The Love of a Stranger

Mother Murder

It still struck me as surprising that I was sitting on a park bench with my father at midnight on this dreary and miserable night. My father released me from our hug.

"You look so grown up..." He whimpered sweeping a single strand of hair out of my face and tucking it away behind my ear.

"I really wished that you stayed at home." He admitted. Although I knew the truth and left for different reasons, he however was still unaware of these past couple of months.

"Jack told me about you and mum. How are you doing?" I asked. By the looks of him he seems to have settled in fine living on his own; clean shaven, reasonably clean and obviously able to afford to look after a dog.

"Great actually, I live in a small apartment above a small corner shop that I now own, I was lucky that it was on offer exactly when I was looking. How about you, what have you been doing?"

It would be just as heartbreaking for him to hear what I'm about to say than for me to tell it. So I told him the truth, every single intricate detail; about mum, about Dan and especially about Jack. Dad had always been closer to Jack than he was to me, they had that father-son bond that was completely unbreakable, so when I told him the devastating news he broke down. As disappointing as it may be that our first meeting after 8 years was an emotional one, I was glad to share everything and that hopefully he could relate to the hate and anger that I felt towards my mum.

We spent an hour going on about my miserable and unsuccessful life until I yawned as sleepiness settled in. I checked time which was now 1:15 in the morning, I wondered if Dan had returned from his strop.

"I should probably head back now." I announced as I stood up and stretched my body out of the slouched position that I had been sitting in for the past hour.

"Why don't you come back to mine? It's far too late to be heading back now, I'm only just round the corner and I have a spare room that could do with being used." He informed. I accepted his generous offer and followed him back to his apartment. I may of not been lucky getting on the wrong tracks with my mother, but I was definitely sure that I couldn't ask for a better sibling and father, it was just a shame that my sibling was no longer here, my father was my only hope now.

His house was small but cosy and warm as the fireplace burned away, the satisfying crackles and pops of the wood as the flames majestically burned from it. He showed me his spare bedroom that was neatly organised and well made. Before tucking myself into bed he placed a warm mug of tea by my bed and wished me goodnight. I feel asleep within seconds.

The next thing I knew I awoke to the sound of the kettle whistling away on the stove. For a second I almost forgot where I was until I took in my surroundings while hearing the quiet humming of my dad in the kitchen. I simply sat on my bed looking around, the light shinning in through the window illuminating even the smallest of details like the small noticeable crack heading up the wall and the thin layer of dust that coated each surface, but one piece of decoration grabbed my attention the most: the small wooden photo frame that contained an early photo of me minutes after my birth. A smile met my lips after I processed the fact that that picture used to hang on the wall above the mantle in my parents house, he must've took it when he left. I guessed I underestimated him of his love for his children and it's selfish of me to think that he never cared for me, just like my mother.

I strolled in through the kitchen to see my dad sitting at the table reading the local newspaper while sipping his coffee, I remembered him from years back having the same routine.

"Morning." He grinned. I grinned back at him and replied with the same words. With my back turned to him I could hear him turning the newspaper pages over and over again, until he stopped meaning that he's found an article the was worth his time reading.

"Hey Laura, have you seen this?" He asked, I dragged myself away from the counter and peered over his shoulder to find in bold words;

MOTHER MURDER FEARED DEAD.

I continued to read on as it sparked my interest, only to find out half way through the article that they were talking about mum. I smirked at the nickname they gave her, 'mother murder'. It suited her. 'Feared dead' certainly grabbed my attention, finally some good news could be drawn from this whole palaver, I could not express how happy I was that there was a possibility that my mother could finally be out of my life once and for all. Bailey sat at my feet enthusiastically wagging his tail sensing my happiness to what others may see as bad news...until I read the end of the article.

Traces of blood were found scattered throughout the small and concealed apartment but no body was found, suspected that murderer is severely wounded and could possibly die within the next few weeks based on judgements of injuries.

So she wasn't actually dead, she's is about to die, there's a difference. The reason why this could matter greatly is because my mother had employees that would do anything for her, all because she has the power to take away a persons living within the click of her fingers, and I suppose I was the only one who could take hers away, hence why she's trying to kill me. Seems a bit extreme? I know. That's mothers for you.