No matter how much she runs, Laura is stuck in an endless loop of her past. With a transfer of school and a curly-haired boy who seems to be wherever she goes, it's a matter of time she realizes that her universe ceases at the sight of him-and runni...
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THE WOMAN IN FRONTOF ME WAS THE DEFINITION OF CHAOS. It reflected in the way her hair was slicked back, or with the way she carried herself with an armor of steel in the business field. There was a keen kindness in her eyes I had never seen in anyone else's, all while she simultaneously spoke words of satire—and outside the professional disarray, she transformed into a different person altogether.
The reasons to adore her never lessened.
Eyes only slightly exhausted, when her lips twitched into a hearty smile, I couldn't resist falling into her arms when she extended them. Dad coughed, breaking the silence. "I have no respect in this house."
Liam laughed, before embracing him in a tight hug. Dad seemed to grin at something about him—probably his height and how taller he had gotten since he last saw him. I had missed dad a lot, too, with and all of his bustling abruptness. He was the most hard-working man I knew of, in whatever work he partook in. But if he had the option to stay home, he was nowhere but in the kitchen.
Even if his recipes were a love letter to disasters, especially the ones in which the fire alarm was destined to go off.
When we finally entered the house after the melodramatic display to the neighbours, things suddenly started to settle in my head. I recalled how my room was a complete mess I hadn't deemed to encounter for the past two months. Liam seemed to notice my apprehension, on his mouth a weary smile. My mother was a cleaning frenetic. If she saw my room before I did, I couldn't get away without a lecture.
"You're early," Liam acknowledged, eyes soft. "I thought you guys were coming on the weekends or something."
"I don't need your permission to come to my house, honey."
Should've seen that coming, my eyes taunted Liam, but before I could comment anything snarky, Dad had gone off to examine the kitchen. "I see you've been maintaining the kitchen well, Li."
Liam saluted him. "Yes, Sir."
My mother got up, walked towards the kitchen, and grabbed a glass of water. "How's school, Bella?"
"It's okay," I sung my response, eyes dwindling and shoulders shrugged. "I have a test lined up this week. Chemistry."
She smiled. "That's good, you do like chemistry. I was hoping you'd ask me for permission to go to a weekend party, but honestly Laura, you never do."
"And you are disappointed, Mom," I said, a laugh slipping past my lips. "Why do you so badly want me to get drunk?"
"It's an experience," she started, eyes shining. "Right, Liam?"
Liam rolled his eyes. "Mom, she's underage."
"Plus," I interjected, eyes falling to her in inquisition. "Which parent would ever want to be met with unforeseen circumstances of a drunk child?"
