Chase You

08; burden

I didn't tell her that I may still have feelings for her and I could never tell her the real reason about why we couldn't be exclusive, and I'm definitely not going into the fact that I used to like Ben. A lot. Nobody will ever know that.

We both fell asleep soon after, it was super late because of all the talking we did so it didn't really feel like much of a sleep when we both woke up again when her dog jumped on us and smothered us in kisses.

"You should close your door properly before bed." I muttered in my sleepy state.

She just giggled. "He's big enough to stand up on his hind legs to open it himself now."

I muttered an agreement. From the last time I saw Tyler, her dog, he was about four years old, but now, he's huge and he's still growing.

Tyler wouldn't stop licking my face and I laughed as I tried to shield myself by ducking my head under the cover, but he just ended up pulling it off me and laying down flat in my chest.

"He makes you happy." Marcy mused as she walked out the door.

I muttered an agreement to myself and played with Tyler for a bit before getting out of bed and creeping down the stairs.

"Mum and dad are at work." She said as I entered the kitchen and took out a bowl from the cupboard.

Her silky brown hair swayed along with her as she handed me a box of Cornflakes and some milk from the fridge before leaving out the door.

I followed her into the living room once I made my cereal and sat down beside her on the comfy sofa. She was watching Adventure Time and I had to stifle a laugh.

She slapped my arm and went back to watching her cartoons, meanwhile, I contemplated how my mum would react to seeing me later on today. Hopefully she won't be at work.

About two hours passed before I was ready to meet mum. It was a little nerve wracking because I haven't seen her in two years.

"Make sure you say hello from me." Marcy smiled as she pulled me into a hug. Her honey scented perfume wafted around as I cradled myself in the crook of her neck. "And Flynn, do take care of yourself. I'm still here, whenever."

"Cheers." I smiled as I pulled away. "Merry Christmas if I don't see you before then."

She smiled at me as I stepped out onto the front porch before making my way towards my car that was parked across the road. The icy cold air bit at my skin as I got into the car and turned the heaters up on full blast and secured my seatbelt.

The screen on the dashboard read that it was only six degrees and I grumbled to myself about how it was only going to get colder and colder and soon enough, we'd see snow. Hopefully this year, we'll have a beautiful white Christmas unlike the last two Christmases. They sucked.

I sped down the tiny suburban streets and followed the signs towards the motorway that led to Sheffield. I felt even better then yesterday, and I wasn't even freaking out in the slightest. If anything, I was super psyched to see mum.

It took about an hour before the navigation led me to the town centre. Mum's flat was close to here, but all the roads were so tiny and there were a lot of road works too, so I spend half an hour just waiting in traffic.

I finally reached her house and didn't hesitate to jump out the car and grab my bag. Her flat complex looked nice, and it was very tall too. It almost looked like one the complexes you'd see in London.

With a deep breath, I walked up to the front door and stood in front of the buzzer thing. It took me a while, but I finally found the right one and pressed it.

"Hello?" Her voice spoke through the speaker.

"Hi mum." I said boldly. I heard the noise of the door unlock and took my finger off the speaker.

I pushed open the creaky wooden door and hurried up the staircase, barely taking in all the other surroundings. It was when I got to flat 2.A, I felt kind of uneasy and regretful.

With a deep breath, I balled my sweaty hand into a fist and knocked three times on the door. Almost immediately, she opened it, as if she was stood behind the door before I had even arrived.

Her once long golden locks were now cut short and sat right on her shoulder, but her face looked the exact same; The chubby cheeks I had inherited were still there, and her matching brown eyes were soft and comforting. We just stood there for the longest time, taking each other in. It was kind of overwhelming. Actually, that's a bit of an understatement.

She pulled me into a big bear hug and I froze in my place for a few moments before I wrapped my arms around her too and nuzzled my head against hers. I was taller than her, so I was easily able to just peer behind her and notice the lack of christmas decorations. Mum was also festive, just not as much as Karen. I don't think anybody could be as festive as Karen.

Her flat didn't seem homely at all. There wasn't much furniture, but the furniture she did have looked nice and pretty. It was just sparse and nothing like mum at all.

Nonetheless, I walked in anyway and rested my bag against the door and kick my shoes off to the side. Mum smiled at me and started making me a cup of tea.

"Thanks." I smiled as she placed it down on the table in front of me. She took a seat opposite.

"How are you? How is uni?" Mum smiled.

"I dropped out of university a few weeks ago, oh, and I've also been diagnosed with Cyclothymia. Things are going well at the moment." I put bluntly and took a sip of my tea.

"You dropped out? Didn't you go to Cambridge?"

"Nope." I said, popping the 'p'.

She just ducked her head and took a sip of her drink. I wanted to ask her so bad about why she left, why she never rang, why she never even sent a letter. However, I didn't want to spoil the mood either. Maybe she'll tell me another time, when she's ready. I'm hoping so, at least. I had to get to the bottom of this, I deserved it.