Absquatulate

Chapter 8:

The minute i was sure Jala was home safely, i went into my house and listened to check if mom's still up. She is, so i take off my coat and shoes to put them aside and go to the study.

"Why are you still up Mom?" I ask once i sit with her on the table she was sitting at. "Just doing some work. How was the party?" I thought she would never ask so...
"It was great actually."

"Was Nic there?" Oh..yeah Nic, "Uh...no he wasn't invited i guess. He's got a new girl and he's really trying to impress her so yea."
She sighs and checks the time," When are you getting yourself a girl?"
"Anytime...i really..." i catch my breathe, "don't know. I'm not interested in girls. Yet." She nods, taking a sip of coffee from her mug and giving me a smirk.

"You're father and i were highschool lovers you know.."
I attempt to leave but she holds onto my hand and makes me sit again. "He just wants you to give him a chamce to express his feeling and emotions."
"But why now? He's never been supportive of me. If he was trying he would atleast try to turn up every year but nooo."
"He's realised his mistake right,? So let's give him a second chance."
"Second chance? Mom you made a mistake while in marriage but did you get a second chance? And he got a second chance to restart his life...all over again. He decided to leave us, he didn't give us a second chance so why should we give him a second chance, eh?" Mom let's go of my hand in horror probably because she's just realised i have a valid point.

I wish her goodnight after haven't done it almost two years and head back to my room.

I didn't want to say more. Well, actually...i didn't want to upset her any further.

It's dark with a lamp on the side of the bed, like my life. The darkness is this 'new family' nonsense and the lamb is...Jala. She says her parents are getting a divorce in four months so she'll soon go through the pain i once went through and currently, the effects of the pain. However, i will definitely make sure i am there for her at all times.

Once I'm settled in my blankets and try not to think about Jala, i go on my instagram to check out how everyone's coping with life. Nicholas has a lot of new posts from the past three days that we haven't been so close in and in every picture he's with Casie.

I'm annoyed, even though I'm liking all his posts because ever since this particular girl came around...he barely even texts me.
All the girls before respected the fact that he was my friend and they only spent time with him with me in mind. It's only been three days of the couple and i am so fed up.

Me: Hey Nic, you up?

I text as i sit up straight on the bed, waiting for his reply next.

It's been seven minutes now and he still hasn't replied to my text. I bet he's with her. I put my phone aside, close my eyes and hope to fall asleep soon.

Dave's messing with my head now, i can't close my eyes because his face keeps popping up and it's really irritating me. It's now that i remember how i used to dream about how he'd talk to me as his son and him as my father, the times when i would fold my hands and pray on his well-being every night before i went to sleep while in primary school.

Why did he decide to start again and forget us?

The only reason i am honestly furious at him is the fact that all these years i thought he was always worried about me but honestly the man was really rebuilding his family. Three kids is a lot, plus his girlfriend/fiance is pregnant. What if she's pregnant with another pair of twins? Holy lord have mercy.

I can hear mom's footsteps fade away as if she's answering the front door. I sneak up to her to see who's come at this hour. It's mom's important friend, he has a file with papers in his right hand and He looks around the house once he's seated and takes the cup of coffee mom offers him. "We could use the fact Dave's never been there for his son agaisnt him in court...what do you think?" He says taking off his tie and placing it on the dining table. " Let's try and talk to him...let's stop all this court nonsense." She pauses and helps him unbotton the top button of his shirt," i want Riley and if we do go to court, Dave's going to win him over. He's got the cash and all...He's better than me at parenting..."
"Riley gets to decide who he wants to stay with and from what you've told me, he might choose you."
"Might." She emphasizes and covers her face with her hands in exhaustion.
She's hurting and i can see it. All this time she has been claiming she's all good but all along she's been struggling with keeping my custody and to be frank i don't think she was ever going to tell me about this because she knows it would hurt me.

"Mom?" She quickly gets up from her chair and slides the file back to her friend, "who's he?" She looks at him first before she says,"Pete. He's a friend of mine and he came to give me a visit."
"At this hour?" Pete turns around and looks dirrectly into my eyes. His eyes are a chocolatey brown and have that intimidating look of a lawyer. " I'm sorry. I came to get some water." I walk past him trying to see what's written on the paper on top of the file but he quickly shoves it in the file again. I take a while in the kitchen pretending to drink water hoping they would start talking again but they are still quiet even when i put my glass back on the counter. 'Screw it! They are never saying a word with me around.'

Mom is standing at the bottom of the staircase pretending to look for something in the cupboard nearby. After i walk past the stairs, i look back and mom is still at the end of the staircase now tying her hair into a messy bun.

Once the door is shut behind me, i begin to hear whispers again, probably continuing the discussion.

Even if they decide not to talk about this infront of me, i really don't care because i have a solid idea about why everything is happening and changing day by day.