Falling Daisies

Chapter 4

I arrived back from school late on this occasion. I had had the art room all to myself and I was so wrapped up in my work, so engrossed, that I barely noticed the time. That was until the old janitor, who faintly resembled a greying Gandalf, came in and told me he wanted to lock up.

Oops.

My hands were covered thick in black paint and I'd barely gotten through the door when mum instructed me to go and wash them before I got anything on her pristine cream furniture. I sarcastically saluted her when her back was turned and banged up the stairs, making sure I made as much noise as physically possible only to be greeted by the finger from my 13 year old little sister who stood at her door. I immaturely responded by sticking out my tongue at her and swearing back.

"Pathetic" Tess said, rolling her eyes and returning into her room, turning up the volume on her iPod dock so that the house was filled with the opening bars of 'Kiss You' by One Direction and I covered my ears, unable to believe someone related to me could like this garbage.

I skilfully opened the bathroom door with my right arm and twisted the sink tap with my wrist. I watched as the black slowly drained from my hands leaving the bright pink of my skin, burning from the scalding water. I thought about it metaphorically for a moment, as though I was washing all the darkness from myself and leaving the bright colour, symbolising a chance for happiness. That made me think of Ben...

We hadn't seen each other since our coffee meet up two weeks ago, where we'd ended up hooking up in the bathroom. Maybe he was bored of me now? I considered. No, he'd just said he'd had a lot on, besides we texted every day and even the odd phone call, which always left me smiling.

Surely you don't do that if you're bored of someone?

But I was determined to get to the bottom of his mystery. The secret phone calls, his graffiti diary, something always 'coming up'. Maybe he had an undercover job that was top secret and it required his full attention... I laughed pitifully at myself. Oh Lucy, you have been watching too much CSI for one thing and another: You've got it bad.

"Dinner time!" My mum shouted from downstairs.

I splashed my face with the water, my hands now clean but red raw, dried them and then banged back down the stairs. A small secret smile emerged on my face as I realised that I'd not taken my shoes off when I'd come home and there was a faint dirt trail on the cream carpet of each step. That would teach her to buy the most impracticable colour in the shop.

Sure, the house looked good, but once every trace of him ever living here had been removed there was nothing wrong with the way it had been before.

I hated change.

The new interior was just a mask to the world that the Ryder's were a united force, but if you moved the sofa there would be the crack in the wall from where I'd accidental knocked over the cabinet when I was five and dented it; just like the cracks in our family. They were still there, however much we tried to hide them and pretend they weren't. I was screaming inside, but no words came.

Taking my seat, I stared down pitifully at the basic Caesar salad on my plate and my stomach gurgled for a Big Mac. I looked over to mum; she seemed to have the same longing look in her eye, the one that seemed to will the salad to change into something greasy and smothered in sauce.

She'd always been curvy but her weight increase in the past couple of years was getting her down and I knew it. She was still beautiful though, her eyes were a cat like green and her skin was creamy and youthful for her age, I hoped genetics meant I'd have the same luck in the future. She didn't see any of this in herself however, it frustrated me more that she blamed that as the reason he'd left. It's why I resented her I suppose. The self pity which meant I had had to take control of...everything, I couldn't stand it. Unfortunately, Hazel possessed the same qualities and I had vented out the frustration I had for my mother onto her, on more than one occasion.