018. Empty Home

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╒══════════════════╕Chapter EighteenEmpty Home╘══════════════════╛

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Chapter Eighteen
Empty Home
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     TORI ARRIVED HOME FROM THE DINER AND THE FIRST THING SHE HEARD was pots and pans clanging against each other. She walked into the kitchen and there her mother stood above the hot stove with a frying pan on the burner. Instead of wearing the scrubs she usually wore due to her job as a nurse, she wore a pair of washed jeans and a plain t-shirt.

     "Mom, what are you doing home?" Tori asked as she stood right at the frame separating the kitchen and the living hall.

     "I get the night off, so I figured I could use this time to cook a really good meal for dinner tonight" her mother said while smiling excitedly. "I figured you would be tired of the consistent quick stuff and the occasional Pop's food."

     "While I have no problem with the quick stuff and occasionally Pop's every now and again, I did miss this," Tori said. "I'm just gonna go upstairs and change."

     "I'll let you know when dinner's ready."

     "Thanks, Mom."

     Tori went upstairs where her room was and dropped her bag on the floor at the foot of her bed. She changed out of her skinny jeans and purple long sleeve shirt into a pair of pants with Mickey Mouse printed all over them and a black tank top. Her feet remained covered by a pair of socks and she pulled her hair back and tied it in a messy ponytail with a few loose strands. She pulled out the black and white paisley partnered box with all her CDs from under her bed and looked through the cases. It took her awhile before she decided on an album by Marina and the Diamonds and placed the disk in the CD player that sat right on top of the bookshelf. The music bounced off the walls as she put the box aside and stayed seated on the carpeted floor. By the third song, she was lying on the floor flat on her back with her eyes closed as she quietly sang along.

     Tori could soon smell the food her mother was cooking and she swore she started to salivate at the aroma as it made its way into her room. She heard her name being called from downstairs and she sat up to turn off the music that was playing within the walls of her bedroom. She headed down the steps and into the kitchen where her mother was filling up a plate with food. Tori grabbed her own plate from the cupboard and started filling it with the freshly cooked food.

     "I can smell it from all the way upstairs in my room," she said while chuckling.

     Her mother laughed after taking a bite and sitting at the table.

     "At least it smells good, right?" she said.

     "Right," Tori responded and sat down right next to her mother.

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