Emily's POV
The following morning I woke up pretty late because all night I had been thinking about that lunatic and I couldn't get much sleep.
I rolled off the bed, took a quick shower, and slipped into my sweatshirt and jeans, and went downstairs.
My mom was sitting on the kitchen counter sipping her coffee.
Ugh I really am in no mood for this.
Mom and I hadn't been in contact lately. I would usually wake up earlier than her and make breakfast and then go back to my room again. And then come back down when I had to go to work.
Whenever I would come back home, she would either be in her room or somewhere outside, so we didn't have a talk, which I prefer calling an argument, lately.
She probably noticed my presence because she lifted her head up, gave me a once over, and said, "When's the summer break over?"
Good morning to you, too.
"Monday," I replied in the same tone and walked over to the fridge.
"I made waffles for breakfast."
You did what?
Did I hear this woman correctly?
No, I was pretty sure my ears were playing tricks on me.
Did she make breakfast?
For me?
I was convinced that something was definitely wrong with this world.
I was staring at her wide-eyed when she looked up from the newspaper to my face.
"In the oven," she pointed towards it.
"Yeah, right," I awkwardly moved my gaze away from her and went to grab my breakfast.
She stood up, took her newspaper and coffee mug with her, and went to her room.
What if it's poisoned?
Oh shut up!
Why would she do that?
I shook my head to clear my thoughts and dug into my breakfast.
"Mhm," I moaned.
I had been ages since I had a proper breakfast. And my mom was certainly a great cook.
That was another thing that she quit cooking a long time ago but still, the taste of this thing reminded me of those old good times.
Old good memories.
Memories buried deep down in the core of my heart.
Memories that came to haunt me every night.
Memories that remind me how little my worth was.
Memories that told me that all of it was my fault.
I felt my eyes prickle but I took a deep breath and managed to hold back my tears.
I won't cry.
I was not allowed to cry.
There hadn't been a single night since then when I hadn't woken up in the middle of the night.
When I hadn't seen blood.
When I hadn't seen his blood.
Maybe mom wasn't supposed to do this kind of stuff anymore. It reminded me of the past.
A past I still hadn't been able to endure yet.
Who knew eating something as simple as waffles could make you cry?
I finished my breakfast and went back upstairs.
My hair was tied in a messy bun and the sweatshirt I was wearing was kind of too big for me.
But, what? It was comfy. What else did I need?
My mood was slightly off today so I thought to do painting.
Painting always cheered me up.
I took my canvas and paints out and sat on the stool near the window.
I didn't know what I was going to paint but I knew that in the end, I would end up painting something. So like always, I took my brush and trusted my imagination.
I made a small brown ball, surrounded by white color first.
Huh?
I continued to paint until the thing started to make sense.
I painted a set of eyes.
A set of very familiar eyes.
It was odd. I never drew such things.
Whose eyes could they possibly be?
Chris's?
No, he had electric blue eyes just like mine.
Then who's else?
Mom's?
My mom did have brown eyes.
But why would I draw her eyes? I hadn't even seen her properly for ages.
Those eyes loo— I was pulled out of my thoughts as my gaze landed on something outside my window.
More specifically, someone.
Of course, the lunatic was standing at his window smiling at me. It was a smile, like a genuine smile. Not that stupid smirk of his.
He waved at me. Was I supposed to wave back? Should I just ignore it? After what happened last night should I even talk to him?
Panicked and utterly confused I quickly waved back at him and brought my focus back on my canvas.
Ah, shit.
Why am I like this?
I had no interest in that painting anymore, whatsoever so I took the canvas from the stand and placed it on the side table.
Was he still standing there?
My curiosity got the best of me and I turned around towards the window.
But he wasn't there anymore. Oh.
Why was I upset?
I wasn't upset. Right?