Running On Empty

Chapter 14~Silya~

When I stepped inside my house, all the lights were shut off, as usual. I became so used to this kind of thing, that being alone had become second nature. I walked into the kitchen and didn't see any trace of my mom. She must have been out drinking again. I turned on the light and it seemed like the whole world had come to life. I hadn't noticed it before, but the light was kind of reassuring in a way. I pulled a chair out and sat in it, trying to suck in the tranquility that I missed for a while.

To me, leaving the Hennery house was a good choice for the moment. After meeting up with that new girl, I knew that my presence was no longer needed. The Headmaster had requested for me to leave so that Jaylin and that girl could get acquainted with each other better. Well, there's not anything I could do about that anyway. How did I get caught up in this anyway? After leaving that house, I knew that there was a feeling of regret in the back of my mind. I couldn't run back though. If I did, I would have never been able to let go of all the memories that were made in the last couple of days.

I went upstairs to my room and threw myself on my bed. I heard the squeaking of mattress and glanced around to realize how much of a mess I had let it before I left. Clothes were tossed carelessly everywhere and the bed had not been made. I got under my cover and decided to just sleep the rest of the day away. Since I had nothing else to do, I could catch up on my sleep at the very least.

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There was a small knock on the door. I looked over at my alarm clock and saw that it was 5:46 p.m. My mom's small head popped between the opening of the door and wall. She didn't appear to be drunk at all.

"How are you doing, sweetie?" It was the first time in a while I had seen a concerned look on my mother's face. That was strange.

"Good, it's nice to see you, Mom." Before I knew it, I had felt myself smile a little. It was like I had actually meant what I said to her.

Looking as shocked as I felt, she stepped into the room. I noticed that my mother had actually looked physically better. Her hair had been up and tied back into a neat ponytail and she had on a blouse that was underneath her light sweater. She wore a blue skirt with white flats as well. What was up with the way she had appeared to be? It had been a while since I had seen her like this. My mother walked over to the side of my bed and sat down next to me. I noticed that she wasn't looking at me when she spoke. Instead, she was looking at the ground.

"I'm sorry, Silya. It's been hard for you to deal with all you had to these last few months and I'm sure the way I had been acting didn't help much either. There's something I need to tell you though." She lifts her head up a little to look at me.

I shook my head, trying to look as understanding as I possibly could. "It's alright, Mom. Everyone makes mistakes and everyone has those moments when they change because of something happening drastically that has made the world they knew before, all come crashing down at once. I'd say it's pretty normal to change a little." I placed my hand on her shoulder.

"Silya," Her eyes look straight into mine, "I'm really sorry."

I pulled my mom in and hugged her for the first time in two months. I heard the sound of her heart beating against my ear. It was the same sound I had heard when I was a child. Inside of her I felt like something new had been reborn. What was it that had suddenly been able to turn back into the person she used to be?

"Your father has called me. He asked me about you."

"What? After all this time?" I didn't know whether I should have sounded eager or surprised. All I knew was that I was a little happy to hear this.