Price Family Book Store (ON HOLD)

Chapter 6- The Kindest Carer

Saturday morning was the day that Jonah woke up exhausted, stirring, tossing and turning, further disarranging the covers that he hadn't pulled over himself the night before. His eyes finally opened, his gaze set still on the sloping ceiling above his bed, the light from his windows shining across the room, rays of sunlight falling across his face. The dark-haired boy finally turned his head to settle his gaze on his alarm clock, seeing that he'd woken up as early as nine in the morning. His energy was inaccessible to him, which lead the teen to his decision to remain in bed for longer. Although, when he found he wouldn't be sleeping again that day, after lying still for a few more hours, he decided to get up immediately. With a sigh, he sat up, rubbing his face as he placed his feet on the floor and slowly pushed himself into a standing position, his hand finding the desk at his bedside, holding his tired body upright while he regained the strength that he seemed to have lost overnight.

Now dressed and regaining total control over his body, Jonah ventured downstairs, tiptoeing as he passed his parent's bedroom, considering the possibility of them still being asleep. The teen had already become used to doing this having allowed it to become a habit over the weekend. Though, this Saturday morning, he felt surprised that he remembered to do so, having forgotten the weekend before due to them being in the process of settling into their new home in this new town.
Jonah sighed, arriving in the kitchen, silence filling the entire house, telling him that he was the sole person awake that day. He didn't blame his parents, considering that, while he had been at school, they had still been arranging their new home, settling as best they could and as soon as they could.
He peered into the fridge, his eyes flicking from one side to the other as the teen noticed the significant lack of food, thinking about the meals that they'd had over the past week; either a takeout or a very small meal made from the little food that they had the time to buy throughout the time that they'd lived there. Or at least, Jonah couldn't see anything that he could make a plentiful breakfast from. The boy thought about the nights in which he'd ask his parents to order a takeout meal because he had judged the shelves of the cupboards and fridge void of food, and yet, his mother Hazel was always able to prepare a meal for the entire family. He'd watch her cook them something that she could easily 'throw together', as she would say, and yet Jonah still didn't possess the same capability of making something out of nothing, or at least, very little, in this case. They'd run out of milk the day before, leading the teen to close the fridge, disheartened and hungry, having to settle for dry cereal until somebody ventured into the high street to buy more. Jonah considered doing this himself, planning to leave the house to get some as soon as he could, which would have been immediately had he not been startled by a sudden vibration against the counter, followed by a blinding flash. His gaze switched immediately to the origin of the flash, seeing his mobile phone resting beside him, the dark-haired male realising immediately that the sudden light had been his text alert. Jonah picked up his phone and checked the screen, suddenly feeling more appreciative of the late morning that he got, seeing his screen showing that it was eleven o'clock.
Jonah smiled to himself, seeing the name 'Connor Price' above the message that he had just received, which read, 'Are you busy today?'
Jonah responded quickly, his fingers roughly hitting the screen to type the words, 'No. Why?'
It took a few minutes for Connor to text back, allowing the teen to eat handfuls of his cereal at a time while he waited, leaning over the kitchen counter as he gazed out of the kitchen window. At last, five minutes later, his phone went off again, the screen displaying Connor's name again. His messages read, 'I'm sick and I'm lonely.'
'Do you want me to come over?' Jonah asked him, almost immediately receiving another message.
'Could you?'
Jonah told him that he'd be there very soon, already roughly stuffing the cereal box back into the cupboard that it had been kept in, taking some slow and quiet steps into the hall, where he quickly grabbed his keys and favourite coat; a denim jacket with a cotton hood and sleeves. As he quietly slipped out of the house, he was immediately hit by the cold breeze whipping past his front door.
It was a freezing cold morning, the teen who now stood in the wind immediately pulling his coat on over his t-shirt. He attempted to pull his sleeves over his hands and yet still search his phone for the note that contained the address belonging to the friend that he was visiting, having saved it previously in the week.
The air was thick and damp, although the sun shone and birds chirped from distant trees. As the teenage boy briefly looked up, he saw that the sky overhead was brilliantly bright blue. It looked as though it would be a perfect day in summer, and yet it felt as cold as a harsh winter night. He zipped up his coat and continued walking.