A Kiss From Any Other Guy

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The alarm rung with a piercing shriek at precisely 6:40am, and a long sigh escaped her lips as her eyes shot open. She rolled over; bringing the duvet over her heard attempting to drown out the wailing. They say it takes 21 days for a habit to stick, but 18 years later, getting out of bed each morning was one habit Sonia Parker could never get used to.

Groaning, she turned over and threw her arms out, shivering when the crisp air of that August morning brushed her skin. Limb by limb she dragged herself out of the cocoon of her fluffy duvet as though there was an imaginary axe murderer dragging her off the bed and along the floor. Three minutes later, she lay in a heap on the plush carpet with her butt up in the air, her arms limp by her side and her face squished against the cold yet soft floor from the pressure her backside was putting onto her neck.

Getting up of the floor she all but crawled into the bathroom, wincing as her bare feet touched the cold floor. As she brushed her teeth (yes, she brushed her teeth before breakfast because she couldn’t stand the taste of morning), she turned on the shower full blast to let the hot water come through before dousing herself in the warm embrace of water. 

Just as she got was about to get out and wrap herself in her robes, there were three impatient knocks on the door.

“GET OUT OF THE BATHROOM YOU HOG!” the voice belonged to Sonia’s younger brother, Jules. Even though he was only three years younger, his mindset was that of a two-year old.

“OHMYGOSH will keep your mouth shut I just got out. Let me get dressed.” Huffing, Sonia wrestled herself into her polka dot jeans and loose grey knit, walking out of the bathroom with her hair wrapped in a turban high on her head. “There, you’re more of a girl than me Julia.” And with that she ran down the stair and across the passage following the scent of hot pancakes into the kitchen.

The clock read 7:30; she had another half hour to leave if she were to fill up the petrol in her dark gray Jeep.

“These pancakes smell goooood.” Sonia grabbed one of the plates which were sitting on the island in the kitchen and forked a few pancakes onto her plate then dumped what looked like the entire content of the maple syrup bottle before her mum snatched the bottle away mumbling something about tooth decay. Giggling, she pecked her mum on the cheek and took a seat on the bar stool.

“So... What’s the plan for today mum?”  Is what she had asked her mum in her mind, but between the huge bites of pancakes, it came out as “sho, whas phlan four twodeee?”

“Ask me when your mouth isn’t full you buffoon.” It was nice hearing her mum laugh a genuine laugh like that; she hadn’t heard it since that day.

10 months ago, there was a fatal crash on the highway which took the lives of three people. A young intoxicated couple were speeding down the highway carelessly when the front wheel of their car fell off and the car did a few flips into the other lane. Though the roads were slightly empty at 2am, there just happened to be a car right at that moment. Call it bad luck or fate; there was only one man in the other car. Andrew Parker, father of two children, Sonia and Jules and husband of 16 years to Catherine.  All three, the young couple and Andrew, died on the scene instantly, thankfully no pain long enough to be felt.

Catherine got a call at 3:30am from an unknown number asking her to immediately come down to the local hospital. At that moment, her entire world crashed around her. Gathering up both Sonia and Jules, they all piled into the family car while the kids hurled questions she couldn’t answer towards her. The next seven hours were a blur, paperwork was to be signed and husband was lost.

The whole family had dealt with the shock differently and grew distant for the first few weeks before knuckling under and working as a team. Andrew Parker had died on the way home from a work party and he had taken a huge part of Catherine with him.