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chapter sixteen — ❝ you sheltered me from harm, kept me warm, kept me warm ❞
[ ∞ · ♡ ]
The comfort that his sisters had brought him when he had walked in through the door was quickly wiped away when he stepped into the living room, finding none other than Karen Wheeler perched at the edge of the couch. A sight which he had been expecting to see when reality settled in after seeing the vehicle in the driveway.
Something he hadn't expected was to find that Ted was nowhere to be seen.
At the clear questioning glance on his face, Nancy seemed to read his thoughts as she tells Mike, "Dad's upstairs. Still sleeping."
He nodded slowly, his gaze stuck to his mother's warm eyes that shone with love. Something that deep down, he knew he felt. Of course he did. But in that right moment, it was clouded with remorse, frustration, resentment.
She didn't seem to notice it in the slightest bit as she smiled sweetly, standing up from where she sat.
"Oh, Mike." She pulled him into a strong embrace he couldn't seem to fight, though he didn't return the gesture. "We were all so worried about you."
He bit his tongue to fight against the bitter words that wanted to spill out like bile. All those instinct emotions that had hurled in at him were whirring wildly, sparking up a silent fury beneath the surface. There was a strong desire to scream in order to release the intensity of the emotions he felt. But his mouth remained clamped shut.
His mom pulled away from the one sided embrace, her hands softly gripping his shoulders as her eyes traced his features with a soft motherly smile.
"I'm glad you're back home," she told him earnestly, her touch gentle and her tone as sweet as honey.
And for some reason, that single sentence breaks him.
Mike roughly pulled himself apart from his mother, a harsh glare set upon her as he created some sort of distance. She blinked, taken aback by his sudden movement.
"Back home?" he repeated, his voice steady. "You're glad I'm back home?" Then, his voice wavered with bitterness. "And what about you? I wasn't even expecting you here. You left so fast I wasn't even sure if you still considered this home."
Those last words of his were practically spat out as he tried to keep most of his composure. Because for as much as he was upset with her, he could not have been more relieved to have her back here. It only worried him to accept her back so easily because, what if she did it again and didn't return?
