The Love Game

Chapter 1

Lushia

I missed Mum. I missed the smell of Lavender in the morning, and the scent of raspberries whenever she walked past.

"When will Mum be back?" I asked my caregiver, Kate.

"I don't know. Soon I hope." Kate said with a smile.

"Will she ever come back?" I asked.

"No... Of course she... Won't." Kate's husband, Jack mumbled. He was drunk. Again.

"Jack! She will. If we have hope." Kate Sighed. "And some of us obviously don't have hope." She whispered to me nodding her head in Jack's direction. She laughed, it was a joke (not a very good one, Kate's jokes are never good) but I didn't want to laugh. I couldn't laugh.

When I got to school my best friend Jessie ran up to me

"Oi. There you are! I was looking EVERYWHERE for you!" Jessie laughed.

"Hehe." I mumbled trying to laugh but couldn't. The thoughts of mum were just making me depressed. The fact that she was in a coma in Hospital and the doctors were telling Jack and Kate that mum might never wake up. The doctors tried to tell Jack and Kate without me and Danny hearing but we heard, and we cried about it.

'What's wrong? Oh your mum, right?' Jessie asked. Looking down at her feet as the conversation got awkward.

'Yes. But it's fine.' I mumbled looking down as well.

The school was a bore. I wanted to stay at home with Kate. But Jack wouldn't let me. I want to go to Danny's school! Danny is my only cousin. I am his only cousin. Even though we're not even related. We don't really have a choice so we do normally everything together. Danny is cute, he has wild brown eyes that sparkle, he has blonde, brown hair that he gels to spike up, he wears his baseball cap over it all the time. I've never seen him take it off. He's good looking. One of the most popular in school, all the girls want to date him. He hates it. At first, he thought it was funny now he can't stand it. He's never had a girlfriend even though he's 15 (I'm 15 and a half). I look a lot like him but I have green eyes and not brown. He's never said I'm ugly but he said I was pretty. I never forgot that day, he has forgotten it, though. He was only 5, I was upset because someone had said I was ugly. I went over to Danny in tears and told him, he said she was lying and I was pretty. I couldn't stop thinking about it. I'd never said anything to him about his looks, but I should have.

"Hey, Mum." Danny smiled showing off his adorable dimples as we walked through the door, I was happy to be home, that school bus stinks.

"Hi, honey. How was school?" Kate smiled back, trying to show her dimples, but she had none.

"Boring." Danny muttered grabbing a juice box from the fridge.

"Hey, Kate." I mumbled.

"Hey. How was school for you, Lushia?" Kate asked.

"Fine, Jessie was annoying, though."

"You say everyone's annoying." Jack said, laughing. Walking into the main room. He wasn't drunk, it was a shock.

'Because everyone is nowadays.' I laughed for the first time in forever. Jack laughed and so did Kate. Danny just sucked away on his juice box. Jack and Kate are married though they never show any love to each other. I have never seen them kiss or hug or call each other couple names like sweethearts and pumpkin pie. I hear them giggling sometimes when they're in their room at night but that's it.

Dinner was boring. Helping Danny with homework was boring. Danny helping me with homework was boring, there was one part where I feel asleep and Danny had to wake me up. Everything was boring. Kate offered me dessert which was apple pie and ice cream, Danny loved it, but I wasn't in any mood for food. I hardly ate dinner.

I went to bed at 7:21pm Danny and Kate were both shocked because it was a Friday evening but I just brushed my teeth and got dressed and went to bed. No shower. No goodnights.

At 10:11pm Danny went to bed along with Kate and Jack. I heard Kate next door kissing Danny goodnight. I heard Danny mumbling something but I didn't care what.

Kate came in, I pretended I was asleep so she wouldn't speak to me. It worked. She just whispered goodnight and kissed my bare forehead. She went to bed and I was alone.

I couldn't sleep, I was tossing and turning every second, thoughts of Mum rushing through my head like a ghost, she wasn't dead, Thank God! I knew that for a fact she was somewhat dead, not really dead but close, as Jack would laugh. I hated Jack, I hated Danny, no I take that back. I loved Danny! He was my crush, again. I had a crush on him when I was little I think he had one on me too but when we moved to different schools I got a boyfriend and I heard he kissed a girl. But I don't think so. Now that my boyfriend and I have broken up, I'm starting to like him again.. But he doesn't need to know. Oh and I'm now sharing a room with him, won't that be fun!