The Apollo Brothers

The Apollo Brothers; Chapter Eight

8.

                I woke the next morning to the smell of fresh pancakes and syrup coming from the kitchen. With no time wasted, I made my way to the kitchen table to find Austin in an apron and his brothers munching down on the pancakes.

                “Good Morning Madeleine,” Zane said cocky his head and raising his eyebrows.                “Good sleep last night?” he said mockingly. I avoided his gaze and looked down at the pancakes in front of me. They smelt incredible.

                “These for me?” I asked Austin.

                “Yes, of course. Take a seat.” He rushed over from behind the bench and pulled the dinner chair out for me to sit. He had placed three pancakes in a white china plate with a mini bowl of syrup on the side. A glass of cold milk waited for me to take a sip.

                “Thanks, this wasn’t necessary though…”

                “Of course it’s necessary. You are the only guest we’ve ever had,” Austin said as he removed his apron to join us.

                When the pancake touched my tongue, I could distinguish all the ingredients, the sugar, flour, vanilla essence, milk, egg. I could taste the flavours incorporated with one another, to produce the magnificent result.

                Ethan cleared his throat once he was done with his breakfast.

                “You know what you have to do today don’t you Madeline? There really is no time to spare anymore. You aren’t safe.”

                I nodded once. I knew what I had to do, but I didn’t know how I was supposed to do it. After breakfast I washed myself up and changed into my clothes from the day before. By the time it was one o’clock, I decided I would head out and think myself through everything. How was I supposed to say goodbye to my Mum? Was I ever going to see her again? Just the thought of losing her shot a pain through my chest.

                “Well, we expect you to be back by eight tonight alright?” Austin asked intently. “You can use the car if you want too.”

                I pressed a smile. I could feel all three of the brothers watching me as I left the house.

                                                                                ***

                I decided that the only person I was going to say goodbye to be my Mum. It would save me a lot of pain, misery and guilt saying more than one goodbye. When I arrived home nobody was there. I remembered that Mum had said something about going to Uncle Kyle’s last week. I casually walked up to my room and began to pack my things. Everything that I thought I might need, I packed into a large bag. Clothes, toiletries, money that I had saved for my eighteenth party and last of all my mini laptop which looked like a mini portable DVD player. I had walked around the house about eight times before everything was packed in my bag. I decided to have a long soothing shower and change into suitable clothes.

                After shower, there was still no sign of Mum so I packed everything in the backseat of the car and drove myself to the corner store to buy a new toothbrush. When I entered the store, the tinkle of the bells alerted the sales person. He greeted me kindly before returning to his shelves. I walked around, looking for a new toothbrush and also anything else that I might have forgotten.

                “Maddy?”

                I turned to find Mandy, her hair more flame red than I had remembered. She was wearing big leather boots and a black dress. This wasn’t part of the plan. I didn’t want say goodbye.