Explosive

04 || Breakfast and Such

~ Shout out to @BlueBird2900 for the cool pic at the top. Thanks. :)

The grass tickles my cheek and I breathe in the scent of the warm afternoon day. Shifting my head to the side, I see my mom smiling down at me. Her fingers weave a grass bracelet. We're sitting on top of a hill that overlooks a flat grassy land.

"You need to be strong, okay?" Confusion passes over me. In a heartbeat I sit up, squinting my eyes against the sun as I try to meet her gaze. I have so many questions for my mom but I can't seem to open my mouth. That's when the sky darkens and the wind picks up around me.

My hands reach out for my mom's but she's gone. "Mom!" I scream into the field. Lightning flashes above me, making me scramble for my shoes. Something isn't right. This isn't real. Looking up I see images forming in the grey sky, a skull followed by roses. The tattoo. Hot tears start running down my cheeks and I let out a small sob.

The images from my nightmare become foggy and slowly fade away. Except for the tattoo. My body is wrapped around my blankets. I'm still wearing the dress that I had pulled on for the funeral.

The funeral.

Breathing in, I push my blankets away and catch a glimpse of the clock. The heavy feeling returns again, accompanied by the sorrow of what I had lost.

Going back to sleep is out of the question. I decide to take a shower and start on some of the exercises I'm supposed to do to help my leg. Heading into the bathroom, I peel back the bandage and grimace at the sight of the stitches. I take a quick shower and carefully clean the area with soap and water. Then I apply the antibiotic ointment and wrap a fresh bandage around the wound.

Hopping back to my bed, there is a soft knock on the door. "Audrey, you up?" I limp to the door and open it slightly. Josh smiles down at me, a basketball in hand. Once again, it occurs to me how tall Josh is. At least 6'2, maybe more.

He nudges the door and I pull it open all the way to let him in. "Hey, what's up?" I ask and wobble toward my bed.

"Do you want to shoot a few before breakfast?" I look at him, slightly shocked. Is he being nice to me? His attempt at a conversation could mean he wants to be friends, right? "It always makes me feel better." He falls onto the couch and stares at me. I wonder if he's thinking about my freak out at the funeral.

"It's still dark outside," I whisper, wondering if his mom had sent him. He shrugs his shoulders and starts spinning the ball on his finger. His white shirt has 'Karate is Life' scrawled across it in block letters.

Desperate to keep the awkward silence at bay, I ask, "You know karate?"

Josh drops the ball to his lap and shrugs again. "I used to but stopped last year." Before I can ask him why he says, "I couldn't play basketball and do karate at the same time. It would be too much."

"Cool. I played soccer. But I don't think I can play anymore." I keep my eyes set on the plush dark carpet and wait for him to say something.

"Crap. I completely forgot." He drags his hand across his face and looks back at the door. "So, um, I'll see you at breakfast." Nodding my head quickly, I wave at him.

"Yeah, yeah. At breakfast." I tighten my jaw and stop waving as my cheeks burn in embarrassment. It's obvious. His mom had sent him. When my aunt calls me down for breakfast, my hands start sweating and my heart starts beating rapidly. After my uncle's comments, I'm not sure if I want to sit at the same table as him. I slide into the chair beside Josh who's on his phone again.

So much for having a potential friend. Smiling at the twins, I ruffle Theodore's hair. When I had met them a couple of days ago, I realized that Theodore is almost a carbon copy of his brother. If you put Josh through a time machine that shrinks people down to their baby versions, you'd get Theodore.

"I'm glad to see that you're joining us for breakfast." I smile, despite catching the slight hint of distaste in my uncle's tone. Aunt Jane grins and scoops a heap of something onto my plate. My smile falters when I realize that it's bacon. My aunt must have forgotten that I didn't eat meat.

Some people aren't okay with me being a vegetarian, even my mom wasn't so keen on the idea when I told her. The reason I'm a vegetarian is because of Hamster, a chicken I befriended when my mom took me to a farm. A few days later, I had begged my mom to drive me there again. When we got there the farmer, being a friend of my mom's, invited us for dinner. By the time I had figured out that I had been fed Hamster it was too late. From that day, I had chosen to lead the vegetarian lifestyle.

"Sweetie, no phones at the table," my aunt says to Josh. Not wanting to seem rude, I pick up a spoon and start eating the fruits at the side.

"You're a mess, Audrey." My uncle pushes the bacon around his plate before taking a bite. "You remind me of someone, something actually." Keeping my eyes glued to the table is better than looking him in the eyes. My aunt shifts uncomfortably in her seat. "You know that girl in the movie, the one with the pig nose?" Penelope?

"Honey, he's just teasing you," my aunt says quickly. When they go back to eating their food, I finger my nose. It doesn't look like a pig's nose. No one had ever said that to me, not even the kid who bullied Emily and me in the fifth grade.

"Did your mom ever eat with you?" my uncle mutters, his eyes narrowing at me. My eyes widen and my spoon falls onto the plate with a loud clank.

"Peter!" Aunt Jane looks horrified. I glance at Josh. He suddenly becomes so interested in his cup of chocolate milk.

"What? All she had was a high school diploma. With her crappy jobs, Audrey probably never even got to see her." I want to tell him that my mom did, in fact, eat with me. Maybe not around a table but sprawled across the couch and watching stupid sitcoms. Closing my eyes, I clench my fists.

"Peter, I swear to God!" my aunt yells, pushing her chair back and getting ready to leave the table. I raise my hand up to stop my aunt. He could say whatever he wants about me. But I would not let him speak badly of my mom. My dead mom, who at this moment is buried under the cold hard ground. She doesn't deserve to be talked ill of.

"Stop. With all due respect sir," I spit, putting an emphasis on sir. "You didn't know my mom and you have no right to judge her." A familiar itching feels burns at the back of my throat.

My uncle chuckles to himself before pulling up the newspaper to his face. "How dare I? Of course, I don't have the right to judge at all." The sarcasm is obvious in his voice. Everyone at the table is silent. The sickening silence is broken by Mary, one of the twins, who starts banging her spoon against her high chair.

"Audrey? We need to figure out what you want to do for school." I nod my head and rub my eyes. And just like that, she has moved on, brushing her husband's behavior to the side. Like one would sweep something under a carpet. "What would you like to do after high school?"

I glance at my uncle. I'm tempted to tell her that I want to be a social worker, one that works with kids but decide against it, settling for a shrug instead. Pushing the eggs with my fork, I zone her out and focus on the fire in my heart. I do manage to catch fragments of what she is saying. Apparently, school is starting in a week but I'll have to wait a week or two because of my stitches.

The thought of school makes me week in the knees and I concentrate on the orange juice in front of me. "May I be excused?" My aunt's face twists into a frown but then softens as she nods. Grabbing my plate and making a funny face at the twins, I try my best to avoid my uncle's eyes.

"Honey?" I spin around and cringe at the numbness that travels up my leg. "Don't forget to send the drawing of the tattoo to the detective, okay?" Nodding, I turn away. As I run up the stairs, pawing at my eyes, I feel a tap in my shoulder.

"Audrey?" It's Josh. "I'm really sorry about my dad. He can be a little...blunt." He grins but his face goes blank when he sees my wet eyes. I wonder again if his mom sent him. Josh jogs up to the step I'm standing on and gives my shoulders a squeeze, bending his head to meet my eyes. "Hey. It's going to be okay."

"Josh?" I ask. Awkwardly he pulls away and runs his fingers through his hair. "I'm a vegetarian." Josh laughs and looks away, squinting at something.

"I'll keep that in mind."