Head Above Water

Chapter 6

Kim lay on his bed staring at the stars on his ceiling thinking he should take a shower and sleep. He contemplated on waiting for the pizza his mother promised or if he should have a sandwich but really he had lost his appetite. He could feel the difference of weight loss in his clothes. His phone vibrated at he glanced at a text from Roche 'you okay?'

He sighed and was about to reply when the front door opened.

"Kim!" His mother called out and he met her in the kitchen carrying in a bag of groceries. "There's more in the boot" she added.

He lifted his eyebrows confused and went to the car. He found two more bags but no sign of pizza anywhere. It was very uncommon for her to go shopping during the week. He carried the bags in and started unpacking. She dissapeared in her room and moments later came out dressed in a jeans and old t-shirt.

His eyes widened and she chucked at the look on his face.

"I figured I wasn't looking forward to pizza and needed a night off"

He smiled.

"But that doesn't mean you are off the hook." She added and pushed an onion towards him "Get chopping"

He didn't hesitated and washed his hands. He helped her where she asked and soon they sat at the dinning room eating a deconstructed spaghetti bolognainse.

"So?" she asked as she sipped on a glass of red wine. "I don't see Roche coming around here anymore"

Kim bit down on his lips and his mother leaned forward.

"Sometimes we try so hard to make things work, we forget about everyone else around us even ourselves. So it's okay to take a break"

He looked up and her eyes sparkled. It has been a long time since they talked like that. It's been a while since she looked at his face, since they looked at each other. And for the first time he noticed the lines on her face that wasn't there before and he saw the worry in her eyes, maybe about him or about his father whom he had not seen in a few days. She would normally mention if he was away on his business trips but this time she said nothing and because he did not want to spoil their night he did not ask her about his whereabouts.

They finished their dinner and he helped her wash the dishes. When he retreated to his room he saw two missed calls from Roche and because he did not want to upset her, he called her back.

She sighed relieved hearing his voice.

"Thank God" she let out "I was about to drive over there. Where were you?"

He hesitated for a moment.

"I was helping my mom make dinner"

"Oh. Well I want to ask you if you want to go to the party Chad was having Friday night"

He lifted his eye brows.

"Party"

She snorted.

"Yeah, the one we talked about at recess"

He was not listening to the conversation as he was too busy keeping his panic attack in order.

"Sure" he replied not wanting to upset her. She talked some more. He heard her voice but not the words as he recalled a party at Chad's house where he saw her. She made frequent eye contact or maybe he was the one making the contact. Either way she caught his attention immediately. She was one of those girls who was hard to miss, maybe it was her striking beauty or the fact that no matter what she wore she looked stunning in it and unlike popular girls who think they needed to show flesh to be noticed she just needed to be herself and he wondered if she knew she didn't have to try that hard to be liked.