Damned but mine

Chapter 22

NICK

In a few hours, I had dinner and was ready to head upstairs to my room but eventually mum stops me, smiling widely with a bowl of popcorn in her hand. My eye brows furrowed, she drops the bowl of popcorn on the table and grabs the TV remote. "Oh." I mutter, having a clue why she stopped me.

"Come on," she grins, "Let's watch something fun." Just between me and you, let me just put it out there, I can never believe that sentence, it won't be fun I tell ya.

Pretending to have drowsy eyes, I stretch my arms in the air. "I have school tomorrow." I say my famous sentence when declining her movie offer on school day.

"Come on." She pouts her lips. "It's not like it's going to last all night long, I promise, it won't." Running to me from where she was standing, she quickly grabs my arm, pulling me to the couch—I could easily remove my hand from her hold but I'm not ready to hurt her feelings, not after all what she has been going through.

Dad was already seated on the couch and eventually I sat down too, next to him as soon as mum let go of me. "Ah, I forgot." She stands up from the couch and quickly switches the light off. Coming back to the couch, she reaches for her blanket and wore it on herself. She ask me if I would want one but I quickly decline. Shrugging, she grabs both the bowl of popcorn and remote, placing the popcorn on her lap and with the remote on her hand, she plays the movie.

An hour of torture, regret, disappointment pass by. They were both laughing so loud that I could feel the impact on both of my ears since I was just right in middle of them. Like what are they even laughing about? I deeply furrow my eyebrows, squinting if possible at the TV, trying my best to concentrate, atleast to get why they are laughing so hard, I just don't get it, it's so boring.

Seeing how much they were enjoying the movie, I quickly take an excuse to use the toilet. Standing up from the couch, I began heading to the toilet but looking back to the couch to see them so invested into the movie, I divert my movement and tip toed all the way upstairs. Quietly opening my door, that it creaked a little, I step in trying my best not to make a sound. Soon the door was shut and I bolted it. Sighing in relief, I remove my shirt before climbing up on my bed. Stretching my arm, I turn off the lamp light and with one final yawn, I fall asleep.

                            *****

Groaning loudly, my hand found its way to stop the alarm. Opening my eyes slightly and looking at the alarm, it was only 6:30. "The hell! Who set it up?" I ask myself. It felt like I just feel asleep a minute ago and then it just starts ringing. Seeing the time was early, I adjust my pillow, about to fall asleep when my phone vibrates. I grab it and I see a notification from Instagram, informing me of a new follower but I only toss the phone to the bed, getting myself prepared for my thirty minutes sleep.

Eventually I get another notification. "Argh! Stop." I groan. With my eyes shut close, I search the bed for the phone. Now in my hand, I see another notification and guess what, it was another follow—maybe the universe didn't want me sleeping again.

I began looking through my notifications since I haven't done that in a while now. Just after the two follow I got earlier, I see my post was liked by someone—my post of many many months ago. Lifting my upper body from the bed, my hands quickly rush to my page, who knows it could be my friend from Chicago since the post had all of us in it.

"Melanie?" I mutter. "I guess it's not someone from there." Looking at the person's page without even a single post or a follow, I see the person only had ten followers. Sighing softly, I was about logging out when eventually I pause.

Wait.

"I may not know of any Melanie from Chicago but I sure know one from here." Soon I burst into laughter. "There"s no way. No way!" Chuckling, I log out, there's no way it's that Melanie. Logging out, I drop my phone on the bed, set the alarm to ring at 7:15 before going back to sleep.