Cinephile {C.H.}

A break from the movies

Nora stood in her kitchen waiting for the doorbell to ring. On a whim, she decided to invite Calum over for dinner with her mom. Her dad left years ago and Nora's still waiting on him to find his way back from the store. She misses him everyday but you wouldn't think she ever had a dad, the way her mom wiped out his existence from any and all pictures in the house. 

"Sweetie, are you sure you're up to this? It's a lot to ask of yourself so soon with the way you've been feeling." Nora's mother said, leaning on the door entryway. 

Nora pretended not to notice the look of concern her mother always wore around her for the past week. She was supposed to look out for her mom's well being, not the other way around. By the way her mom was acting, you would never be able to tell someone died recently, especially not her mom. 

"It'll be good for me..." Nora said, trying to remember why she did this. 

"He seems to mean a lot to you." Nora's mother smiled warmly, uncrossing her arms and thinking about how often Nora came home from hanging out with Cal and Luke. Nora's mother knew the Hemmings so she knew it wasn't Luke that Nora was interested in. 

"He's just a boy." Nora said but even she knew that wasn't true. 

Before Nora's mother could say anything more, the doorbell rang throughout the house. 

"I'll get that." She said, leaving Nora alone in the kitchen. 

"Hello, Mrs..." Standing in the doorway, Calum realized he didn't even know Nora's last name. It never occurred to him to pay attention until this very moment. 

"Just call me Lauren." Nora's mother said, ushering Calum in. 

Nora looked at him, eyes wide as he was extremely over dressed and holding flowers. 

"I hope those aren't for me." Nora said, folding her arms across her chest. 

"Actually, they're for your mum. I wouldn't get you flowers. You'd just crush them with the tiny bits of my heart." Calum smiled. 

"Oh, I like him." Nora's mother said with a chuckle. 

Nora wasn't amused.