Unrequited Love

4

Novel stretched like a Cheshire cat on her bed, it was finally Saturday and her curtains were drawn saving her from the rays of the sun that would have invaded the serenity of peace she basked in. Peace and quiet was a rare luxury she got to taste, so she rolled in her sheets in reckless abandon with a wide smile painted on her lips; sighing in bliss, she giggled like she was twenty and got lost in a daydream she would never let herself indulge in on a weekday.

The weekends were really underrated. Two days to destress, breathe, live and have time for yourself and apparently your child or children, shivering at the idea of another child, Novel thanked God she refused John's request for them to try to have another child and continued on her birth control pills even when they fucked around like rabbits.

He wasn't a bad man or a bad father in any sense, he was the cool parent who had let Jane get away with anything and everything. She on the other hand was the one who usually had to instill values and say 'no' which never went well with a spoilt brat.

"Wakey wakey" Jane burst into her room, letting all of Novel's peace and quiet slide out the open door.

"What do you want?" Novel groaned into her pillow.

"I just felt the need to remind you that you have a child who needs to be fed some certain amount of calories a day."

"I don't care." Novel didn't move from her position. "Just order in."

"But I love it when you cook mom." Jane climbed into the bed and sat on her mother's back. "Your food tastes so amazing."

Novel raised her head to take in gulps of air. "This is the reason why I don't feed you anymore, you're getting too fat to handle."

Jane gasped dramatically. "This is not fat, it's a sign of good living."

"First thing we're doing on Monday is to register you at a gym." Novel said shaking her daughter off.

"That would be abuse." Jane hugged a pillow to her chest. "I'm fifteen, anyone would call child care services and have me removed from your custody."

"Forever?" Novel smirked. "That sounds like a good plan to me."

"You love me too much mom."

"That love faded the moment you walked into my room. I think I need to start locking you out."

Jane snorted. "You like being in my business too much to have your own personal space."

"Whatever." Novel huffed. "Get off my bed"

"I'm not the one cooking."

Novel glared at her daughter then shook her head, quickly running through her morning duties she filled a cup with water and walked back into the room to find her daughter snoozing on the bed, in between the sheets she was supposed to still be wrapped up in if she hadn't been interrupted.

Jane squealed staring wide eyed at her mom. "What the fuck mom?!"

Novel looked at the empty glass in her hand then back to her mid drenched daughter. "Oops!, didn't mean to rudely awaken you from your slumber."

"Normal people would tap me or nudge me, not pour water all over me." Jane said obviously miffed.

"This is how I feel every single time you barge into my room sweetie so wipe that unattractive frown off your face." Novel said over her shoulder as she walked out. "And change those sheets."

The sound of her daughter's grumbling was like music to her ears.

Novel hid from her teenage daughter in her study. Jane was petty, a trait she didn't get from her father so she was expecting a retaliation from the water incident earlier and all the food she had prepared was not going to save her.