Never Letting Go

Chapter 12

Monday nights are the same as what they've always been since I moved to London: family dinners at my flat. That means that I have to try my hardest to get home as quick as possible which is impossible at rush hour. Even when I do get home, I have to quickly change and prepare everything before my family arrive which is always within less than half an hour of me getting home.

I pull the table away from the wall where I have it pushed up against when not in use. I set the table up for five people, bringing the other three chairs in from where they're stored in the cupboard in the hall. The black placemats and matching coasters are lined up in front of each chair, leaving only the cutlery to be placed later.

I always leave the cooking till the end because my mum always wants to help. I fully admit that she is a better cook than me so I don't refuse her help. My dad will busy himself with looking for something around my house to fix like he always does. I've learned to leave a few things around for him to fix while dinner cooks away. Mainly things I've purposely broken so it keeps him out the kitchen and out of my mum's way.

My brother, Declan, and sister, Chloe, will be too busy with what's happening on wither their phones or iPads to even pay attention to anything that's going on. You can tell that Declan doesn't want to be here and I don't blame him. He's eighteen and no boy his age wants to be dragged to his big sister's house every week for dinner because it was something that was promised to be done since I moved. Even Chloe who's nineteen doesn't want to be here but puts on a fake smile because she knows it's important to our parents.

"Dinner is served." My mum calls loudly, getting everyone's attention as she carries the freshly made lasagne to the table. She places it in the centre of the table and leaves one oven glove near it so she can hold it in place as she cuts everyone's share. "No technology at the table, Declan."

I look at my little brother as he groans and places his phone on the coffee table. I can see what Chloe means when she said his haircut doesn't look right. The undercut hairstyle doesn't look right for his darkened brown hair. He walks over to the table and flops down on the chair next to me.

"Cheer up," I mutter to him. "I'm sure everyone will love your new do."

"Did you even notice I dyed my hair darker?" He asks, taking the offered plate of food from mum.

"Considering your hair was the same colour as mine and now it's black, I can say that I did notice."

"He's trying to impress a girl," Chloe chimes in.

I look at her and she smirks. Her short dark blonde hair is in a French braid, her full fringe left down. Her make-up is simple and she pushes her purple framed glasses up so they're sitting better on the bridge of her nose.

"I am not!" Declan defends. "I just wanted a different look before college and this was different."

"Yeah, because we all loved the mid-length bob you had going."

"Chloe, don't tease." My dad warns, his voice firm.

Chloe shuts up and begins to eat. My mum passes a plate of food to me and I begin to eat.

"So, Kaylee, how's work going?" My dad asks.

I nod and swallow the food I have in my mouth. "It's good. I've got probably one of the hardest events yet to plan."

"I'm sure you'll be able to handle it. I have seen all the photos from your previous works and they've all been magnificent."

"Two weeks to plan a big event isn't going to be easy."