A Known Stranger

Chapter 26

Chapter 26

                It wasn’t until a few days later, that I saw my mother. She sat at the kitchen table, glass of orange juice placed on a placemat, her head turned towards the sliding doors with the perfect view of the ocean.

                The beach was deserted, which wasn’t unusual around this time of year. The temperatures were starting to drop and the water started to get colder and no one in their right mind wanted to get into the freezing water.

                I cleared my throat, standing behind the chair directly across from her. She hadn’t heard me come in but when I made the sound at the back of my throat, my mother snapped out of whatever trance she was in and smiled up at me once she saw me.

                “Good morning,” she greeted.

                “Morning,” I replied, a bit taken off guard. It was Wednesday morning, an hour before school started to be exact. Usually, my mother was either long gone by now or up in her bedroom getting some sleep. “What are you doing here?” I asked, making my way towards the counter to grab an apple from the basket of fruits I had arranged last night.

                “I live here,” my mother replied. “Where else would I be?” she asked.

                I shrugged and took a bit out of my green apple, “Work,” I said unattractively as I chewed the fruit inside of my mouth.

                My mother made a face of disgust and shook her head, “Sometimes I wonder if all those years of teaching you manners were a waste of time,” my mother sighed. “Don’t eat with food in your mouth, Fae. Honestly, it’s disturbing.”

                I smirked and swallowed the fruit, “Admit it,” I began. “You find it cute.”

                Scoffing, my mother rolled her eyes and pushed herself up to her feet, “Not at all.”

                “Lies,” I responded before taking another mouthful of the juicy fruit. “But no really,” I said after swallowing another bite. “What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be at work…or asleep?”

                “It’s my day off,” she admitted, washing her glass of orange juice in the sink after pouring out the contents.

                “Oh,” was all I managed to get out.

                We remained in silence for awhile as my mother washed the few dirty dishes in the sink. Just as I was about to toss my apple core in the wastebasket, my mother cleared her throat and turned to face me. “When were you planning on telling me that you and Noah were dating?” she asked. “Actually, when were you going to tell me that you and Ryder broke up?”

                The core fell and hit the bottom of the can with a loud thud. The tone in my mother’s voice wasn’t upset, no… it was more of a hurt type of tone. I shut my eyes and slowly turned around to face her, a blank face greeting her curious stare.

                I shrugged and made my way towards the refrigerator to grab a water bottle, “I don’t know,” I admitted.

                My mother sighed, “Fae.”

                I sighed heavily and turned back to face her, bottle of cold water gripped tightly between my hands. “You’re never around,” I told her. “How do you expect me to tell you what’s going on in my life when you’re too busy wrapped up in your own?”