Chapter 128
1563words
As if touched by fire I recoiled back and like the bar of a thermometer from the tip of my toe to the top of my head red started to envelop my body at a slow pace as the tingling feeling on my lips finally got registered in my brain. Using the back of my hand I covered my lips in attempt to hide my embarrassment.
My heart was running a mile and the gears in my head refused to work properly stripping me of the ability to speak as I was only able to produce distorted to speech. "You- this- what-!" In the end I bit my tongue and released a sad yelp causing tears to prickle behind my eyes.
Mark chuckles at my pain. "Shall I sooth the pain for you?" He said suggestively and I shot him a tear-filled glare before stepping out of the car responding to him with a high squeaky voice, "No need!" and slammed the door shut. I saw Mark threw his head back in a fit of laughter before speeding off down the street on his way to his business.
Snickers could be heard from behind me. The sound of the suppressed laughter of the crowd of people who had witnessed what had transpired between me and Mark only elevated the redness on my face. Taking a quick spin in my boots so that I was facing the café with my eyes casted down on the pavement I marched awkwardly the shop inside, trying to block out the laughter that followed me.
The gold-colored bell that hung above the door of the shop rung as I entered the café, the clapper inside it hitting the wall from left to right, letting the workers of the café know that another costumer made an entrance.
The sun that wasn't covered by the clouds lit the café up nicely, brightening up the place. A lot of seats were already taken by people who were on a break from work and decided to get their lunch here, making it harder for me to spot my mother as I pivot around in search for her.
"April!" At the familiar voice I twirled around to see my mom waving at me from her seat at the far end corner of the café, next to the window. The sight of the middle-aged woman caused my heart to stir as the uneasiness started to hit my body, causing my nerves to go errant.
Closing my eyes, I took in a big shuddering breath and released it through my nose. "It will be alright April." I told myself in a small whisper as I tightened my grip on my handbag, trying to still the turmoil passing my body.
'Just go to her and tell her your feelings. It doesn't matter if she will listen to you. This will be the last day that you will ever speak to her again.' After giving myself a pep talk, I took out my phone that was inside my handbag and turned it off incase Mark decided to go back on his words, straightened my posture and held my head high as I strutted to where my mom was situated.
Mom's eyes were zeroed on me, wrinkles at the corner of her lips were formed as she displayed a relieved smile seeing that I decided to show up. Watching how she was basking under the sun's rays that revealed her skin that no longer seemed gaunt but has reclaimed its youthful vigor- her eyes that were vacant before were now brimming with hope for the future made me slow down my walking pace.
So that was going on, huh. Something clicked inside the back of my mind and my mood dampened even more. With my eyes casted down I took the seat opposite of her.
"Hi April, I am so glad to see you. Would you like something to drink or eat?" Raising her hand, she gestured at one of the waitresses to come and take our order. The waitress came with her notepad ready to write down my order. Without giving her a glance as I only stared at mom with a blank expression I said in a low voice, "Just water. I won't be here for long."
"Yes, I will be right back." Leaving the table to get me water the air around us became stale. My eyes never waned from my mom's face who smiled at me nervously as she noticed a change in my mood.
The waitress soon came back, placing the glass filled water in front of me to leave again to help another customer. As soon as she left, I opened my mouth and spoke, "So who is he?"
"What?" Taken off guard by my direct question mom stilled in her seat as her eyes widens slightly.
With a bored expression my eyes shifted to look down at the glass of water, before grabbing and swirling it in my hand. "I am asking who your new flame is, you know…" My eyes darted from the glass of water back at mom to see her flinch under my cold stare. "Your knew man."
"How did you-"
"How did I know?" I scoffed, cutting her off. "The last time you looked that alive was when you met that bastard few years after dad's death." I said hinting at her appearance that was now brimming with life compared to the time she was like a walking corpse. Few years after living with that abusive man you could see how he was sucking the life out of her, but she kept hanging on to him out of desperation. Now, that look of desperation was nowhere to be seen and I knew what that meant. I don't know when it happened but she had found a new man.
Mom glanced down at her coffee filled mug that was settled between her hands. She simpered before she said with a calm voice which I hadn't heard for in a longtime, "His name is Jeremy, I met him a year after I had left your stepdad, Greg."
I hummed unamused bringing the cup of water to my lips and said, "You sure work fast." Not even one year and she already had found another man to feast on.
She frowned at that and brought her brown eyes up to meet mine. "April," she said warningly not liking my attitude. "could you please listen?"
I shrugged before placing the cup back down. "I don't know, could I?" I questioned her back. "You never listened to me back then no matter how much I cried or bled, so I don't see why I should listen to you."
Mom drew her bottom lip between her teeth, sucking in a sharp breath before releasing it, her eyes casted back down. "I deserved that one." She whispered under her breath and then lets her eyes scrutinize me from between under her eyelashes, scanning my new appearance.
"You look nice." She commented with a small smile trying to ease the tension, but I didn't share the same sentiment and responded with a cold smile, "I know right? All of those scars on my body have been healed nicely."
Under my snide remark I watched how mom pursed her lips into a thin line and tightened her hold on the coffee mug, before releasing a breath. "I know that you wouldn't believe me no matter what I say at this point, but I'm being sincere when I say that I want to make amends with you April. I want to apologize to you as I have been a horrible mom."
"Uh-hu" I said, pretending to be uninterested by looking out of the window while my heart has been hammering against my chest, almost breaking my ribcage.
"I-After you had run away from home- after some hooded man came to our house and had tortured us, I had revelation. I couldn't live like this anymore. I had realized the wrongdoings that I had done and knew that I needed to find you, but no matter what I did I couldn't find you. While searching for you I met Jeremy," Saying his name brought a smile on her face that irked me for some reason; increasing the frown on my face.
"Things just clicked with us and when I told him about my past he didn't pull away and instead accepted me. He pushed me to become a better person, he helped me through rehab and stayed by my side through every bitter step. He even encouraged me in continuing my search for you."
I felt a warm hand clasping around my hand that had been resting on the table forcing me to drag my gaze from the outside back to the inside to meet my mother's eyes. "You should come live with us. Jeremy would be elated to have you as his daughter."
