Luke
Today marks one week of Amanda being out of hospital. Her mother has been in jail for five days. The hearing is tomorrow. I already told Amanda that she can’t make me go to school; I’ll be with her at the court room. After all, what are friends for?
I showed up at Dianne and Amanda’s house today without being officially invited. Dianne doesn’t seem to mind. In fact, she looks thrilled to see me when she opens the door.
“Oh, come in, come in!” she ushers me into the kitchen and I smile gratefully at her and remove my shoes. I always use the back door now. I’m here so often; I’ve begun to act like I live here. “Amanda, dear, you have a visitor!” Dianne calls, then winks at me. “The knight in shining armour,” she says quietly. I sigh, feigning exasperation, though actually pleased with the comment.
Amanda comes out of her room in baggy sweat pants and a t- shirt, her hair up in a lazy bun. Dianne tsk- tsks, but I think she looks adorable.
“What?” Amanda sighs, giving Dianne a look. “It’s just Luke, not the opera.” She sounds totally sarcastic and is even more adorable. Dianne laughs and I stifle a giggle, following Amanda to the family room and plopping down on a couch. It might be my imagination, but I think I hear Dianne say behind me, “Just Luke? Please.”
We sit watching TV together, Amanda in the recliner with a knitted blanket pulled tightly around her and me on the leather sofa across the room.
“So…” I say during a commercial break. “How’s life with Dianne?”
Amanda breaks into a grin and I’m suddenly very glad I met Dianne. “She’s awesome. She really, really is.” She pulls the blanket tightly around her and sniffs.
“Are you cold?” I ask. “I can grab another blanket,” I say, starting to get up. I drop back down confusedly when Amanda replies, “No¸ but thanks.”
I ponder this a moment. “Are you sick?” This question is slightly more panicked and I’m aware of how protective I’ve become of Amanda. I actually let out a sigh of relief when she says, “No, not at all.”
Only now I’m more confused. As the show comes back on, I suddenly understand. I see that she’s not really even watching TV, so I grab the remote and nudge the volume down. “You’re scared for tomorrow,” I say. It was a statement, not a question.
She swallows and nods, tugging the blanket even closer to herself and tucking in her feet. She looks very small and innocent. She’s like a lost child. Actually, that’s exactly what she is.
“I can’t be weak in front of her,” she says. If this is the prime cause of Amanda’s concern, I am even more sad.
I don’t know what to say to her. I’ve never dealt with this kind of thing. My life has been a perfect little bubble. I can’t pretend to know what she’s going through; I can’t sympathize with her. I need to be strong for her, but I don’t know how. She’s already had to be strong for so long, meanwhile the greatest struggle in my life- before everything with her and Rachel and Curtis- has been running out of milk and having to eat dry cereal.
I sit awkwardly fiddling with the remote. Obviously she knows my life has almost literally been sunshine and lollipops. She doesn’t think I can help either. And so I say the only thing I can think of, and I think it sounds just right.
“I’ll be right behind you.”
Amanda looks at me and nods, emotionless, and I wonder if I’ve helped at all. But I see her loosen the blanket just a tad, so I smile and turn the TV volume back up.
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Amanda
I know I won’t be able to sleep tonight. Butterflies are attacking my insides like they’re trying to destroy me as I get ready for bed. My hands literally shake as I brush my teeth. I pull back my fat duvet and crawl into my bed, leaving the lamp on. Not for the first time in my life, I feel afraid of the dark.
Dianne comes in and sits on the edge of my bed. She starts patting my blankets right where my knee is and I relax a bit. After a moment, she says, “It’s a tough thing, girly. You shouldn’t have to do it.” I nod and she continues in typical Dianne fashion, “But you do. So do it. You know?”
I shrug my shoulders even though I think I know what she means. Maybe I just want her to stay with me longer.
She adds, “Your mother needs to get what’s coming to her, and you need to make sure of that. I know it sounds hard, and it will be. She’s still your mother.”
I shrug again but feel tears coming to my eyes. Dianne just knows everything I’m thinking. I nod.
“But you won’t be alone. You’re never alone, ok? Now, you get some rest so that tomorrow you can show everyone that you’re not one to be messed with,” Dianne gets a feisty twinkle in her I and I smile. Yes, we’re going to get along just fine.
She gets up to leave and panic overtakes me. I say loudly, “Dianne!”
She turns around startled and concerned, then her face softens. “Yes, honey?”
I squeeze my eyes shut and swallow what’s left of my pride. “Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?” Dianne smiles widely and walks slowly over. I relax again and snuggle into my blankets.
“You know,” she says quietly. “I never got the chance to have kids. I suppose it would be just like this.” She smiles even wider.
I whisper, “I never got the chance to be a kid.”
For the first time ever, I see Dianne’s eyes get teary. She pats my knee again and whispers back, “I think maybe you and I were meant to be.”
I fall asleep to the sound of Dianne’s gentle humming, feeling for once like a child with a mother who loves her. If this is love, it’s not so bad at all.
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© 2013 by ColourMeKylee. All Rights Reserved.
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Skin Deep
Teen FictionBeauty is in the eye of the beholder, and Luke is about to learn that the hard way. Just when the girl of his dreams seems to be interested in him, a terrible accident brings his world crashing down. Now she doesn't remember who he is, but remembers...
