Broken Heart

Chapter 14

Zachery Williams

I woke up the next morning to the smell of fresh bacon. I dressed quickly and went downstairs. My mom was pouring coffee into a mug, while Lucy was having breakfast. The spot where dad usually sat was empty. I was used to seeing him sitting there every morning, reading a newspaper while he took his breakfast. I guessed that mom was also thinking the same thing as I was when I caught her staring at his chair.

"Morning mom, Lucy," I chirped, trying to draw her attention to me.

"Hey, not going to school?" mom asked.

"Not today, I want to spend the day with you, mom. And Lucy," I said, getting started on my breakfast.

"Zach, you don't have to do that. I'm fine. And also, school is important, young man!" she said firmly.

"Not as important as you, mom. It's only us now, so we have to stick together through tough times."

"Don't say that. Your father will come back. I'm sure of it. He just needs some time. Once he realizes how much he loves us, he'll be back." She smiled at me, and my heart broke for her. She didn't know the truth.

After breakfast, we sat down on the couch together to watch a movie. Lucy wanted to choose, so we ended up watching 'The boss baby'. It was her new favorite.

After the movie ended, mom suggested that we go grocery shopping with her and we left the house. We went to the store nearby.

As we entered, mom grabbed a cart and pulled out a list from her purse. She told Lucy and I to get some stuff from the vegetable aisle while she went to get the other things. We headed over to that section and took a basket, putting some baby tomatoes in it. Lucy found baby carrots and begged me to get them. After getting everything mom asked for, I decided to look for mom. Lucy and I walked around the store until we found  her and just as I stopped next to her, I heard someone call my name. I turned around to see Kayla and the twins walking towards me.

"What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at school?" I asked dumbly.

"Um, shopping? What else?" Kayla said in a 'duh' tone, raising an eyebrow.

"Zach, you're so stupid," Lucy commented.

"Thanks, sis. I can feel the love." I put a hand on my heart.

"Nice one," Tulio grinned at Lucy and introduced himself to her.

"Yeah, my dad's sick so we decided to skip school today," Kayla answered my question.

"Zach, who's this?" Mom asked, smiling at Kayla.

"Mom, this is Kayla," I said, putting a hand on Kayla's shoulder.

"Oh, the Kayla? The one you told me about?" Mom asked in a teasing tone and shook her hand.

"Hey, Mrs. Williams. It's nice to meet you. I've heard so much about you," Kayla said politely, blushing a little.

"Oh, call me Amanda. And who are these?" mom smiled at Kayla's siblings.

"This is Tina and this is Tulio, my siblings," she introduced them to mom.

"Hello there," mom said sweetly, patting their heads.

"You're pretty, Kayla," Lucy piped up suddenly.

"And you're so cute," Kayla bent to her level and said.

"How old are you?" Tina asked Lucy.

"I'm five," she said proudly.