𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐃 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐃, craig tucker

05 accident with a side of pasta

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷

    you watched your mom pace around the kitchen with a nervous look on her face. you became more worried when her frown deepened upon seeing you– did something bad happen?

red and heidi had been picked up by their parents earlier, leaving you home alone with your cute little cat.

a smile formed on your lips when you saw the fur ball sleeping on your bed. her curious blue eyes stared at you as you changed into more comfortable clothes.

you walked back to the living with your cat in your arms. she purred happily and bumped her head against your chin, the tickle from her soft fur made you giggle quietly. you felt your smile dropped in concern when you noticed your mom still pacing around the kitchen, this time with her phone in her hand. she was texting someone and seemed to be more distressed than before.

you decided to cook for her since she was busy stressing over something you had a feeling was bad news. so you gently dropped your cat on the floor and opened the fridge to gather the ingredients. hopefully your pastas would be better than the one you made last week..

you smiled at how your cat followed you around. she probably thought it was her feeding time. you crouched down and booped her on the nose, softly chuckling at her confused expression.

"star, i already fed you before i left the house. and your bowl is filled too!" you spoke to her in a baby voice, scratching under her chin.

your head snapped up when you heard your moms footsteps approaching. a nervous smile formed on your face when you saw her leaning against the wall.

she seemed to be more nervous than you though. she stared at the ground, "hun, can we talk?"

you pointed at the boiling pan, "can you wait until i'm done cooking? i don't think i can wait without eating." you joked. you grinned at your own joke, but it faded when you saw the serious expression still visible on your moms face.

she slowly nodded and hesitantly walked to the living room, making you pout. she would usually respond to your comments with a even funnier joke.

this made you worry more. is this how heidi and red felt earlier when you were being emo?

after finally finishing with the pasta, you placed the plates on the dining table, "mommmm! i made the fooddd!" you shouted, not wasting any time to wait for her and immediately began to chug down the kool–aid you bought for yourself.

"thank you, sweetie." your mom mumbled, grabbing her fork and eating the food slowly. you tried your best to not roll your eyes at how far she was taking it now.

"mom, what's going on? what are you so distressed about?" you accusingly pointed your fork at her and squinted your eyes.

your mom let out a huge sigh and stared at you for a few seconds. her eyes softened when she met eyes with your own worried pairs.

your cheeks were puffed up due to you pausing your chewing because of how weird your mom was acting, and your mom noticed your cat sleeping peacefully on your lap, making the edge of her lips quirk up before pulling back down to a frown.

"it's.." she paused, "your father."

the atmosphere suddenly tensed. your mom noticed your whole body still at the mention of your father– who was supposed to be away on a business trip. ever since you had became a high schooler, he had been busier with his job and becoming more distant with you and your mom.

it's really amazing how you had went through thousands of emotions today. you literally went from excited, sadness, happiness, and now sadness again.

you felt yourself lose your appetite just from the sudden topic of your father.

not that you could blame him or hate him for being so busy with his job. he was still your father after all. but you just hated how he wouldn't leave a message or even warn you about these trips. he had left so many times without saying a word that if he wasn't in his office or in his room sleeping, you immediately knew he was on a business trip.

you continued to chew on the pasta, but you looked away from your mom– afraid of what she was going to say.

you hesitatingly opened your mouth, "..what happened to him?" you finally let the question escape your mouth.

your mom looked down at her lap. "he was in a car accident on the way back home. he's at the hospital near your school.." she confessed, leaving you in shock.

"h–huh? my school is 30 minutes away, how are we gonna visit him when you have work while i'm at school, and a minor?! they won't let me in without a guardian.."

your mom lifted her head and you gulped at how her face darkened.

"we're going to have to stay with one of the families that live near your school."

she finished her plate and stood up, taking your finished plate and walking to the kitchen. you followed her–of course– and continued to bombard her with questions.

"who are we even going to stay with? does that mean we're selling the house? mom, how are we going to pack all our stuff?"

your mom let out a sigh and turned to you, "we're not selling the house, we're only staying until your father is completely healed." she answered before turning back to continue washing the dishes.

you frowned. "but who are we staying with?"

"you know craig tucker? doesn't he go to your school? his mom had offered to let us stay at their house after hearing about your dad's accident."

you choked on your juice.