All I Ever Wanted

Chapter Twenty

The next week passed without incident and for that I am grateful. My cast was removed. Our father has stopped visiting Phoebe and I'm grateful although Phoebe is hopeful he will come to see us soon. Of this matter I keep my opinions to myself. We have been visiting Grandmother and Mike has been visiting Layla, and once or twice she has come around here. She has never seen us. We just hide out in our room until she's gone. Mke has also started work again. He works at a school aparently which is why he's never at his job. It was the holidays.

Today has come around quickly. I almost can't believe it's here. With all the excitement I almost forgot but today is Phoebes first day of school. I stand behind her and ruffle her hair without success. I frown irritated. Phoebe wanted straight hair for the first day of school so I got us up early so straighten it out. Her hair is an couple of centimetres longer when it straightened. I scoop it up into a ponytail and tie a bobble around it.

"There." I comment. "Just how you wanted it."

Phoebe smiles. "Thank you! It's perfect."

She supposed her hair would get in the way if she left it down. Her decision was to straighten it before pulling it back. I look at her. She's almost unrecognizable with her hair and school clothes, but not in a bad way. Just different from normal. She takes a last look in the mirror before dashing out the door.

The school is walking distance from the house. I'm beginning to think everything is walking distance from the house, not that I'm complaining. It makes things very convenient for me. I usher Phoebe through the school gates and wave. She doesn't look nervous at all, just exited. When she is out of sight I turn and walk back. I have to be here at twenty past three to pick her up.

For most of the day I worry about Phoebe while watching some useless program on T.V. I glance at the clock for the hundredth millionth time. Two in the afternoon, still an hour and ten minutes before I can pick up Phoebe and ask her about school. I can't remember if I went school before I was home schooled, so naturally I want her to tell me what it's like.

I wonder into the kitchen to find something to eat but before I can I hear a noise. Mike is talking with someone at the door. I hear a female voice. Its Layla! To get to my room I have to pass the front door so going to my room is not an option. I think of places to hide but I'm too late footsteps are getting closer. I open the kitchen cupboards and find one that is nearly empty. I have about five seconds.

The only items in the cupboard are glasses. All of them are rested on a tray. I thank god for small mercies and lift out the tray, the glasses perches precariously on top. Footsteps come ever closer. Right outside the door now. I place the tray down, no time to hide it. I curl up into the cupboard and close the door just as the two people enter the room.

I breathe a quiet sigh of relief. My back is pressed against the far side of the cupboard and my knees are bent. I have enough room each side of me to shift around but not enough to properly fold my legs. I cross my ankles and rest my knees against the side of the cupboard. It's not comfortable but I can sit here for a while without moving.

I try not to, but eventually I can't help but eavesdrop.

"It's been a long time since I've seen you." The female voice announces in a timid voice. To my great surprise it's not Layla's voice I hear but that of an older woman's.

"Yes." agrees Mike. But his voice is guarding. I wonder who this woman is, and what she had done to Mike. She's sounds too old to be an ex-girlfriend, unless she smokes. That sometimes makes a voice sound older. I highly doubt that is the case though. So, maybe an old family friend? This is also doubtful with what Mike has told me about his family. From the conversation it is clear it's someone from his past. But he mentioned no one but his... mother.

My eyes become wide. This is not good. Didn't he say his mother was the wife of a murdering lunatic?

I find my mad panic turned out a lot of the coversation and I listen in once more.

"What?" Mikes shocked, questioning voice asks.

"Your father died, Mike." His mother repeats, her voice full of sadness.

"I wasn't expecting that." Mike mutters, mainly to himself. He voice doesn't hold much sadness.

"I know you think your father did that awful thing but I'm willing to give you a chance, would you like to meet up tommorow evening?" She askes. My eyes almost pop out of my head. She was willing to give him a chance? There are so many things wrong with that statement I hardly know where to start. I almost burst out of the cupbored and knock some sense into her. Luckily I value my life to much. Mike would kill me from spying on him, even if it was unintentional.

I try to see it from Mike's mothers point of view. She heard a shot and ran into the room to find her husband and her sons, one dead on the floor. She probably didn't see the gun. so she thought it was shot by someone from the street, her son, or husband. She believed her husband and son were innocent because she loved them. So she would immediatly blame it on a passerby. How did she think he was innocent when Mike told the police? Would she not believe her own son? What about when the police found the gun in MIkes father possession? What about when forensics confirmed the bullet was from close range and the blood splatter confirmed who shot it?

I don't understand why she turned a blind eye. But I do understand why Mike says "I'll meet you at the restaurant just down the road from here." He's giving her a second chance and this time maybe she won't mess it up.

She must have nodded because they disappear out into the hall and I spring from the cupboard, place the glasses back in and sneak a glance at the clock. Its three, I've been in there for an hour. I groan and stretch out my limbs.

I hurry into the spare room I wait until Mike is in the kitchen before emerging. I hear Mike having a conversation on the Phone. "She's back." He says. A pause where someones talking. "Her and I are meeting up tommorow." A small pause and he puts the Phone down. The other person must of hung up on him.

I scurry away to pick up Phoebe from school. I bet you her day can't have been more interesting than mine.

I lounge on the brick wall waiting for Phoebe. All of the parents seem to be doing the same thing, as well as some children who had come out early and were waiting for their siblings. Phoebe comes out with two other children who I presume to be her friends. Her arms are linked around theirs. On her left is a brown haired girl and on her right a green eyed girl. She waves goodbye to them as she runs towards me.

"Emma!" She yells, It doesn't draw any attention to us because its already so noisy and slightly crowded.

"Hey Phoebe! Good first day?" I ask slightly amused at her enthusiasm.

"Yeah!" She enthuses. She proceeds to tell me every little detail about her day and I happily listen. "Our teacher Miss Mace was really nice! We drew some pictures. I drew mine of you and me and a cute little puppy. Emma?"

"What?"

"Can we have a cute little puppy?" She asks with wide pleading eyes.

I laugh at her, "Maybe someday. Come on, tell me about the rest of your day."

She continues so fast her words start to merge together. I listen intently to decipher the words. "I played in the sandpit and built a mermaid palace with Larissa. Larissa's my friend, it was her idea to build the castle. She wanted to put water in it so it would be like a real mermaid castle but the teacher said it would ruin our design." She pouted a little at this point and I laughed. "Alesha is my other friend, but she wouldn't help she said it was too boring. She built a carraige for the mermaids instead."

I nod and she rushes on.

"Then we had to do some writing. I could do it the best because you taught me. But a girl broke my crayon I was using and forgot to say sorry. I had to use red and I wanted to use pink! She was mean to Alesha and I told her to go away because she wasn't being nice." She frowns in disapproval.

"What's the girls name?" I ask curiously.

"Casey, I think. I didn't ask but I think that's what it said on her paper, but it was really messy so it might have been something else. Larissa said she wanted to see my hair curly and down so tomorrow I'm going to leave it down." She stops when she realises were home and proceeds to tell Mike everything she just told me.