Always With You - A Best Friends To Lovers Novel

Prolog

Prolog

River

Sixteen years ago

Mommy didn't want to wake up. No matter how often and how hard I shook her, she just didn't want to open her eyes. I called her name, lifted her arms, and pinched her skin, trying to wake Mommy up.

I tried to open her eyes, but every time I pushed her lids up with my fingers, they quickly closed, and she still didn't wake up.

She didn't move when I tickled her and shouting her name into her ear also didn't make her wake up. I thought she may be playing a game with me. Mommy loved to play pretend with me. I was always a superhero, saving animals and children, and Mommy was my sidekick, helping me with every mission. But this morning, I didn't like the way Mommy was playing with me.

"Can we play a different game, Mommy?" I asked, shaking her again to make her stop. "Mommy, I wanna play something else."

Still, she didn't move. She didn't open her eyes. "Do you need your power-juice?" I asked, knowing that coffee would always make her stronger and happier in the morning.

With no response from her, I ran to the kitchen and pulled a chair to the counter where the coffee maker was. Mommy had shown me many times how she made her power-juice, so I was quick to fill a cup with it and bringing it back to her bedroom.

Dad was at work, and Mommy was supposed to get me dressed and ready for Kindergarten. I loved seeing my friends and playing with them. But if Mommy didn't stop playing this game, I wouldn't get to see my friends today.

"Here, Mommy. I made you your power-juice," I said, holding the cup up to her nose for her to smell the strong scent. She once let me try it, and I did not like it. I preferred hot chocolate. That was my power-drink.

"You have to sit up to drink it. It's still hot," I explained to her, but even with the smell of the power-juice in her nose, she wouldn't wake up.

After staring at Mommy for a while, I put the cup on the nightstand and decided that today, I didn't have to go to school. Maybe Mommy was sick and needed to sleep.

"When you get up, maybe we can play together in my room," I told her with a smile. I wasn't sure if she heard me, but to me, it now looked like she was sleeping.

I left her bedroom and went to mine to pick up my action figures and continue playing with them. Last night I got out of bed past my bedtime and played until late. I did that a lot, even though Daddy didn't want me to. Last night, he did not come into my room to see if I was sleeping though. Maybe he was tired. Tired like Mommy this morning.

***

"Mommy, the phone is ringing. Should I pick up? I know I'm not allowed to, but what if it's Daddy?" She didn't want me to talk to strangers on the phone. Or to strangers on the street. I was never outside alone. I was not allowed to. But when my friends invited me to play at their house, Mommy let me go play.

I pushed against her arm again, hoping that this time she would wake up and go pick up the phone. It was ringing for a while now, and it was starting to bother me. I was playing in my room, but the phone was annoying me.

Mommy didn't seem to hear the ringing. What if she was so deeply asleep that she didn't even hear anything?

I leaned in closer to her ear. "Mommy!" I shouted, but she did not move. The phone kept ringing, and my head was starting to spin. I wanted it to stop.

"Make it stop, Mommy," I told her, but she didn't wake up.

"I want you to wake up!" I said louder, pushing against her shoulder. "Mom!"

But still nothing. I sighed, walking around the bed, and climbing onto it to sit next to her. I pulled my knees up to my chin and rested my head on them.

"I don't like this game," I whispered, listening to the ringing of the phone and my own breathing.

I wish Daddy comes home soon. Maybe he can get Mommy to play a different game.

***

(A/N please ignore any spelling mistakes. these chapters are the unedited ones. This book will also not be edited anytime soon, so if you see any mistakes, just ignore them instead of commenting rude thing.)