ALMOST UNFIXABLE.

003 - The Jungle.

She wasn't buying it at all.

"What are you still doing in bed, Hilary?" She finally asked, eyeing my duvet-clad body. I let out another round of fake coughs and sniffles. Mum scoffed. "You are not fooling anyone with that act of yours." She stated matter-of-factly and I sighed, giving up.

What was I thinking acting up like this? Mum knew me better than anyone, so she'd see right through me.

"I don't want to go to school, mum," I told her, sitting up from my bed. She stared at me for a bit, looked at me intently like she was trying to read me. I felt so uncomfortable under her stare that I had to look away. My bed dipped, indicating she had sat on it.

"Why?" That was all she asked, causing me to look up at her. She had that worried look on her face again and I thawed. I don't want her worrying about me every single time.

"I don't know if I can handle it," I answered, shaking my head. Mum hummed as if urging me to go on.

"The attention, the pressure. I'm not ready for all of that. Not only from my classmates, the teachers as well. Henry was well known at Crestview. I can't enter a room without someone mentioning him. I don't know if I can deal..." Mum pressed her hand against my arm, stopping me from talking any further.

It's going to be hard...

"It's going to be hard." She affirmed like she heard my thoughts, her gaze unwavering from mine. "It's going to be hard, like really really hard." She kept repeating, more like teasing me and I scrunched up my face, frowning.

"Gee, thanks, mum. I feel a lot better now." I said, making sure she heard the sarcasm in my voice. She chuckled, pulling me closer and I nuzzled against her.

"My baby." She cooed, pulling me in tighter. "Always so easy to tease." She whispered and I found myself smiling, feeling the tension around me dispel.

"In all seriousness Hilary," she started, her voice becoming serious so I paid attention. "It's going to be hard - really hard, but it will eventually pass." She said, her voice sounding so assuring that I almost believed her.

Almost...

"How soon will it pass?" I asked, pulling away from her embrace so that I would be able to look at her. The look on her face told me that she wasn't sure how to answer my question. She looked like she was thinking of how best to answer me, so when she looked back at me, I knew I wasn't going to get an answer that would soothe me.

"Not as soon as you may want, but it will pass." She said and I frowned, not liking that answer but I nodded anyway. "But for now, I need you to remain strong. Hold your head up like the queen that you are. Please, don't allow what has happened to us in the last one month to affect you." She was pleading with me now, her voice desperate.

It was then I realized that she was still hurting from the events of these past weeks. She and Dad. Losing their first child and only son shattered them. I saw the way they broke down in the hospital after the news, saw the way Dad cried as a baby and mum wailed. The first two weeks after his burial, I would hear mum sneak into Henry's room and weep softly, thinking that no one would hear her

But I did.

And it was heart-wrenching.

It made me feel even more guilty for hiding the entire truth from them.