mutuality | wroetoshaw

twelve

The elevator finally comes to a stop on ground floor, and through the glass windows I spot my parents outside, waving to me the moment they see me. My pace picks up to a run, and I find myself opening the door, launching myself into their arms the first opportunity I can.

My mum hugs me first, her arms wrapping round the entirety of my body, kissing my forehead. I really have missed her smell, and just everything about her. My dad then joins the hug, wrapping his muscular arms around us both. It's perfect. Even more perfect than I'd been imagining for the last two weeks, and I savour every single moment of it.

"Oh, my baby, I've missed you!" My mum mumbles into my hair, and it takes everything inside of me in that moment to not break down in her arms and cry, because I've missed her so much.

"We all have! Liza's been asking for Auntie Tilda everyday for the last month," my Dad adds, and that does it. That's the thing that makes me cry.

"Oh, Lee! You made her cry!" My mum scolds lightheartedly, pulling away from the hug to wipe my tears away.

"Happy tears, though, right?" Dad asks, and I nod my head ferociously.

"Definitely happy tears. I'm so excited to see her," I admit to them, and it's not surprising, really. Everyone in the family knows how much I love Eliza.

"She's excited to see you too. Let's make a move, then, shall we? We decided we'll come back down in the new year to do the things we wanted to do in London. Let's just get back on the road before all the rush hour traffic," Dad says, and I'm grateful that we can get home sooner rather than later.

"Oh, by the way...I invited my friend back for Christmas. His family is on a cruise for the holiday and I didn't want him to be alone on Christmas, is that okay?" I ask, the three of us walking towards the elevator.

"Of course it is, honey. What's his name? Is he your boyfriend?" My mum asks, and she's so predictable.

"I knew you'd ask that! And no, not my boyfriend. He's one of my close friends, one of the guys I work for," I tell her, entering the elevator.

"Ah, one of the group, the Sidemen?" My dad asks, and I nod my head.

"Yes. His name is Harry. I think you'll both like him. He's really lovely," I tell them truthfully.

"Well, a friend of yours will be liked by us, I'm sure," my dad says, and we reach my floor. "We'll make him feel as welcome as if he was one of ours," he continues, and it's so sweet that I might start crying again if he's not careful.

Unlocking my door, I call out Harry's name, letting him know that I'm back and so are my parents. I find him knelt down on the floor with a dustpan and brush, cleaning the floor.

"What the hell are you doing?!" I exclaim, as he turns around to look at me. I watch as his cheeks flush a light shade of red, before his face turns neutral again.

"Oh! I was just tidying up. Nothing worse than coming home to something less than perfect," he tells me, and I'm not sure whether I'm slightly offended or impressed.

"Are you sure he's not your boyfriend?" My mum whispers into my ear, and I physically have to restrain from swatting her away out of pure embarrassment.

I move away from her slightly, and in between Harry and my parents.

"Harry, these are my parents. Mum and dad, this is Harry," I introduce, still baffled at the fact he was literally cleaning my apartment for me.

"Harry! I'm Lee, nice to meet you," my dad says, moving forward to shake his hand. Harry does so, engaging in a brief conversation whilst I tell my mum off lightly.