The Secrets of Confessions ✔️

Chapter 5: Scratching the Surface

 Dealing with criminals is hard enough. I mean, you never know what they're going to do to you. They can honestly stab you at any moment if you decide to get too close to them, but this only applies to certain people. Thankfully, I never had to deal with that risk for over 16 years, but now, the tables have turned. 

He's back. He's here to wreak more havoc onto all of us, like he did 16 years ago. I have to watch my back, because if he was inhumane enough to do what he did years ago, then I don't know what capabilities he poses at this moment. But, I know I have to be extremely careful. Doing that is going to be extra easy when I have Mason and Sarah by my side.

"Ugh, my acne is awful!" Nathan says, as he scrubs cleanser onto his face. I'm walking beside the bathroom, with a basket of clean laundry, as he examines his acne ridden face. 

"Nathan, chill. Acne is a natural part of teenaged years. It's going to go away. Trust me, I also had really bad acne as a teenager. It will go away. I promise," I say, as I set the clean laundry down. I've definitely had those times when it has looked like craters on my face, but it's always gone away. 

Nathan continues to examine the numerous scars and drying pimples. "Ashmita, you're kidding. You outgrew acne, and you became so pretty. I'm never going to be like that," Nathan says. At first, I'm flattered, because he just called me pretty and complimented me on how I grew into a beautiful young woman. 

Then, I get kind of annoyed, because it's just like I'm transported back into my teenaged years, and that's less than pleasant. I roll my eyes, walk into the bathroom, and place a hand on his shoulder. He just continues to massage the soap into his face, and barely looks over at me. "You missed a spot. Boop," I say, as I lightly touch the tip of his nose, where a drying pimple is. 

He swats my hand away, and says, "You're so weird." He continues to examine the drying pimples to see if there will be any scarring. 

I smile, and then pat his back. "Wait a minute. You got a little soap right there," I say, and I lightly brush my fingers on the back of his neck, where I know that he's the most ticklish. 

He, of course, recoils at me tickling him, and says, "Gosh, Ashmita, no! You know I'm ticklish!" I take both of my hands and continue to tickle him a little bit more around the neck. He starts to giggle, and I continue to tickle him as he crumples to the floor. His giggles light up the hallway, and just make me smile and chuckle a little bit more. 

Sarah comes upstairs, probably to sort through the laundry to find her clothes, and she sees me tickling Nathan to the ends of the world. She stands next to the door frame, with a huge smile on her face, as I finally stop messing with Nathan. 

He gets up off of the floor, obviously breathless, and looks at Sarah smiling at him. "How long were you there, Mom?" Nathan asks. 

Sarah smiles. "Long enough. You guys are so cute. I'm telling you," she says. She flashes both of us a shiny smile, one that has been circulating for the past 15 years, and it just makes me smile a little bit too. 

Nathan adjusts his shirt, and says, "Mom, I'm 14 years old. I'm not cute." 

Sarah rolls her eyes, and says, "Whatever you say, honey. Ashmita, sweetie, the closet is looking kind of cluttered today. Do you think you could clean it out?" 

I walk into the room where I set down the laundry, and say, "Yeah, sure. I just have to finish up an essay for one of my classes, and then I'll clean it out." 

Sarah nods, and says, "Yeah, that's fine. I just need it cleaned out. It looks like the Arab Spring happened in there." I snicker, as I sort out the laundry for later uses.