To Build A Home || c.h

Chapter 26

Calum's POV:

The next morning I feel surprisingly okay. I don't feel good, but I don't feel bad either. I just feel okay. It's a good feeling. I fell asleep on the couch yesterday while watching Men in Black 2 with my mom, but I'm unsure whether my mom fell asleep here as well or not. The side she would have slept on is messy, but that doesn't mean that she slept there.

The scent of pancakes wipes out all the thoughts in my mind and replaces them with one single thought: I'm so f.ucking hungry. I get up and stretch a little bit before I follow the smell into the kitchen. My mom's soft humming is to be heard the second I enter the kitchen, and I smile automatically. I've missed this.

"Good morning, dear," my mother says as she stops humming, her back to me. She's standing in front of the stove, flipping what seems to be the last pancake. The other pancakes have been stacked neatly on a plate next to her, all of them shaped as almost perfect circles. Her pancake-making skills never cease to amaze me.

"Good morning, mom," I smile back, inhaling the delicious scent once again. My mouth almost starts watering and my stomach lets out a low rumble, trying to tell me how much it's craving food.

"I'm going to have to take a trip out later today, I just have to run some errands, but you'll be okay alone for a couple of hours, right?" she asks while putting the last pancake on the plate.

"Of course mom, I'm not five," I reply with a mild chuckle, but when she turns around, I can tell that she was actually serious. She was actually wondering whether I could be left alone.

"I know, I know, I just..." she mutters and puts the pancakes on the table. "I don't want to leave you if you don't want to be alone here..." she adds with a small sigh.

"It's okay mom, I'll just watch some TV, I'll be fine," I reassure her. She nods reluctantly and kisses my forehead.

"I just want to make sure that you're fine with it," she says softly as we both sit down by the table that she has already set. I reply with a small nod and a soft smile before we start eating.

The pancakes are good as always, but they're not as good as they used to be. I know, however, that it's because of me and not my mom's cooking. I haven't had pancakes in months, and now I can't seem to enjoy them anymore. They hold memories of happy times, and the happy times are over. Now there are only mere shadows of how things used to be left, and the pancakes aren't as enjoyable anymore.

Once we're done I help my mom clean the table. It doesn't take too long, and when we've finished she says that she'll be back soon and presses another kiss to my forehead before she leaves. I do just what I said I would; I go back into the living room and plump down on the couch. I turn the TV on and quickly flip through the channels until I find something mildly interesting and decide to just watch it. Better than nothing.

After maybe an hour of mindless TV watching the sound of the doorbell rings throughout the house. I sigh heavily as I get up, pulling my hand through my hair. It's not to look more presentable or anything, it's just a habit. I walk over to the door, but when I open it, my eyes widen slightly as my heart picks up its speed considerably. In front of me is Jake's parents.

"Hello Calum," Jake's mom, Ellen, says with a soft smile. They both look better than when I left, they look a lot less drained now. I guess they've finally managed to (at least somewhat) move on. They're lucky.

"H-Hello," I stutter, cursing myself in my head. This is what happens when I get too nervous, my mouth and brain refuse to work with each other and I end up stuttering.