Just the Beginning [Complete ✓]

Chapter 3

It's been one week since my little encounter at the robots and a week since my heart broke into pieces all over again. Since everything's fallen apart again. However, I have come to a conclusion.

I was hallucinating.

Since the death, I've been struggling, even I must admit. Things have not been easy for me. My mother had definitely not been any sort of help which only seemed to increase the hardships and pain I've come face to face with. It was because of all of this that I'd thought the man in the car had been Cooper.

But it was not. It was obviously just a regular person, not my dead boyfriend lookalike.

"Cal?" A voice calls from outside the bedroom, deep and familiar.

A sigh escapes me before I clear my throat and speak audibly enough for him to hear my say, "I'll be out in a moment." There's a pause in the air before I hear a mumbled okay and retreating footsteps.

After my episode last week and my sudden will to not eat or leave the house, I'd worried Adrian and Carmela. They would come and check on me every passing hour since they were, as I'd discovered five days prior, live-in workers. It made me wonder though. Surely they had families too so why did they not stay with them?

Not that they weren't great company.

They kept me busy and allowed me to help around the house in exchange for tours around the city and shopping for school supplies. Something I loved.

I take my time getting out of bed and cleaning myself up. Changing into other clothing, I make my way downstairs and into the kitchen where Adrian was already seated and teasing Carmela.

Since my father's leave, I noticed how much easier it was to be around them. They weren't uptight and never kept to themselves and it was clear that this was what they were like when left alone too. Adrian took his opportunities when they were given and didn't miss a chance to mess around with his favorite cook or, so he put it. Carmela made it apparent that this wasn't out of the ordinary and if she wasn't hitting him on the head with a spatula, she was ignoring him.

Seating myself across from him, the first thing he does is grin even wider showing off a set of dimples. "Cal! My favorite person in the world!" He exclaims.

As I rest my chin on my hand, I raise a brow. "I thought that was Carmela."

Snickering, said person says jokingly, "As did I."

"Am I not allowed to have two favorite people in the world?" He whines earning soft chuckles from the both of us. Carmela shrugs in response and returns to cooking. The familiar smell of egg and bacon was something I'd grown up forgetting each passing day. Moving with my mom, she refused to buy bacon or eggs. She wanted things to be different; non-traditional if you would. At least, that's what she said. Truth was, she was in and out of jobs so often that she could never really afford the basics until I had to start pitching in. Now, this was all I smelt in the kitchen. It's scent was unmistakable and in its own way, nostalgic.

"You are-" Carmela starts and just as he cheers, she finishes off, "-not."

His entire face falls had the false hope he'd been given moments before it was snatched away from him.

They were amusing to listen to. Like a married couple still searching their grounds and boundaries. Not old married couple. Not yet but at the rates they argued, it would most likely be soon.

The silence in the kitchen thereafter is not awkward or uncomfortable in the slightest. It's comfortable and there's no need for unnecessary conversation. It was nice.

Carmela comes over and places two plates down on the table full of bacon and eggs. Another plate is placed down filled with five slices of toast- she'd learnt my eating pattern quickly enough it would seem- and then she brought the three plates for us and without any hesitation, we dig in.

It's not until we're placing the dishes in the sink and Carmela's boiling the kettle that we're speaking again. "So what are your plans for today, Cal?" she asks me as she leans against the counter. Her fair skin making her hair stand out even more today than it did when she kept it tied in a bun. She was looking at me with her dark, calculating eyes that had me gulping softly before looking away. I don't know why, but she had this sort of aura around her. One that said warned you to stay on her good side.

I process her question and try to think before shrugging. "Finish off the list of items I'll need. Go to the store they recommended I get my uniform from. Maybe see if I'm able to get an outfit if I can."

Their eyebrows lift in surprise. I copy.

They shake their heads (though I admit I'm not too sure why), still seemingly stunned and I can't say I blame them. They probably expected more from me. They thought I was like my father- money, money and just money but that wasn't it. I wasn't loaded like dad. I wasn't even loaded now that I was with him. My mom had been in and out of jobs like the weather change in a single season meaning that I only had about less than a handful of clothing. Money was set aside for whatever we could afford (which really was not all that much) and the rest was for spending. Suffice to say that most of my clothing were stained with things that wouldn't come out or broken somewhere on it and I only had one set of shoes. Going to this school, I was grateful. My previous school didn't do the whole uniform thing which meant everyone knew every item of clothing (which isn't even an understatement. We were a small school with kids who grew up around each other and eventually, I got teased a lot.)

"So when do you want to go?" Adrian asks and I shrug.

Carmela walks over and places the two mugs in front of us before she goes to collect her own and takes a seat between us. The table in the kitchen was enough for four people. The table in the dining room was big enough to serve the queen. Maybe I was exaggerating but you get my point. For a single person, it was long and unnecessary.

"We could go this morning."

"Yeah. Look at the time! It's half eight and you're already dressed," Adrian snickers earning a slap on both arms. As coffee spills, he hisses before shooting the two of us glares that show promise of this not being the last time. I only roll my eyes in response.

When we're finished with our drinks, we stand up to leave. Carmela stays seated and only smiles and insists she'd like to stay. After some convincing on her part and much reluctance on ours, we agree easily enough and slip out through the front door where I had managed to let Adrian keep the car we'd gone with parked out front. We'd have to return the beauty to the garage by my father's return. Whenever that was.

"Wanna drive-"

"No thank you," I decline, already climbing into the passenger seat and buckling up. Adrian climbs into the driver's seat. 

We're off to the mall soon enough, and I'm a little relieved that he didn't ask why I didn't want to drive; he didn't ask about last week's incident. I turn my head to look out of the window.

I must admit, I'm nervous for school to be starting, but the least I can do is hope it's not too bad.