Facing The Reaper

III

I woke with a sharp pain in my abdomen the next mourning, one that had me jolting awake and almost falling out of bed. I waited for the pain to subside; it was 6:44 in the mourning; just short of my alarm waking me up anyway. As the pain eased, I swung my legs out of bed and knocked my shin on the bedside table in the process. Muttering a short cuss underneath my breath, I went about getting ready for school. The house was silent before the twins woke up and I didn't want to break that calm just yet.

I could hear my parents talking downstairs as I stood brushing my teeth at the bathroom sink. I herd coffee cups hit the kitchen table in unison as two chairs scrapped across the tiled floor. My parents stood, finishing their conversation. I opened the bathroom cabinet to grab some painkillers and swallowed then down without water. I stood there for a few minutes longer as I waited for the pain to subside. In that time my dad came upstairs to wake up the twins so they could get ready for school and come downstairs for breakfast.

I jumped into the shower before the twins had their bath and the just before the bathroom could become a conveyor belt of movement. I then went to my room, gathering up my school bag and getting dressed in my uniform. I then headed downstairs to the kitchen to have breakfast. When I reached the kitchen, my mum was alone cooking food for everyone. I saw it as my opportunity to question her while the others weren't around. My mum was able to see right through anyone, I didn't want anything I said to come off as an accusation, so I had to choose my words carefully without them sounding to planned.

I poured myself some orange juice as I took a seat in my usual spot, I bought the glass to my face, so that I could hide my expression as I spoke. My head was spinning with questions and I didn't want her to see through that. I didn't know why it bothered me so much, but my parents had been tip toeing around me ever since Leslie had the seizure and ended up in hospital.

"We had some news at school yesterday." I took a sip then, hiding my expression when she turned her head to look my way. It also gave her time to react, there was a slight pause before she turned back to look at the cooker. It didn't take to long for her to reply though.

"What news was that sweetie?" She turned to walk to the kitchen sink to start cleaning the pans that she had used for cooking.

"A boy from my school passed away recently, the one who had had the seizure during school time and fallen down the stairs."

"You mean that Phillips boy? I herd something about it from the mums at school."

"I didn't realise you spoke to the parents of the kids from my school. You had to pick me up from school in years."

"Most of the women from my book club also have children in your school. Mrs Phillips was one of then, but she missed this month meeting and it got to our attention rather quickly as to why." She kept her back to me as she spoke, not bothering to look back, still going with her usual mourning routine. It was hard for me to gauge her reaction when she didn't look my way. I was begging to get irritated, feeling like I was being brushed off and dismissed from the conversation already.

"Scott said he saw you at their house yesterday. How long have you known that he was gone?"

Mum let out a slow sigh, my game was up but I was too annoyed to care. She had been hiding something from me and it was weird to think about my parents keeping secrets when they drilled on and on about not lying to them and keeping things from them. "We found out on Saturday, the day after it happened. My mum turned around to face me then. Looking me in the eye to try and judge my reaction.

"That was two days before the school notified us, why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"The family needed time to grieve Jude, it wasn't our business to pass on their private information about their loss. Its hard to lose a loved one, especially when that loved one is your child." I stared at my mother begrudgingly, I still felt betrayed that she had hidden this information from me, but I guess she had a point. It's not like he was a close friend of mine, or someone I had even spoken of. He was just a boy, someone to young to have died so soon.