Dear Tess

Chapter 7

No. He didn't say mother. He probably said brother! Maybe he calls a friend brother. Yeah, that should be it. He said brother. But, what if he didn't? No. No. He said brother. Tessa's mind was clouded with confusion, unsure of what she had heard as she stepped away from the door, not wanting to look suspicious for eavesdropping if he happened to open it.

She stepped into the kitchen in a daze, clutching her phone close to her chest, a strong urge to scratch the back of her hand with the short nails that she had, deep enough to draw as much blood as she could, just to relieve herself of the thoughts that kept going round and round in circles, like a single tracked train, unwilling to stop. The click of a door being shut pulled her out of her thoughts and she opened the fridge door, trying to make it seem like she hadn't heard a thing in the last ten minutes. She leaned into the fridge, pretending to rummage through the cold shelves for something to snack on. She noticed him entering his kitchen from her peripheral vision and without shifting her position asked him, "Do want to eat something?"

She straightened herself and turned to face him, scratching his head as he stared into the screen of his phone. "Nah. Thanks." He answered, not lifting his gaze from the tiny screen. She puckered her lips, shrugged and began to assess what she could munch on and still not have to skip dinner. She huffed as her brain failed to come up with any great ideas and slammed the door shut and just pulled out an apple from the fruit bowl that was placed on the kitchen island. 

She bit into her apple, the only thing that kept the kitchen from being eerily quite was the sound of her munching on the fruit. She gulped down on her bite and tried to start a conversation with Jason. "Have you been in touch with your friends back in Philly?" She asked, taking another significantly large bite into her apple as she awaited a response. He didn't bother to look up from his phone as he answered her question, "Yeah. I was just talking to one of them." She nodded in response, unaware of how to take the conversation forward from there on. 

She was spared anymore awkward conversations when her mother's voice chimed through the house, announcing her arrival. She walked into the kitchen and slumped onto one of the stools. "How was your first day, seniors?" She beamed, her tired green eyes had a hint of a sparkle as she looked at the two teenagers. "It was good. I have some great teachers this year." Tessa answered. "That's great! And what about you, Jason? How was your first day?" Madison asked, turning her torso to face the young boy in front of her. He finally looked up from his phone screen, his grey eyes scanned Madison and then stole a glance at Tessa before answering, "It was alright, I guess." Madison's smile turned weak. She placed her hand softly on his forearm as a sign of reassurance that things would get better.

The right corner of his lips twitched, failing to turn up completely into a half smile. Madison slowly dropped her hand away from him, braking the small contact, and then clapped her hands together as she exclaimed, her tired eyes lighting up with excitement, "Why don't we have party? Tess, dear! All your friends can come over! It would be a great way for all of you to get to know each other!" Tessa's jaw slackened by the suggestion but she managed to keep her shock hidden by giving her mother a hesitant smile as she countered her suggestion, "That sounds great, but don't you have late shifts? It would be too tiring for you. I wouldn't want to stress you out with all of that." Tessa's mother's flicked her hand in nonchalance, snorting as she spoke, "Nonsense! And also, I traded with Alice for the week, starting today. So, you don't have to worry about my shifts. We can do it this Friday!" Tessa smiled hesitantly, failing to seem excited about the plan. Madison hopped off the stool and patted Jason's cheek and walked around the island to wrap her arms around her daughter squealing close to her ear, "This is so exciting! All you kids growing up so fast!" She placed a light peck on her daughter's cheek as she strode off to her room, leaving the two of them in awkward silence. Till Carl burst through the front door with a loud 'I am home' a few minutes later, making them depart to their rooms for the rest of the day.