How We Became Us

Chapter 19

Hey everyone!

If you enjoy my writing, please give me tips on Ko-Fi. Link in bio!

Also, sorry for the delay in updating. I've had to write two 4.5-hour exams today, and my head was not having it, so I've been a bit dead. But I hope you enjoy it! 

Also, there is a very brief mention of suicide/past suicide attempts. 

A.B💜

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Jennifer had returned from a hard night from her overnight shift at the hospital. She was exhausted and couldn't wait to sleep, and part of her wanted to stop by the store to buy a bottle of wine, but she had promised herself that she would stop. She wants to be more a part of her son's life, after all, Kelly shouldn't have lost both parents at the same time and she has years to make up for. She knew it would be hard, but she needed to do this.

She opened the front door to their small apartment and frowned when she saw what looked like a fort in the living room and where her pullout bed was. Part of her wanted to yell out of frustration and annoyance, but she took a deep breath and quietly went over to see if Kelly was in the fort. When she bent down, she noticed Kelly sleeping soundly and a tuff of blond hair cuddled into Kelly's neck. This wouldn't be the first time she woke or came home to find someone random in Kelly's bed, and although she didn't like it, she didn't have the right, especially after not being present in Kelly's life for the past decade. She sighed, allowed the two to sleep, and went to the kitchen, expecting dishes or take-out containers, but the kitchen was spotless. She mentally high-fived Kelly and went about making pancakes.

Kelly was slowly being pulled from the warmth of sleep to a weight on half his body. He tried turning his head to see who it was. The person's face was buried in his neck, and he could feel their warm puffs of breath. He remembers his date with Matt, Matt falling asleep on his chest, and Kelly not having the heart to wake the blond. He briefly wonders if there's someone Matt has to meet in the early mornings—he remembers Matt saying something about a trainer at 5:30 AM—but he doesn't want to burst his bubble and stop those thoughts. If Matt gets in trouble, he thinks he can do something about it, and he makes a mental note to get Matt to give him his schedule so he knows when he should wake the blond up so he does not get in trouble. Is asking for his schedule too possessive or controlling? They've only been on one date.

'God, I'm too tired for this,' he thought to himself and wanted to go back to sleep when the soft noise of the stove and the smell of pancakes made him want to get up. Slowly, he rolled Matt onto his back, and the blond whined and scrunched his nose at being moved. Kelly couldn't help but smile at how cute Matt looked. He had to chuckle when Matt grabbed the pillow, cuddled it to his chest, and fell back asleep. Kelly stayed there for a couple more seconds, just watching the blond. Is that creepy? Probably, but Matt looked so much younger and relaxed when he was sleeping, and Kelly wished he could keep him like this and keep Gregory and Nancy Casey away from Matt.

Kelly quietly crawled out of the fort and stretched for a couple of seconds before making his way to the kitchen but stopped in his tracks when he noticed the back of his mother.

"Mom?" Kelly whispered. At the table, Jennifer turned around with a tired smile and handed Kelly a plate of cooked pancakes.

"Morning, sweetie," she whispered and handed Kelly another plate while the teen blinked, confused at his mother. Kelly has been confused about what's happening with his mother for the past few weeks. He had noticed all the alcohol being gone from the apartment, and although she looked tired, she seemed to be putting in more of an effort.

"Did you just get back?" He asked, slowly transferring some pancakes to his plate while still confused. He couldn't remember the last time she cooked him breakfast, especially after she had a night shift.