Lonely Neighbor [H.S.]

xxvi. I'm sorry, Harry.

She reciprocated my hug, all tight smiles and being prim and proper. As soon as she let me go, her nose scrunched up in what I thought was disgust while her eyes scanned the inside of my apartment. I watched her walk further into the living room.

"Honey, since when did you clean your apartment? There's a thin layer of dust on your table. See?" She swiped a newly-manicured finger on my coffee table showing a layer of dust that could only be seen by a freaking microscope.

Is she really serious right now?

"I didn't have time to really clean my place through. The university's holding their finals right now and the teachers are busy as h.ell." I padded towards my kitchen and started to pour water into the kettle. "Coffee? Tea? Water?"

"Coffee with cream and no sugar."

I made myself busy by putting the kettle on the stove, pulling two mugs out and getting the tin full of coffee. I also asked her if she wanted anything to eat but she just shook her head as always.

"So, how's dad?"

"Eh.. Doing well. Busy with the restaurants. He's actually in Australia this week. There were some mishaps with the management, I gathered."

"And Claire?" I glanced at her.

She was busy typing on her phone as she told me all of what my sister has been up to.

Apparently, she already knew that Claire was expecting (mother's instinct, she claimed) and instead of making it a surprise to Claire's husband, she downright spilled it. I say, the aftermath was hilarious. I was giggling as I imagine Claire accidentally spitting her cranberry juice at Romeo's lap as our mother asked what they'll name their baby to Jacob, and Romeo hysterically crying right after. I would ask Claire about that later on.

"Enough about them. Will you tell me what the heck happened to you yesterday?"

I bit my lip as I told her that I'm fine and it was just an accident. That I'm alive and kicking. She didn't acknowledge that and kept on ranting about my recklessness and stubbornness.

"How would it be fine when you're busily proposing a business to Mr. Harmon, that you'd, might I add, been wishing to be funded about for months now, only to have it interrupted and postponed because you to got a call about your daughter being in an accident, huh?"

"Excuse me?" I was gob smacked. "Mom, I was in an accident! You should be thankful that it wasn't anything serious."

The screeching noise of the boiling kettle was added to the voices of my mother and me as we answered each other back and forth. I blindly turned the stove off beside me.

"Jeez, Samantha! You're really hard-headed, you know? I don't want you to die or anything but your 'little' accident could've caused us a fortune! Thank goodness, Mr. Harmon understood and rescheduled our meeting." She abruptly stood up, the stool almost toppling behind her.

"I could've drowned!"

"That's not the point, Samantha. It's because of your recklessness and this dream of yours of being adventurous and whatnot. It's making you do stupid things."

"I'm not reckless. I didn't do a stupid thing. Swimming to get a really sentimental bracelet that my best friend gave to me wasn't stupid."

"I thought sending you to boarding school in England were enough. It's still isn't." My mother shook her head disapprovingly at me.

I didn't reply.

Memories of me being sent away from my family because of what I did when I was young still haunting on my mind. I watched as my mother's phone vibrated and flashed for a second before she glanced at it.