Take Two

9║Turbulent or True

A/N: hi, authors note at the beginning: fancy. anywho, just wanted to say sorry for the long wait- my laptop broke (if any of you use PC's and want to recommend it bc you love it; please do.. i'm having a hard time picking/finding a new one) and its exam time but anyways this is all written on my phone so I apologize for the not so awesome quality. amy xx

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N I N E;

The tension was plausible in the kitchen that morning. The only sound that filled the room was Mum scraping the residue of her breakfast off the pan and into the garbage bin.

We were careful not to make eye contact as we each ate our respective breakfasts, neither of us daring to bring up my Dad's departure or our night spent crying in each other's arms.

When I woke up this morning I was alone on the couch with a blanket covering me. It wasn't until twenty minutes later that my mum came down the stairs. She seemed hesitant to say anything; opening and closing her mouth a few times before she turned away from me and walked into the kitchen.

Now we were here, myself with a bowl of cereal and Mum with some french toast. The bags under my eyes felt heavy and my eyes felt incredibly dry- from all of that crying, I thought dryly. Watching as Mum stood from the table and made a move to the sink to wash her soiled dish.

"I-" Mum paused, her hands still in the sink with her back towards me, "I'm going to head to work now. I'll see you later."

She quickly wiped her hands on the towel next to the sink, still not daring to look at me. I knew my mother, and I knew that she was probably embarrassed. She had always had the perfect life that all of her friends had envied, and now her son was dead, her daughter was lifeless, and her husband had left her.

She stopped at the doorway and turned around to face me, "I love you, darling." Not a moment later she was gone, leaving me with my bowl of cereal.

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"Do you mind if I sit here?"

I took my eyes of my questionable cafeteria lunched and noticed Maria standing before me, hovering uncertainly before an empty chair at my table. I gave her the brightest smile that I could muster and motioned for her to sit.

"How are you?" Maria asked, her hands expertly unwrapping the plastic wrap off of her tuna sandwich.

Instead of telling her how I felt like I was going to cry at any moment and what happened with my parents the night before, I settled on a shrug. "You?" I asked, trying to change the topic.

"Oh, well; today in art my teacher actually told me-"

She didn't have a chance to finish her story, as we were interrupted by a man with a very familiar voice. "Is this seat taken?"

I looked up and saw Carter pointing to the seat next to me. I didn't have the patience to deal with him, not now; but I still shook my head.

"Hi, I'm Carter-" He reached across the table after sitting and held his hand out towards Maria, "And you are?"

"Maria." She gave him a friendly smile. When he wasn't looking she turned towards me and raised her eyebrows in a questioning manner. I rolled my eyes and shook my head; trying to tell her that he was not the god that he seemed to be. Although I doubt she caught what I was throwing.

"Why are you here?" I asked bluntly, swiveling in my seat to face Carter. "You never eat in the cafeteria."

He cocked his head to the side, looking at me with that look, "How do you know where I eat?"