Recollections

The Time With Thyme

The Time With Thyme
(song of the chapter: Love Me Like You Do // Ellie Goulding)

A set of grey eyes that mirror mine, stare back at me.

The words that are coming out of my parents's mouths aren't registering. A light grasp on my thigh brings me back to reality. Breaking eye contact with my father, I look to my left and study Austin's face. He gives me the slightest nod of encouragement.

A wave of embarrassment washes over me as I realize, I've brought him into another one of my family's melodramas.

"Erin?" My Mother's tremulous tone snaps my attention back to her. She's staring down at the table cloth in front of her, not wanting to meet my stare. The fork in her hand is weakly pushing around what's left of the salad in her bowl.

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I decide to test the word out. The word that my father so hideously used just moments ago. "Divorce?" As soon of the word has escaped the prison of my mouth, my Father's hand drapes atop of mine. My gaze falls to the contact of his skin.

"Erin, your Mother and I, we do love each other, just not in the way we used to. We're better off as friends, we aren't happily married like we once were." He tries to explain to me as if I'm a six year old.

I scoff and slide my hand out from under his. My gaze is shifting back and forth between the two of them in disgust. I wish I were a six year old, It'd give me an excuse to call him an Indian-giver, giving someone their love and then taking it back. But I'm not six, so I say the next best thing.

"You've been married for twenty four years and you're willing to throw it all away for some occasional disputes?" I hiss.

"That's the thing Erin, we aren't having any disputes. We aren't having anything, not sex, not conversations, not even arguments." Mom snaps, and I flinch.

My arms fold across my chest. "Then what."

"We just aren't happy together anymore." My Dad sighs, "This isn't a bad thing, honey. Your mother and I have come to this realization unanimously. We have no hard feelings about it and we want to still be a apart of each other's lives, just not in the same way."

I'm shaking my head back and forth in disbelief. Not wanting to look at them, I start spearing bites of pasta noodles onto my fork. I'll focus on eating so I don't have to focus on them.

Austin is tracing soothing patterns on my back and I lean into his side. "How is it?" I ask, gesturing towards his food. My eyelids are fluttering ferociously trying to hold in the tears that are making my eyes sting.

I hear my mother sigh lowly as Austin tells me his food is good. His cheeks are flushed and I resist the urge to frown. Smoothing my thumb across his cheek, my lips purse. "Sorry." I murmur, for only him to hear.

"You have nothing to apologize for." He whispers back. My parents have fallen into their own conversation and don't seem to be paying us any mind. I'm mind blown at how they can just sit and converse so easily as if they aren't tearing each other out of their lives.

My gaze shifts back to his. "Yes I do, I can see you're uncomfortable. I can't believe I brought you here to witness another one of their family dysfunctions."

He chuckles softly and brushes his lips against my cheek. "How should you have known?"

He's right, it isn't like I knew they were going to drop this news on me. Leaning away fractionally, I nod. My eyes lower to Austin's lips and I subconsciously lick mine. He's smirking at me and his lips are slightly swollen as if he's been biting them. As if to support my theory, Austin tugs on his bottom lip with his teeth and I fight the smile that's threatening to spread across my face.