Her World

Chapter One

A gentle rain fell outside as a young teenage girl gazed out the window. The sun was beginning to set, and the wet leaves shimmered beautifully in the dying light. Soon, these same leaves would fall to the ground in preparation for winter.
"Dinner's ready, River."
The young girl turned her head to her mother and slipped out of the bay window, making her way over to the table. "You know I would be fine to go out," she murmured, taking her seat. "I'm better now, I promise."
"Tomorrow," her mom countered sternly. "That was the deal."
"I know, I know," River grunted, rolling her eyes. "I'm just saying. I haven't even coughed since last night. I think that the doctors overestimated my recovery time."
Her mom gave her a glance and River chuckled, using the ladle to transfer her mother's soup into her bowl. "Okay, Dr. Denise. You're right, I'm wrong."
"That's right," Denise smiled, taking the ladle from her daughter after she had finished taking her share. "So," she started, setting the ladle back down in the soup. "How was school today? Anything new?"
River took a sip of the soup her mother had prepared, taking a moment to answer. "It was fine," she replied. "Lily and Morgan filled me in on all I missed while I was gone. I got most of it finished during study hall. I'll finish the rest before I go to bed."
"Sounds like a plan," Denise said with a smile. "I'm glad you're on top of things. I know I never was when I was your age. It was a struggle for me to just do my homework on a regular night. I was always on the phone with my friends."
"Well, it's easier when one of your friends doesn't have a cell phone and the other has to babysit her baby brother almost every night. I don't really have anything else to do," River pointed out. "Except play with Tucker of course."
Hearing his name, Tucker lifted his head and tilted it to the side, letting out a small bark. River smiled and reached her hand down to rub him between his ears. "Yes, Tuck, I'm talking about you," she cooed. "We had plenty of time while I was home sick though, didn't we? We can spare a few hours one night."
"Good. I'll do the dishes and take care of Tucker's grooming tonight. You can do it the next two nights to make up for it. Deal?" Denise asked.
River looked up at her mom and nodded, "deal." After another moment or two she stopped stroking Tucker and moved her hand back to the table, wiping it on a towelette. The dog whimpered and lied down at her feet, disappointed that she hadn't continued. "Sorry, Tuck," she whispered. She knew the canine was unable to understand her words, but this was a common occurrence. The moment her mom brought the dog home six years ago the two had a connection. They did everything together, and it was as if they were made for each other. In River's mind, bringing Tucker home was the best decision her mom had ever made.
Careful not to step on her friend's tail, River slid her seat back and stood up, taking her dishes to the sink and gently slipped them into the water before heading towards the stairs. "I'm going to go to my room now," she told her mom before she started to climb the steps. "Love you."
"Love you too River. If you need help you know where I'll be."
River smiled to her mother once more before going to her room. As she went in she closed the door behind her so that Tucker wouldn't come in and distract her while her mom did the dishes. For the past week she had been sick with the flu, and had missed several days of school, giving her loads of work to make up. Her friends had helped her complete some of it, but it was impossible to finish in an hour.
Normally she would take her work deep into the woods and complete it. There she was at peace and was able to focus more easily, but with the rain as well as her recent illness, her mother wouldn't allow it. Tonight it would take River much longer to prepare for the following school day. By the time she had finished the work spread across her floor, she was yawning almost continuously.
River longed to curl up in her bed with Tucker and fall asleep, but she knew she still needed to shower before she could do that. This in mind, she quickly shoved her assignments back into her backpack and picked out a pair of pajamas to replace her t-shirt and blue jean capris. She hummed softly as she propped her door open and walked down the hallway to her bathroom. Downstairs she could hear her mom talking on the phone, and she longed to eavesdrop and listen to the conversation, but she knew that wasn't the best idea. Whenever she eavesdropped, things never ended well. Other than spending a week trapped inside, life was going good. She didn't dare jeopardize that.
Shaking that thought from mind, she quietly slipped into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. As soon as she turned the water in her shower on she relaxed. The steamy hot water soothed her, and she longed to stay there for hours. She knew, however, that she couldn't. Not tonight at least. It was almost nine o'clock at this point, and bedtime would creep up rather quickly.
So instead she climbed out and wrapped herself in a towel. The next half-hour was spent drying her hair, getting dressed, and brushing her teeth; her nightly routine. Finally, she was ready for bed. Now dry, River made her way downstairs to the laundry room and put the clothes and towels in their respective baskets. Her mom was watching the news on the couch with Tucker at her feet as she came over. "Everything is fini-," a yawn broke her off and Denise snickered slightly. "Everything is finished."
"Sounds like you're ready for bed," her mom replied, turning to face her daughter. "Why don't you go ahead and take Tuck upstairs and go to bed. It's getting late."
River started to protest, but another yawn beat her to it. She knew her mom was right. She needed sleep. She would much rather spend the rest of the hour reading, but she doubted her eyes would stay open for long if she tried. "Alright. Sounds like a nice plan. Come on, Tuck. Ready to go upstairs?"
Tail wagging, Tucker stood and nudged River's leg gently to let her know he was ready. The girl smiled and rubbed his head before he trotted over to the foot of the staircase. River sat down by her mother and gave her a hug before joining him. "Goodnight Mom," she said sleepily. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Goodnight River. Have a good day at school."
Without another word, River joined Tucker by the stairs. She gave him a signal with her hand and he started to climb them, only turning back to make sure that she was following close behind. She was, careful to not let him get under her feet. The dog didn't stop until he got to River's room and sat down by her bed, waiting for her to climb in and cover up.
River did so, pulling the chain on her lamp before rolling the covers over her and patting on the bed to let her companion know he was welcome to join her. The last thing she remembered before dozing off was his fur giving her warmth and peace.
"Goodnight Tuck..."