Midnight Mates

01 | Home

-ssed away. Your mother, she's passed away...

"Excuse me, miss, but this is the last stop before I head back to the city. Miss?"

Sable jolted awake, a wet line trailing from her mouth. How embarrassing. She scrambled to stand up, collecting her bags. "So sorry, thank you for waking me." She really hoped no one had noticed her drooling.

The bus driver gave her a nod as she passed by him, stepping off. The bus jolted and groaned as the driver started it up, closed the doors and headed on his way.

It was a fairly chilly winter afternoon. Sable was thankful she had brought her winter coat, considering that the forecast was for a warmer turn in the temperature. Eston wasn't too large of a town. It had a handful of restaurants, a bar, and a grocery store though most folks drove to the nearest city, a one hour drive, to get decent groceries. It had been four years since she'd left and everything looked the same. Sable briefly wondered if most of her classmates from high school had stuck around, unable to escape. She had seen a couple of pregnancy announcements on social media and her mom had always made sure to keep Sable up-to-date with the latest Eston gossip.

Mom.

Sable's heart ached. She had so many regrets. Sure, she had called her mom at least twice a week and saw them once a year at Christmas, but she knew she should've done better. It wasn't her mother's fault Sable hated Eston.

As her parent's house came into view, Sable tried to straighten up. She couldn't let her sister and father see her like this. She had to be strong for them.

"Hello?" Sable called as she stepped into the house, setting down her bags. "Dad? Maria?"

There was a thundering noise as Sable's younger sister, Maria, rushed down the stairs.

"Dad! Sable is home!" She hollered.

Sable could hear the creak of her parent's bed as their father got up from where he was, presumably, reading. When he appeared he gave a soft but sad smile, "Welcome home." He immediately wrapped her in a firm hug.

Lawrence Pace was quite healthy for his age, always keeping active, even in retirement. The only thing that really gave his age away was his brilliant white hair that he kept rather short.

"Dad made some chilli for dinner. Do you want some? We were just about the eat anyway." Maria moved into the kitchen, already scooping food into a bowl.

"Sure." Sable kicked off her boots. Everything in the house looked fairly similar to when she had last visited only two months prior. Their mother had replaced a couple light fixtures and swapped out the decorations in anticipation of spring as she did each year.

"Did you hear that Aurora Williams is having her second baby in a few months?" Maria asked, setting a steaming bowl of chilli and a spoon in front of Sable. "People think that the father is Ethan Wright but he and Aurora were seeing each other on-and-off for months before people heard she was pregnant."

Sable shrugged as she tucked in to her chilli. Aurora had graduated with Sable four years ago and gave birth months later. Sable personally didn't want any children of her own but she hoped Aurora was able to support her current child and new baby. "I think Mom might have mentioned it on the phone. I don't really remember, sorry."

Maria nodded, "That would make sense. Personally, I'd be glad if the father wasn't Ethan. He doesn't treat Aurora well enough. He should let her move on to a man that is kind to her."

The rest of the evening was filled with chatter of the town and Maria's classmate's plans after graduation. "Did you know that Lauren got accepted into a nursing program in the city? She said it's only two years and that you get paid a lot once you finish. I wish there was a shorter program like that for pharmacology."