All It Seems

Chapter 31: Rumble Tumble

Hey guys!  Quite a long chapter for you today so hopefully it keeps you entertained for a while. I was going to make this chapter cover the whole 'evening' but I think it was just going to end up being far too long so we will continue in the next chapter. 

Let me know what you all think and don't forget to vote!

Love you all, stay safe and well! 

I let us into the house when we got home just as it started to rain. It was just one of those days where the rain would pour, then the clouds would lighten only to darken and dampen again in an hour.

"Come on, I'll get you a snack," I said to her as she took off her jacket and popped her school bag on the floor.

I wandered over to the kitchen and noticed the dishwasher was slightly open and there were a few more dishes in there. Kingston must've come home for lunch. I doubted he was in the house but I looked around the space anyway to see if anything else was out of place. Nothing was and surely Lucy would be able to tell if he were home.

"Get much homework today, Lu?" I called from the kitchen as I filled a cup with orange juice and prepared her some crackers with cheese.

"Just something I need to have done by Friday," she mumbled as she climbed up on the stool and took the plate from my hands eagerly.

"You know, I don't remember getting nearly as much homework as you do when I was a kid," I said more to myself than to her.

All it seems these days is kids are pushed so hard to become smart that they don't get as many opportunities to go outside and play or to do things with their families. In saying that, she is 7 and she's got plenty of time left to do that.

"What did you do when you were my age?" She asked.

"Well, like you, I played a lot of sport so I had training on after school most days and probably only got home work once every two or three weeks," I said thoughtfully, I didn't really remember getting homework at that age but I was sure I did... even if it was just reading.

A dark cloud must've made its way across the sky because most of the light was sucked from the room as a huge clap of thunder rumbled through the room. Lucy's big brown eyes widened and she jumped off her stool to run over to me and wrap her arms around my waist in a suffocating embrace.

"Hey, it's okay, it's only a little thunder, it can't hurt you," I shushed her and stroked her curly mess of hair as she buried her face in my stomach.

I shuffled us over to the wall just enough so I could reach over and flick on the lights. Once there was a bit more light in the room Lu pulled her face away to look around in fear.

"It's okay, yeah?" I bent down to her height and smiled gently at her. "Let's play a game, that way you'll be distracted,"

She nodded and walked tentatively into the study so she could pull out a game. I moved her half eaten crackers and cheese over to the dining table and brought with me my own cup of tea.

The thunder was starting come in a constant low rumbling roll that was easy to ignore whilst we tossed dice in the air and made moves around the monopoly board. However, occasionally there would be a loud clap that would shake the walls and force Lucy's face into a frightened grimace.

"It's okay, just ignore it. It can't hurt you I promise," I comforted her as she froze up. Nature can be funny sometimes; I managed to calm her down to a point where she hadn't even noticed the last few claps of thunder, instead she cheered as I stopped on her hotels two times in a row, then, the loudest clap of thunder I think I've ever heard in my life shook my very core and the lights flickered then zapped out.