Through Her Lives

Dale

Dale watched Morgue's head as it receded steadily out of the library. She had been right of course, he had come to see her and he had wanted to have a conversation with her but something inside him told him that he shouldn't let her know that. Maybe it was just his ego. He knew he should really be thinking about a school girl but he was eighteen. He'd left school early to pursue firefighting and rescue and made it his priority. 

 He had the urge to chase after her. She seemed different compared to their last encounter.  Her emotions today were even more confusing, he couldn't figure her out. She was different to all the girls he had met, and there had been a few. He looked down at the paperwork that he didn't really need to do and chucked it in the bin as he walked out of the library. It had been a pure chance that he had seen her there, head bent over her book. There had been a different type of intense look on her face while she was reading, like she was trying to read between the lines, find something  that wasn't there. She had a furrow between her eyebrows and he felt like it was the most natural he would probably ever see her, no facade. 

He walked outside, realising that it was already late afternoon and wondering if he would get back home before dark. He got onto his motorbike, easier than a car for a man of his size and turned his back to the school, splaying pebbles everywhere as he did so. He didn't glance back but if he did he may have seen Morgandy in the bell tower looking on as he rode away. 

Dale made it back to his apartment as the sun began to descend behind the trees and as he opened the door he smelt bacon fat. The smell was so pungent it Dale dry reach, ever since he was a child he had hated that smell though he knew what it meant. 

She was back, and she had found him.

 His mother had always been a drunk and upon turning  fifteen he had moved to London, a big city so she wouldn't find him with the secret help of his grandparents until they died a year later. He had looked after her when she lay on the cold tiles of the bathroom, covered in vomit. He would pick her up from the police station or a man's house even though he couldn't legally drive. He knew the things she had done to stay out of jail and it made him disgusted.

He quietly shut the door hoping not to warn her that he was home, and walked quietly to his bedroom which was the first room to the left. Luckily the kitchen was at the other end of the apartment so she wouldn't see him if he was careful. Only to find a smashed window and glass all over his bed. She obviously hadn't thought she was able to ask the landlord for the key. He started to feel the anger and resentment he had long shut a door to since he moved. He grabbed the edges of his doona, bundling it up and putting it on the floor to deal with tomorrow. Lying down on his bed he heard her start to sing, his nightmare was coming true he thought as he lapsed into dreamless and restless sleep.

***

He woke up in only his underwear and a singlet. The blinds were being pulled up and he groaned wondering what had happened last night until it hit him. The breath flew out of his lungs as he catapulted himself out of bed and away from the woman opening the blinds. She stood there unaware of his hate in the sun like she was a god sent to help him. Turning around she jumped in surprise, emitting a shriek as she saw her son standing crouched in the corner staring at her.

"What do you think you're doing?" He growled. Not only could he now feel the temperature of the room seeing the window was smashed but he had night duty coming that night which meant he need to still be sleeping.

"Dale, you can't sleep all day. You aren't a teenager anymore. You're a grown man with responsibilities. Now, I've made you your favourite and restocked your fridge. Come to the kitchen when you're dressed." She smiled at him and walked out closing the door carefully behind her. He wanted to scream about this not being her apartment, she had not right to come in here and wake him up. He got dressed slowly and walked out to the kitchen still angry to see his mother on the phone talking quietly. It was the first time since he had known she was here that he fully looked at her. She wore nicer clothes than he had ever seen her wear and her jewellery was gold with pearls in her ears. He wondered what bank she had robbed briefly then decided that it couldn't be that because she would have spent it all on booze still, he didn't care he wanted her gone.  She put the phone down and glanced around noticing him.

"Ah Darling, about your window," Oh how he had looked forward to this explanation. "You're landlord called left a message because of it, thinking that someone had tried to break into your apartment but didn't want to call your mobile if you were at work. The police came over and said that it has been happening to a lot of people in this area. Why on earth do you live here? It's nearly slum." He was shocked, did she not break the window?