Blaming Cupid

Blaming Cupid - Chapter Nineteen

blaming cupid
･◦⋆‹ n i n e t e e n ›⋆◦･

19. Harriet

The next morning I'm woken up by a faint hiccuping noise - much like the sound of sobbing. I rub my eyes and yawn before slipping my feet into my penguin slippers. I grab my dressing gown and pull it on, walking out of my bedroom to follow the sound.

I meet Kai just as I step out the door. He's in a loose shirt along with a pair of sweatpants and he looks awfully tired as if he's just woken up like me.

When he sees me, his eyebrows rise up.

"You hear that noise too?" he asks "It's doing my head in."

I nod.

We walk down the stairs together and enter the kitchen.

It pains me when I see her. She's dressed in her work uniform and stands rooted to her usual spot behind the kitchen counter. Tears escape her eyes continuously and she can't stop them. Her hair sticks to her face which is red and blotchy.

"Mum." I whisper and then run over to her at the same Kai does. We embrace her quickly and hold her closely.

The both of us can never bear to see anyone so important to us in this kind of state.

Kai attempts to wipe her tears but it's useless, he can't stop them from falling out of her eyes. "Hey, hey, mum, what's happened?"

Mum's arms come around the both of us and she holds us in her grasp securely. "Y-Your father's gone - I begged him to stay, I c-cried to him in hopes that he won't destroy this f-family but he's left." she croaks out.

I close my eyes, allowing the waterworks to settle in. Her grip around us tightens as she continues to sob. Kai's breaths increase rapidly and I peak an eye open to see how he's coping with the news.

It's not going well.

Then again, it's not going well for either of us.

Mum tries to control her breathing. "He's found another woman. I guess I wasn't worth it anymore."

Kai speaks up abruptly. "No, I don't want you to ever blame yourself again, mum, it's his fault and his loss too."

I nod my head and run a hand over my wet nose. "He doesn't deserve you, he never did."

"You have us, mum, and I swear we'll never leave your side," Kai promises.

His hand comes to mine and he holds it tight. I put my arm around his shoulder and bury my face in his chest.

"I can't bear the thought of losing you two." mum whispers back.

The three of us stand there and hold onto each other. Time passes by but we don't seem to care. All that matters right now is us, being together and holding this family together.

After a while, mum manages to catch her breath again and speaks up. "I don't want you guys feeling like shit, OK? That man is not worth making you feel that way."

"It'll feel shit, mum, there's no doubt about it but we'll get over it, I know we will and it'll make us stronger," Kai says as he lets go of mum and me.

"Let's not forget, we've all got shit we gotta live with."

And then he kisses mum's forehead.

"If you don't mind, I wanna be alone for some time."

Mum nods and forces an encouraging smile while wiping her tears. "That's fine, honey, you two can take the day off as well - if there's anything wrong just ring me, I'm going to head off to work now anyway, maybe it'll take my mind off things."