A Change of Heart

Chapter 6 - One Fell Stoop

# Dedicated to Amy :-)

@AmyGoymer

Go check her out! She hasn't wrote a lot yet, but she will do when she motivated :-D She's a great writer :-)

# made some ( actually quite dramatic ) changes to Ryan's mum. Be sure to re-read that but or it might get a little confusing!

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It was a surprise to say the least, checking the clock to see it was seven in the morning. I actually woke up, having slept well for the first time in what seemed like a year. I stretched, releasing tension from my limbs. Sunlight flowed through the gap in my curtains. After sinking my feet into slippers, I got up and eased open the drapes. I examined the morning sky. Overhead, it was clear and sunny, but an army of rain clouds had gathered in the West. Typical.

I shuffled down the stairs, stalled for a moment, then went back up again. I wasn't used to this time I had at my disposal. I was aware of my daily morning routine, but usually I had ten minutes to get ready, not an hour and a half. I made a mental check list of everything I had to do. I supposed if I got everything ready now, there was a higher chance that I might arrive on time. I returned to my former position at the foot of the stairs and travelled into the dining room. I contemplated breakfast. Usually I'd snatch up a breakfast bar and eat it on the way, or even miss breakfast altogether, but now I had more time, I poured myself a bowl of Cheerios and sat at the table with my spoon.

When my mum saw me, she didn't attempt to hide her shock. Her mouth virtually dropped open. I'm pretty sure I even saw her do a double take to assure herself that I was not an illusion. I smiled at her reaction. Once I finished the cereal, I went into the bathroom and brushed my teeth before choosing some clothes from my wardrobe. I decided upon a duck- egg blue dress with flowers and berries printed onto it, a lilac three quarter cardigan and leggings.

With another forty five minutes to go, I started doing my hair. I tied it into a pony and, using a large clip, pinned the tail to my head. I secured the loose strands of hair with bobby pins. I could have done a really good job at my make-up. But since I'd been with Ryan, I'd begun to deem such things unnecessary.

Instead, I fished my phone out of my cardigan pocket and started searching through my contacts, one step less tedious than twiddling my thumbs. Suddenly, my phone vibrated in my hands and I saw I had a message. Ryan.

'Need to see you. Are you busy tonight? Please say no...'

Chuckling, I typed a reply.

'No, free tonight :-) I want to see you too.'

He responded in an instant. 'Be expecting my arrival then ;-). Thank you baby, can I call you that?'

Yes. Yes. Yes. You can call me that. Please do it again.

'Course, if you wanna :-)'

'Alright then, got to get the bus now, see you gorgeous'

I felt faint, even at such a fleeting chat. It took me a moment of recovery to realise that Ryan said he was leaving for school. After checking the time, I concluded that it was time to leave. I thanked god and left my house, saying goodbye to mum on my way out.

I wondered what everyone would say about my 'earliness'.

As I reached the last turn, I realised something was amiss. They weren't there. I checked the time on my phone, but I wasn't late, or too early for that matter. The one time I'm on schedule, and they're not even there. I tried texting Amy, but she either ignored me or didn't have her phone.