Black Velvet

Chapter 59 - "I need to see something good right now."

I sat down at the kitchen table in shock. The answering machine beeped at me frantically but I couldn’t really hear it. I was in a state of shock, utter and absolute shock. My mother apologised. She actually said sorry… I put my hands either side of my face and felt the tears in my eyes. The question played over and over again in my mind; could I forgive that woman?

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay with me and my parents for a little while?” Jack asked. The two of us were sitting outside my house in Jack’s car. I looked down at the crutches that were placed at either side of my legs, and then to the horrible ugly cast that wrapped around my whole leg from toes to just below my hipbone. “No I have to go home,” I explained looking reluctantly at the front door of my house. Truth be told, I didn’t want to step foot back in that house. Neither mum nor dad had come to see me in the hospital, the nurses made them postpone Summer’s funeral until I became mobile which was yesterday. It was a sad moment when your own parents were forced to hold your own sister’s funeral.

 

The funeral was going to be tomorrow. “You’ll be there though, tomorrow?” I asked looking at him in almost a pleading nature. “Of course!” he said and looked at me in concern. “June… I heard what that woman, your mother, said about you, I was there… are you sure you don’t want me to turn around. Mum doesn’t mind at all,” Jack almost begged me but I shook my head at him. “June, they didn’t even pick you up from the hospital! What does that say about them?” Jack demanded. His words stabbed me right in the heart.

 

But he was one hundred percent right. And weirdly enough there wasn’t anything I could say to justify what I was about to do, because I was positive this wasn’t the right thing to do. ”I’ll see you tomorrow Jack,” I whispered and opened up the door of the car and manoeuvred myself so that I was standing outside. “Ring me if you need anything June!” Jack told me and then drove off out of Woodside. I took a deep breath and made my way up the pathway towards my front door.

 

It took much longer than it should have for me to reach the door and I wasn’t sure whether that was due to the fact I could barely walk with these crutches or whether it was the fact that I really didn’t want to step back into that house. Jack was right; my parents didn’t care if I was alive or dead. But I had to make sure this was true. Maybe, just maybe, they have realised just how bad their reaction to Summer’s death had affected me.

 

I slowly let out the breath that was in my lungs and pushed down the handle of the front door. But it was locked, I frowned, the door was almost never unlocked. I sighed and knocked heavily on the wooden door. I counted nine seconds before the door was opened and my mother stood there. I could have almost collapsed into her arms and cried with her. I needed my mother more than anything at this stage and I was so grateful she was standing right in front of me.

 

“Mom…” I whispered and looked at her face feeling a tear tumble down my left cheek. But my heart froze as he face screwed up in disgust. “How dare you show your face here. How dare you call me mom. You are no daughter of mine,” she said through gritted teeth. My blood felt as if it had stopped running through my veins. I couldn’t get the words out to question her statement. “HOW DARE YOU!?” she roared at me. I blinked in shock. “YOU TOOK MY BABY GIRL AWAY FROM ME AND YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST SHOW UP HERE? GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!” she continued to scream. All the whilst I stood there unable to move.