The Cinderella | Wattys 2016

Chapter Twenty-Three.

Chapter Twenty-Three.

"Oh, hon. I wish I was there with you guys." Liz said with a sad smile whilst we spoke over Skype. "You are going to be taking complete rest. Amanda is home so she can surely manage the kitchen. Eat healthy stuffs, I'll tell Blake to go to the supermarket this weekend and get everything that you'll be requiring and.." Liz went on and on until I interrupted her.

"Liz." I said. She stopped her monologue and looked at me questioningly. "I'll be absolutely fine. You take care of nana and be back soon." I said, offering a warm smile, the gesture was generously returned back by Liz.

"Yes, I promise." Liz said. An old lady's voice echoed in the background as Liz looked back, trying to identify the source of voice. A couple of seconds passed by before Liz yelled towards the door, "Yes, mom?"

"I can't find my tooth, Lizzy! I'm not able to chew the apple." I heard the same voice yell back. Liz sighed, as she pushed herself up from the chair onto which she was seated.

"Grace honey, I'll make a move. But send me regular updates, in case I'm not able to skype you, alright?" She said. I nodded my head and waved her goodbye as she blew me a kiss from the other side of the screen and apparently from the other hemisphere, as she disconnected the call. I let out a yawn as I signed out from y skype account and switched off my laptop. Since I was already dressed in my pyjamas and a comfortable T-shirt, I pulled the blanket over me and moved a little towards the night stand to switch off the lights when I heard a knock on the door of my bedroom. It swung open after a couple of seconds, revealing a very cheery Blake peep in.

"You gonna crash?" He asked.

"Um, not really." I lied. I was extremely tired since today was a very long day.

Earlier Today

I licked the spoon which I used for devouring my cereal and placed it in the sink along with the bowls of the others. Cass and Ira got up from their respective chairs and grabbed their sports kit. Since today was the interschool tournament, they will be leaving for five days, until the tournament ends. I pull Cass and Ira into my arms and kiss their foreheads. I took a step back, away from the girls and pointed my finger towards them, "Give me a call when you reach, before going on the field, before dinner and before bedtime."

"You mean all the freaking time." Cass said, rolling her eyes at me. I shrugged my shoulders and ruffled her hair. "Love you, Grace." She said, with a small smile as she put her arms around my neck and engulfed me into a hug for one last time. Due to the baby bump, I couldn't hold Cass as close as I could before but it hardly makes any difference.

"Love you more." I whispered. The girls waved at me, as I stood by the gate, watching their retreating figures in the school bus that was being driven away in the opposite direction. I stood still in my place till their vehicle would be out of my vision. No sooner did the vehicle disappear beyond the horizon than a drop of tear escaped my eye. Cass, though was an annoying kid for most of the time, she was the only one who I could completely honest and open with, not having to worry about what she might think for me. She would throw tantrums, argue over trivial matters and what not, but at the end of the day, she's always there to hold my hand, preventing me from a fall. Now that Cass was the only family that I had, I couldn't imagine spending a whole five days without her.

My chain of thoughts was broken when I felt someone tap my shoulder. I turned around to see Amanda standing beside me. "You're gonna miss her, aren't you?" She asked, a knowing smile lingering on her lips.

"Yeah." I said. Wiping the tear drops near my eye, I composed myself and took a deep breath in. "Funny how we feel like strangling each other every moment when we're together, and now, now the only thing I want is for her to come home soon." I said, letting out a laugh.