A Month To Live

A Month To Live (45)

'You have got to get out of this house!' my mom exclaimed to me one particularly dull Saturday about a week after seeing Tommy.

I simply turned the page of the book I was reading and acted as if I didn't hear her. She made a noise in the back of her throat and stormed across my bedroom to yank the curtains open roughly. I winced as sunlight streamed in and I heard her throw the window open. A cool breeze entered the room and ruffled a few pages of my book gently. I glanced up.

'What do you want?' I asked.

'I want you to do something with yourself!' she said angrily, crossing her arms. 'You're going back to school on Monday morning and enrolling yourself! You have exams coming up for God's sake!' I scowled at her.

There was absolutely no chance of that happening. No way in hell.

'Why would I enrol myself for two weeks of the last year of my high school career?' I demanded. 'Talk about pointless,' I mumbled. 'I'll just get a tutor and do some reading up online... I still have my old textbooks too,' I pointed out.

'I don't want you moping around the house, Raegan!' she told me with a scowl. 'That's all you've been doing since you've came back. You never used to be like this... well only when you found out about the tumour but now even that can't be an excuse for you!'

I groaned at her and covered my face with the book.

'Just go away,' I grumbled, trying to fend her off.

'I will not,' she snorted, waving away my protests. 'Now, get up, get washed and dressed and we'll go to the mall, okay? I need a whole new wardrobe for work plus an outfit for a summer party one of the neighbours is having - you'll probably need to get one too as you're invited,' she rambled.

'Mom,' I groaned again.

'No but's!' she exclaimed. 'You're coming. Come on, we haven't been on a shopping trip in forever!'

'That's because there was no point in getting new clothes,' I mumbled, pulling the book away and folding the corner down. There was no point resisting. She'd murder me if she had to and bring my lifeless body around with her.

'Well now there is! A fresh start!' she said, excitedly.

'A second chance,' I mumbled, rolling my eyes.

'Exactly!' she replied. 'I didn't think you listened to anything I said, but you proved me wrong. I'm so proud... let's celebrate by going shopping,' she prodded.

'God, you're irritating,' I sighed.

'I'm not irritating! Anyone would kill for their mom to offer to take them shopping... I'm talking about wearing down my credit card right now,' she laughed. She really was trying to cheer me up. I decided to amuse her just this once.

'Fine, give me a half hour,' I agreed, hopping out of bed.

'No, no, I'll meet you there, hon,' she said 'I've got to go and weigh a package that I'm sending to Jenny, she's in Dubai, remember?'

Jenny was one of my mother's many friends. She had a hell of a lot of friends really. All over the world. She was what you'd call a social butterfly. The complete opposite of me at this moment in time.

I didn't even have any friends.

'Yeah, I remember,' I nodded absently. 'I'll meet you in the parking lot in about an hour?'

'You will... and if you don't turn up I'm confiscating the keys to your car,' she added.

'What!' I exclaimed. 'I'm eighteen, you can't do stuff like that anymore!'