A Rose and A Kiss in the Rain

Luke

I wake up and the first thought I have is of Lilibeth.

I furrow my brow at this. Why do I keep thinking of her?

Oh well.

I slowly get up and look at the small alarm clock by my side. I suppose he's gone today if he isn't drinking at this time. Which means that I can stay at the little house this week!

Because my father drives to different states to drop off merchandise, he can be gone for a week. Once, he was gone for a whole month! I was enjoying that alone time just as I will now. I will have this week without a heavy weight on my shoulders each morning.

As I enjoy my breakfast alone, Lilibeth comes back to the front of my mind. I look out the window and the bright blue sky reminds me of her pretty eyes. Remembering her smile makes me want to wish I got her number.

I rub my eyes and go out for a run instead. After taking a shower, I check my phone at the soft sound of a chime.

It's from my mother.

I don't read it as I quickly swipe it away. I wish we could go back to how we were but after rejecting me, she will never have me back. I won't let her take me back.

But then my phone rings and I answer it with a sigh. "Hello?"

"Luke? Did you not see mom's text?" I can tell by the tone in her voice, Charity is still mad at me for what happened to her new car.

But I ignore her tone. If there's something I learned about Charity is that her anger doesn't last long with anyone. So I gently say, "No. I was showering."

"She wants you to come by to deal with your school stuff this year."

I clench my jaw at this. I know she's only making up that excuse to see me. I've been rejecting her invitations lately. "Why? I can deal with that. I'm eighteen already. I don't need her help anymore."

Charity sighs and turns the phone away. My mother must be there as I hear mumbles on the other end. Then Charity comes back and says, "She says that there's some things from school you need to pick up. Can you just come over?" I can tell she's losing her patience so I tell her that I will be there in a little, and prepare my heart for what comes next.

All the way to my mother's house, I think of an excuse to use so I can leave quickly. So I guess I'll just use the work excuse like always. I was going to ditch my free day anyways. I need to work on Charity's bumper still.

So I park in front of their pretty house and sigh. I have to come by every other week to get the letters from school. The only thing my mother ever did care about me was my education. So she decided to put her address so I can go to a better school instead of my address. I guess that's one thing she deserves to thank for.

I slowly walk up their porch and ring the bell. Almost immediately, my mother answers. Charity really is angry. She always answers the door first.

We quietly stare at each other. She still looks the same from the last time I saw her. Same dark blue eyes and bright blonde hair. Though it's slowly turning white as she smiles at me and softly says, "Luke."

"Hey." I shove my hands in the pockets of my jeans. I give her a small smile and say, "I'm here for my school letters."

"Yes. Here there are..." She takes them from the small table on the side with a flower pot. I gently take it from her and she knows that I'm going to start saying goodbye. So she quickly says, "Are you hungry? You don't want something to drink or..."

I softly shake my head at her. "No thank you. I have to get to work."

My mother does a small scoff. "You always seem to have work when you come to see me..."