The Silence Between Us ✓

[29] New Flesh

I walked home feeling alone. Elliot wasn't answering his phone; Katie was going to become the mean girl she was before with Mackenzie; and Noah was too ashamed to even be seen in the same place as me. I hadn't seen him all day – he decided to completely ignore and didn't come to BSL class after school. The more I pushed all of these thoughts away, the more they hurt me, the more I let them hurt me.

The whispering around me was unnerving and I counted myself lucky that I didn't live so far from school; at least my duvet was close. I had at least a whole 12 hours before I had to go back – or not if I could convince my mum I was ill – and that was the only comforting thing about the whole situation. I didn't know if I was judging everything too quickly; Elliot might just not have picked up his phone, Katie was just making Mackenzie happy because she was scared of her revealing her secret and I hadn't actually talked to Noah to confirm my worst fears, but at the same time I knew that everything had changed. Everything couldn't go back to the way they were because you can't wipe the whole student body's mind.

"How was school darling?" My mum asked as she always did, but with the newfound smile that I knew I would take away if I told her what had happened at school.

It was fine! I smiled as genuinely as possible and was about to walk up the stairs to my bedroom before she stopped me.

"Can you just come in here a minute?" I gave her a questioning look as she beckoned me in. Her eyes were darting around the kitchen as if she were trying to spy someone listening to her. I had a feeling that person might have been my brother, but I had no idea what she wanted to talk to me about. "It... it's about your father"

The dead look behind her eyes and the way she said it told me everything I needed to know. He was coming back again, after all of these years after he left us. Me.

"He... he wants to see Theo." She said quietly, rubbing my shoulder. She didn't need to say what was inferred: he doesn't want to see you.

I didn't need to ask why – after all I was the reason he left in the first place and I told myself that I didn't particularly want to see him either. He wasn't the same person that read me the same bedtime story every night for at least two years when I was younger, wasn't the one who had the patience to teach me to ride a bike, wasn't the one who was so supportive at the start of it all. The person that was coming back was just in disguise, "He – he's coming the day after tomorrow."

I snapped my neck up at her. Why hadn't she told me ages ago instead of now, two days before I would have to avoid him at all costs? What had she been thinking?

"I know it's bit sudden but... with all your exams I didn't want to stress you out any more..."

You knew before my exams? That was at least a month ago.

"I knew it would just upset you Via!" She tried to stroke my hair but I didn't let her "And I didn't want to make you feel bad when everything's going so well with Noah and Katie and..."

Big deal – you already have! I signed with venom and ran out of the kitchen, right up the stairs to the duvet I'd been craving all day. I couldn't deal with this – deal with anything.

The tears streamed out hot on my cheeks and I wiped them away harshly, only realising a few minutes later that all I was doing was using a tea towel to wipe up a lake. This had to qualify as the worst day in my life. Maybe.

XXX

"Via wake up!" My mum came into my bedroom, a cautious expression on her face.

Ugh it was too early for this; I swear school really needs to start later in order to have students in the right frame of mind to actually function. To be fair to me I hadn't got much sleep last night anyway, but the reason for that could be skipped over for the simple purpose of not bursting into tears in front of my mother.