The Artist | #3✓

Chapter 19

The next morning, I woke up in my house, and in my own bed. Toby had driven me back to the street where my house was located early in the morning. I'd called Xander, asking him to come and get the door before I sneaked into the house at five in the morning like a ghost. Like I had expected, no one had really noticed my absence, and I was relieved. I thanked Xander for letting me in before going to bed and getting up three hours later to get ready for work. It was hard pretending like I had a long good night's sleep, but I made it through breakfast without anyone interrogation me. I then left for work.

Toby laughed at me when I walked into the art room and headed straight for my desk to rest my head. I rolled my eyes at him, before closing them to try and take a nap. He walked over to me, and I soon felt his slender fingers run through my hair.

"How are you?" he asked in a low tone, and I soon found my face warming up when I realized what he was asking me about.

"I'm fine."

"Does it hurt?"

"Not really," I replied, watching as a small smile made an appearance on his face. I smiled back when he pecked my forehead. I'd been honest. The pain I was presently feeling was a low throbbing one that didn't hurt much. It was a bit uncomfortable — it was like a mild back pain if I had to describe it. Toby had really been gentle with me.

"I'm happy," he muttered into my hair before standing up straight and walking to his desk. The smile I had on my face widened at the sight of him just being happy. Maybe he was just a bit overwhelmed yesterday.

The rest of the school day went by, and I went back home right after the last bell. I was going for dinner at my mother's friend's place with my parents, siblings, and cousin. When I got home I immediately started getting dressed, and everyone else was doing the same — running about the place to change whenever my mother disapproved of an outfit of theirs.

"Hurry up."

"I'm coming," Candice shouted from upstairs as she ran down with shoes that had undone shoelaces. She got down in one piece, bending down to catch her breath. I was a bit surprised she hadn't tripped on her way down. She was in a plain dress, but she looked fine. She eventually stood up straight when she was done panting. She then stretched out her hands and turned around so my mum could assess what she was wearing. My mother nodded at her after a while, and Candice muttered a 'finally' before walking past us and out the main entrance.

When everyone was done, we headed for the car. My dad was driving as usual. While Xander, Candice, and Ava squeezed themselves at the back seat, Wyatt and I took the two single seats at the center. On our way to my mum's friend's place, my mum kept talking about him and how they were close in college. My father wasn't a very emotive person, but I could tell the discussion bothered him a bit from the slight frown I could spot on his face through the driver's mirror. My father wasn't the jealous type, but it did bother him a bit whenever my mother got too close to someone else. He wasn't vocal about it, so she never figured it out herself. He was kind of like me — very uncomfortable with expressing emotions into words.

My mother also talked about her friend's daughter, and from the way she kept looking back at me, I was sure she was directing her words to me. It made me a bit uncomfortable, but I couldn't tell her that in the now crowded car that was heading right for her friend's place. Eventually, my father pulled the car to a halt in the free parking space attached to a small duplex. My mother clapped her hands as if cheering in delight before she asked everyone to get down.

By the time I'd gotten down, my mother had already been welcomed at the front door. I could see her hugging a dark-skinned man with a skin cut. A girl, who I guessed was his daughter was leaning by the door beside him. She smiled at me when she noticed I was staring, and I looked away, a bit embarrassed by being caught. After all the greetings were exchanged, everyone moved into the cozy compact duplex. My siblings and cousin settled down in the living room while I followed my parents, my mother's friend, and his daughter to the kitchen. I sat at the edge of the counter, listening in to their conversations as they brought out ingredients and began to cook.