NEON

15. Not Too Late

Kaplan.

I sat on the couch, staring at the floor when my phone rang. What the hell? It's 1 am. I check the caller I.D and see it was unknown. This should be fun.

"Hello?" I ask quietly.

"Hi baby." I widened my eyes at the sound of my mothers voice. "I hope it's not too late." I shake my head immediately before I realised she can't see me.

"No no." I cleared my throat to rid the thickness growing.

"Your father told me all about your grades. The honour roll? I can't begin to explain how proud I am of you." I can see her smiling through her tone.

"I forget." I admit, laughing sadly. She laughed as well and I heard a sniffle. "How are you?" A tear falls and I quickly wipe it.

"I'm good." It doesn't sound like it.

"Mom?" It felt unusual to call someone that.

"Didn't your father tell you? I am gonna come back." I can imagine her shaking her head at him. "I am going to be right by your side." I can't help the tear that falls.

"Really?" I was putting away the anger I have bubbling for my dad's silence. He knows not to keep his mouth shut when my mother is involved.

"I want my family back." She cries. I sniffle with a laugh. "I want to see my beautiful baby grow up. I will see you grow up. I promise I will." She laughs and I cry.

I wipe my nose and look all around the dark house. "I miss you mommy." I pout and imagine when I was younger.

My mom would rub my head and kiss my forehead when I would cry. I miss moments like that. I want her here with me so she can rub my head and kiss away my frowns.

"I miss you too." She gets quiet. "I love you so much Kaplan. But it's time I go now." She kisses the phone. "I will see you soon my love." She hangs up and I cry.

I wasn't sure if they were happy tears or ones of sadness. It was a strong feeling because the next I did wasn't in my control.

I lifted myself from the couch and walked upstairs to Cyrus' room. I crawl in bed next to her and cradle her in my body. She stirs but latches onto my body as well. She finds my hand and holds it.

I fall asleep like that. For once in about three days I fall asleep. It's surprising that I end up falling asleep next to my sister, the girl that hates me, but whatever I guess.

___

"Kaplan. Wake up. Dad wants us." I groan and get out of Cyrus' bed. I rub my eyes as I make my way downstairs. "What's up dad?" Cyrus leans against the counter and I plop on the couch.

"I'm going to be in the town over for the weekend. It's only about half an hour away so if you need me feel free to visit me." He kisses the top of Cyrus' head.

I stand up and follow him to the front door. "You never told us where you were going to be dad." I hold the door open and he turns around to face me. He kisses my forehead while telling me Grand Recino Hotel.

"Bye babies. I love you." He calls and I shut the door. I wanted to ask him about Emily and why he felt the need to keep me out of the loop with my mother but one thought jumped to the front of my head.

"BOOKER!" I screamed and ran upstairs. Booker wasn't laying in my bed like I expected. The towels he used last night were folded neatly on top of the perfectly made bed.

"Want some cereal?" Cyrus asked me. I stared around my room for a shocking second and turned around to talk to Cyrus. I nodded my head and walked downstairs with her.

"So do you want to do anything on this fine Saturday?" She was excited about something. I grab two bowls from the top cabinet and set them on the counter.

"Wait today's Saturday?" I ask her in disbelief. She nods while I grab spoons from the drawer. She gets the milk and I grab cereal. Her favourite is Cocoa Puffs while mine is Frosted Flakes.

We eat in silence and I hear my phone go off in the living room. Excited that it might be my mom, I jump up and run to the living room, only tripping a few times from my socks on the tile floor.

"Hello?" I didn't check the caller I.D. I wish I would have when it turned out to be some telemarketer. I carry my phone with me to the kitchen and glare at my bowl.

"What's wrong?" Cyrus asks me. I swallow the lump and look up at her. "Kaplan . . . Are you okay?" Since when did she care.

"Yup." I snapped and picked up my half empty bowl. "No actually." I change my mood and rinse my bowl out.

"What happened?" She stands next to me and rinses her bowl.

"Mom called me last night." She dropped her spoon and bowl on accident and looked up at me with her mouth opened.

"What did she say?" Her big brown eyes started getting watery. I had to look away from her glossy eyes.

"She said that she was coming back to see us."

"When?"

"I don't know Cyrus." I sighed. She frowned and moved away from the sink. The front door opened and Askins walked in with a white envelope. "Hey Askins." Cyrus and I hugged our big brother.

"So guess what?!" He waved the envelope in our faces. "I got into Washington State University." All of us jumped up with cheer. Cyrus congratulated him while I gave him a giant hug.

"I wanted to tell you guys before I went to tell mom." My happy mood suddenly changed to depressed when I thought about him being able to physically see her.

"Isn't she coming here though?" Cyrus' small voice came out scared.

"I don't know. I thought she would stay in Washington?" He asked. Nobody noticed my mood change so I excused myself and tried to dial that number again.

Ring...

Ring...

Ring...

Voicemail.

"Mommy." I whisper and hang up the phone. My stomach began to tighten and I tried to call her again.

Something wasn't right and I felt it. I just don't know what's wrong.