Between the Lines✔ [COMPLETED]

[18] The Return

Malory

I get out of my warm, vanilla-scented bath and curl my toes into the bathroom mat, staring at my figure in the large oval mirror over the sink. 

I don't look like I used to. There are dark circles around my eyes again and I just can't seem to fix them anymore. My shape has changed a bit –I'm a little thinner than before.

But how could that be? I haven't stopped eating. 

My eyes are dimmer, too. They used to be a brighter grey. Brighter and slightly more blue –or maybe I'm just tired and the white light in the room is fighting against my weary perspective on things.

Yea. 

That has to be it.

I'm just tired.

It's been a few hours since I got home from almost taking a taxi to Kyle's place and if you haven't deduced it already, yes, I have spammed Kyle's inbox with messages trying to find out why the hell he's out of the country and asking if he's okay. After getting no replies for a solid hour or so of messaging –I kid you not, it was about a full hour of just straight up spamming this boy- I gave up. I just gave up. He can do whatever the hell he wants anyway. I realised Malory Lloyd does not beg members of the male species for answers. I will get the answers myself –after I get some sleep cause right now I'm just really freakin' tired. No shit.

I grab my towel from the hanger and dry my skin before leaving the bathroom. The house is so quiet. It's always quiet. Whether my mom is here or not –it's just too quiet all the time. 

I could never say I miss the action that went on in this house when my dad was still around. There isn't much else to say other than that there was a lot of conflicting noise and crashing objects influenced by anger and drunkenness –but that's a whole other story in itself.

I open my drawers to find a pair of pajama pants and an old white T that always did feel cosiest to me. I get all dressed sit in bed, contemplating over whether to read a book until I fall asleep or just turn off the lights and stare at the ceiling until I do instead. 

I grip to my blanket and decide to just go with the latter when my phone –charging on the bedside table- rings.

"Olivia?" I ask, answering.

"Hey, you," she says, tiredly. "Did you find out what happened with Kyle?"

Oh, right! 

I can't believe I completely forgot I was supposed to tell her and Ron about whatever's going on with him.

"He's seriously really busy and he won't say why. Sounds like his uncle has him running errands again or something, though –isn't he leaving in about a week to get back to the rigs or whatever? Anyway, I called him before going over to his place just to make sure he was there. He wasn't," I lie. 

"Oh. That's a bummer. But I guess you're going to be the first to see him on Monday anyway, so you'll just keep the notes for him till then, okay?"

I nod though I know she can't see me. "Okay," I say. I really need a topic change. I don't feel like thinking about Kyle Davidson. "I'm like really tired tonight. I don't even know what I did to be this tired."

"Take care of yourself, Mal," she tells me, after a beat of silence. "I don't know if it's just you being worried about your mom being away from home again, or you being alone in that house, or the pressure of the whole play and keeping up with your grades, or the pressure of knowing our final exams are right around the corner –I don't even know if something happened at work and that's why you're so on edge these days, but please for the love of God take care of yourself."