The Art of Courting

The Art of Courting- Chapter Twenty Four

I'm finally back into updating :) Sorry it's been forever!!

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

 

But it's just your attitude
It's tearing me apart
It's ruining everything
And I swore, I swore I would be true
And honey so did you
So why were you holding her hand
Is that the way we stand
Were you lying all the time
Was it just a game to you- Linger, The Cranberries

The weeks that followed the hospitalization of little Faye were hard on the whole O’Hara family. Will never left his daughters side half the time, and Chelsea had to constantly check to see if he’d eaten. Their father had decided that his son would have to take a year off to raise his sickly daughter before going to college to pursue his teaching degree. During that time, the whole family would pitch in to help look after the baby.

            “You going out, Cissy?” Sadie called to her older sister as she pulled on her coat. November was slowly coming to an end now and New York City was colder than ever.

Chelsea looked over her shoulder and smiled. “Yeah, we’re low on food supplies and I want to stock up for the next couples of weeks before winter break.” I also need to look at Christmas presents… I can’t believe it’s that time of year again already…

            “Oh, okay! See you later then!”

            She waved before closing the door and heading towards the car she shared with her two siblings. It let out a shudder before the engine turned on, and she had to sit there for a full three minutes before it warmed up enough for her to drive.

            The trip to the supermarket closest to her house was shorter than usual- no one seemed to want to be on the roads, especially in such cold weather. Chelsea pulled out the shopping list she’d written up earlier out of her handbag as she entered. No one glanced her way.

            It took a while for her to stock up on all of the vegetables the growing family needed, not to mention the meat she knew her father would consume. He was a true caveman when he wanted to be, and usually liked to snack on ham or salami. Her sister Sadie was the opposite and preferred to have a cupboard dedicated to sweets only to be eaten by herself. Just looking after the dietary demands of those two made Chelsea have a headache. Not to mention the amount of money it all cost.

            Her trolley was half full by the time she’d left the vegetable and butcher section.

            “Chelsea?” a voice asked in surprise. She turned to see Lewis, one of Jay’s many guy friends, behind her with a shocked look on his face.

            “Oh, hi Lewis.”

            “Do you eat that much food?”

            She blanched in embarrassment, before feeling her cheeks heat up. “N-no, this is for my whole family. There are fou- Well, five of us now.”

            “Ah.” Understanding lightened his eyes. “Hey, I heard you’ve been put in my year!”

            “Yeah… I was asked to skip a grade…” this is so awkward…  

            “So… How are you now that you and Jay… well, you know.”

            Chelsea shrugged. “I’m fine now.”