Not a Reunion

Chapter 27

Mason

I don't think I would be able to head up to my porch without Thea there. I'm observant as I walk up the chipped staircase and up to the porch. Everything seemed to be going bad, and I knew that it was the weather that had done it. Also, because our house was delayed in construction for at least a few good years.

Ignoring that, I head to the door. Thea is standing beside me in a second, and she whispers, "Are you ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," I whisper in sarcasm and then push the door open. When I open the door wide, I feel the breeze coming from inside the house. I forgot that my parents liked to keep their windows open all the time. I step into the house and try to hear anything that would keep my parents away.

But there was no shouting. Maybe they were tired after a few years of fighting with each other.

Thea is walking beside me, but I lose myself in this house. I lose myself in the way that this all feels extremely family-like. I walk into the living room and then head straight to my bedroom. My room was exactly as I left it, and when I pushed open my door, I found that the only things in my room were my bed and my dresser. That was it.

There was only a receipt on the dresser, and when I picked it up, I found that it was for the suitcase. My last evidence was that I had really left this town behind.

I'm walking through my room when I hear light snoring from the next door over. I walk out of my room, being careful not to shut my door too hard, and then walk toward the noise. The noise was coming from the broken wall that I shared with my parents.

Thea is standing pressed against the door, and I pass her by without glancing at her. She was going to be okay with just standing there. I didn't know why she had really wanted to come; I had only let her be because she was already moving. I wasn't going to tell her to go back.

I'm scared to see my parents again. I wonder if they have changed or if I will recognize them within a second. I walk toward the room, and when I peer through the door, my mind freezes.

My parents were here.

They were both sleeping in their beds, snoring softly. I watch them sleep and take notice of the fact that they are close together. Did their toxicity still keep them together? What was about that that I both hated and liked? I think I just liked the fact that my parents were going through life together after I left. At least they had each other.

I'm about to turn around on my heels and leave when there is a sound of the bed creaking. Like this morning, I'm not allowed to make my exit before someone opens their eyes. It's my mom. Her eyes are so unfamiliar because I haven't seen them in such a long time. She has the same eyes as me, I realize.

"Hudson?" she whispers, her mind not coming in yet. I inhaled deeply into my nose because I hadn't expected her to think of my brother. My brother, who hadn't exceeded the age of two, didn't even turn two. My mom's eyes are pinned on me, and then she tilts her head. Then it hits her: she realizes who I am.

I hear the breath she takes in, and then she places a hand on her heart. "Mason," she says louder, more sure of the name she was saying. Then her eyes pass over my face, and suddenly she scolds, "What the hell are you staring at us for?"

I'm confused. I don't follow as to why she wasn't more surprised by my arrival. Though my mind was still whirring with the fact that my mom had said my name, I hadn't heard her say it in the longest time, and I was frozen when she said it. I had thought that she had forgotten my name, but of course she didn't.

"Go on and do what you always do around here," she says, then waves a hand in the air. I'm still staring at her, but she says, "Can you not understand me, boy? Go on and get out of here."