Kiwi // H.S. // A.U.

Chapter Forty

EMMA

"You know, you would think that one of these years we would learn our lesson, and go food shopping before Christmas Eve." I tell my mom as we shuffle through the crowd and pick up ingredients for tomorrow's dinner.

"But this is half the fun!" My mom debates, "Remember that year we saw the seventy year old lady hit the teenage boy in the face with the last ham in the store?"

I snort, "That was pretty entertaining." I look down at the list, "We still need some spices that you were out of."

We head to the spice aisle, my mom taking her time rifling through everything. I played on my phone at the end of the aisle, keeping the grocery cart out of people's way. I was texting back and forth with Harry as we had been doing the past few days. Sometimes if one of us was busy it would take a few hours to get a response, but we always answered. He would text me in the morning when he woke up, patiently waiting for my reply since I liked to sleep in later than him.

Right now he was sending me pictures of him and his siblings at the park with all the kids. It was crazy how many of them there were, and I found a small bit of jealousy rolling through me. I wanted that. I loved my mom, but I sometimes wished for more. I wanted siblings and nieces and nephews, and I wanted to grow up to have children. A lot of them. All of it used to seem so impossible, but now... now it was tangible.

I looked up at my mom, but furrowed my brows instantly. A man had his back to me, and was talking to her. My mom looked incredibly uncomfortable. I had never seen her like that, and I found my feet taking me to her before I could stop myself.

"Mom, is everything okay?" I ask firmly, stepping up to her side to see the man that was talking to her.

I didn't recognize him. He looked to be older, around my mom's age, tall, broad shoulders, light brown hair.

His eyes widened as he saw me, looking up and down as if I wasn't real. I tensed up, looking at my mom who was already looking at me, sadness and a look of apology written across her own face. I was getting more confused by the moment, so I repeated, "Mom, is everything okay?"

My mom snaps out of whatever daze she was in, shaking her head, "Oh, uh, yeah, I'm fine. I just haven't seen Peter in... well, a very long time."

"Kate-" Peter starts, but my mom cuts him off, "We should be going now."

"No, Kate, wait!" The man grabs at my mom's arm to keep her from leaving.

I push him away quickly, hating the fact that he touched her, "She obviously doesn't want to talk to you, so get out of our way."

His blue eyes softened, "What's your name?"

"What?" I ask confused.

"Peter." My mother warns.

He looks at my mom, clear regret and sadness in his eyes, "She's as beautiful as I always knew she would be."

My face scrunches up in even more confusion, and he looks at me again, small tears forming in his eyes. I glance at my mom who has her eyes shut tight, and is trying to calm herself down. My eyes flicker back at the blue ones staring at me so intensely, taking in every detail of my face. That's when I get a really good look at him. The color of his hair, shape of his nose, and then his eyes. His icy blue eyes.

Realization washes over me.

My head whips back to my mom who is now looking at the ground, refusing to meet my eyes. The man brings his hand up as if to touch me, but I back away quickly.

"Don't touch me." I warn him.

He finches at my cold tone, but I don't care. This man hasn't earned my care.