How To Love A Dead Boy

Chapter 14 | Never Let Go

NEVER LET GO

I stand before the big wooden door, the sound of the doorbell ringing inside sending my heart racing. As I wait for a response it dawns on me that I know next to nothing about this boy's family, but that he lost his father. 

I bite down on my lip at the thought. I still hadn't had the guts to bring that up in conversation. It didn't feel right to talk about such personal things with someone that I'd only known for a few days.

But then again, here I am having afternoon tea with his mother...

The door opens just a crack, and through the small space, I'm greeted by the face of a teenage boy. He raises an eyebrow and I feel myself freeze on the spot, completely caught off guard by him.

"Yeah?" he asks, sounding bored.

"I... Well I'm here for tea?" I reply. He opens the door a little wider and I recognise his uniform as the same as mine.

"Tea? With who?"

"Ryden's mother," I answer. His eyes widen a little at the mention of Ryden's name.

"Oh," is all he says initially, but after a few seconds of silence, he looks away from me and continues, "She's not in."

"When will she be in then?" I ask, not really sure how I feel about this boy. I don't like that he has Ryden's eyes.

"I don't know. I can always ring her and tell her that you're here early," he says, and I get the feeling that he doesn't really like me.

"I wouldn't want to be a bother-"

"No, no. I'll ring her. Come inside," he says, opening the door fully for me. He lets me in and I mutter a thank you his way as I walk past him. I stand in the middle of the long hallway, waiting for him. 

After he closes the door, he disappears into a room down the hall and I'm left alone. It's completely silent except for the sound of him punching numbers on a phone in another room of the house.

While I wait for him to return, I look around and walk to the bottom of a set of stairs. Staring up into the level above, I instinctively place my hand on the white railing. When I do, I suddenly receive a flashback to Ryden's memory after he'd found out about Cameron and Emma. The memory is so vivid that I can almost see Ryden walking up these stairs, soaked from the rain and his fury escalating.

Grasping the railing tighter, I unconsciously place my foot on the first step.

"Hey what's your name?"

I jump in fright at the sudden voice and look to find the boy standing beside me with a phone in his hand.

"L-Lucy," I stutter in shock. He looks at me peculiarly as he repeats my name into the phone.

"Lucy Ainsworth?" he asks me. I nod my head once and step down from the step.

He talks into the phone a while longer, all the time staring at me with with a curious look on his face. After a few minutes of him exchanging words with the receiver, he hangs up and places the phone on a nearby hallway table. Turning back to face me, he places his hands into the pockets of his school trousers.

"She'll be home in ten minutes. In the meantime she told me to make you feel comfortable. She also told me to offer you some pre-tea. So, would you like some tea?" he asks.

"Uh- no, thank you," I reply. He heaves a sigh and looks up at the staircase beside me.

"Well, I guess feel free to entertain yourself, I've got homework to do, so, I guess that the house is yours," he says.