
I stand up and walk towards moms room. I open the door quietly and peek in. She sleeps on her side and leaves the spot where dad used to sleep empty. I hear someone in the hallway and look away from inside moms room. It's just Tara, she gives me a smile and backs back into my room. I look back at mum still sleeping. I feel a warm sort of smile creep onto my face and start to close the door, before it decides to squeak. Mom wakes up and looks at me, she smiles before yawning and looking over at her alarm clock to see what time it is.

"Sorry." I say about to close the door.
"Wait..." Mom says. "Will you, stay with me? Chick?" Chick was my old nickname dad and mom used to call me. I haven't heard that come out of her mouth since before dad died. I walk into her room walking over to dad's side.
I look down at his side of the bed and shift my hand to touch it, I feel a tear welling up so I don't touch it, my hand just ends up hovering over it. I look back at mom, who is now wet with tears. I hop in the bed and cuddle her, closing my eyes. I feel a shaky breath warm up my shoulder, it makes me shiver. I relax my body and go to sleep.

*******************

I see him, Liam Hemsworth, he's walking up to me like he does to Jennifer Lawrence in 'The Hunger Games' he looks up, meeting my gaze. He opens his mouth to speak and "Ding!" Comes out. I look at him in confusion, he says it again, "ding."----
**DING* I open my eyes. I'm still in moms bed and she's still asleep. **DING*.