[complete] #2
"This isn't amusing. You're smiling, and your face is all bruised and bleeding. Is that not putting you in more pain?" Ren shifted on her feet and placed a hand on her hip. I smiled wider when her cheeks began to flush.
"Maybe just a t...
yet our bright, curious eyes had already begun stalking."
- e.k.
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S E R E N I T Y
I heard the clank of her heels stop before she opened my bedroom door and let herself in. My mother's blonde, shiny hair was curled and the light makeup that adorned her face enhanced the beauty of her blue eyes.
"The school called me today," She folded her arms across her chest and leaned her side into the white door frame. "The nurse told me you got hit by a football."
My back straightened into my desk chair, and I forced an upright posture to avoid a lecture for slouching.
"Yes, but I'm okay," I kept my voice a low murmur, just how she told me she preferred.
"I didn't ask if you were okay," A crease formed between her eyebrows as she furrowed them. "Who threw the ball?"
Dread flooded my mind. She would trace down Gabriel's parents and no doubt talk their ears off about how their son injured me. It was an accident, but my mother didn't understand that.
"I'm not sure. I didn't get a good look," I lied straight through my teeth.
Over the last few years, my lying skills had gotten better. I was used to it by now, but they were only white lies. I wouldn't risk lying to her about something serious.
"Ridiculous," She shook her head, and breathed deep. Her diamond necklace shone in the reflection of my bedroom light.
Her sceptical eyes lingered on my face, and I knew she was looking at my eyes. She was never fond of them. Always referred to them as a flaw. A fault.
"I'm going to a work dinner," Darting her eyes to her wrist, my mother fixed her thin bracelet. "I expect you to study hard for your next examinations. Do not get distracted. You cannot afford a distraction."
"I already have an offer into the University of-"
"Stop," Her stern voice cut me off, and I felt a rush of impatience burst through my blood. "Your marks matter. They make you look smart."
I clenched my jaw, holding back the words on my tongue. She was pushing me too hard, and I knew I was going to wear myself off. She didn't care.
"Do you understand that?" Her eyes snapped to mine, and I nodded obediently. "Good. Your sister is going to stay here. If she asks anything of you, listen to her. She's been working hard, and staying over late is going to exhaust her."
My mother wanted my older sister to babysit me. I wanted to laugh at how stupid it sounded, seeing that I was about to turn eighteen, and she thought I still needed to be taken care of at my own home.
