Where The Lines Overlap [CTH]

[36] Sparks

"Hello, Mum!" Calum says happily, before making a beeline straight towards her and squeezing her tight. "Merry Xmas! I missed you!"

"Aww...how've you been, Cal?" She asks, before giving him a wary, motherly look. "You been good while you were away?"

"Of course, Mum! I'm always good!" He replied mischievously, before turning to me. "Mum, this is..."

"...Oh, you're even more beautiful in person." His Mother, Joy, exclaims, before taking her mittens off and giving me a welcoming hug. "How was your flight here, Alexia?"

"Thank you, s-so are you." I meekly said, before smiling at her. "It was quite long but we managed to make it alright."

"I'm sure you're both exhausted." She begins. "Let me take your bags and put them in the guest room."

"No, it's alright. I'll help you." I stammer, clutching onto the handle of my luggage, but Joy looked as if she would have been the type to be offended had I not let her, so I gave in.

"It's just down this hall from the kitchen, near the garage, the garden and the guest house." Joy adds before she made her way down the carpeted hall and into a medium sized room.

In the middle of the room, there was a metal double bed with white sheets, pillows and a grey duvet on top. There was a red standing lamp in the corner and an intricately patterned rug on the floor.

Calum and I listened as she to us explained where everything was.

"There's a bathroom across from your room. There are towels, rags and extra sheets in this closet. Everything in the bathroom is stocked, medicines, toiletries..."

"Mum, I know all this already." Calum teased, as he put a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm not talking to you." His Mum grins cheekily, the same way Calum does, before putting her hand over his face. "I'm talking to Alexia."

"Oh." Calum utters before gasping at his Mum. He was slightly red in the face. "Well, then."

"Anyway, you two. I need to start making our dinner as the sun is starting to set." Joy says, before heading out the door of the guestroom and disappearing down the hall for a few seconds.

Before we left the room, I poked Calum on the stomach and shot him a quizzical look.

"Ow, what?" He mumbles to me in confusion.

"You showed your Mum pictures of me?" I say to him under my breath.

"Well, I wanted to prove I wasn't making it up." Calum says before walking off.

"Making what up?"

"That I have a beautiful girlfriend." He exclaims before smiling a toothy grin at me.

"Oh Mum, what are we having for dinner, by the way?" I hear Calum ask, as I followed him back down the hallway to the kitchen.

"I made some pasta. Your Dad's starting a bbq of some sort...at the back, as we speak, I think." Joy answered, before looking over to me when I appeared in her sight and asking: "Do you like pasta, Alexia?"

"Yeah, I do!" I replied cheerfully.

"Lovely! Can you go say hi and help your Dad out in the garden before he burns the whole house down?" Joy jokes to Calum.

"Ooh good idea. I do love me a nice Aussie bbq." Calum says enthusiastically before planting a kiss on his Mum's cheeks. "Thanks Mum."

"Thank you, Mrs. Hood." I add, before Calum takes me by the hand and whisks me back to the hallway and to the living room.