The life and lies of Matty and I - J.Black

The new term and another disappearance

On the morning of the first day of school, Veronica was severely underprepared for what was going to happen. She had awoken on time, after having found an impossibility to sleep in late with a one year old in the house, but as she got up she found herself unfocused, unsure and left for a lot longer than usual to pick out an outfit to wear. And by the time she had finished getting ready she was running twenty minutes late than she normally was, which meant she would be dealing with a very grumpy Matthew. She held a quick pace as she walked the very short distance between the two bedrooms expecting to be met with a grumpy little boy who was still stuck in his cot. 

Yet to come to find his room empty. Immediately her chest tightened as she took into consideration the chance that he had escaped his cot and was somewhere else in the room, but she found herself coming up blank as she checked each tiny nook and crevice he could have worked himself into. Rather she tried to think of anything else which could have happened to the infant, only for her logical part of her brain to try to kick in an take over. Not that she was exactly listening, choosing rather to dash her way down the stairs to inform her father of the missing baby. 

"Dad. I can't find Matty." She rushed out the second she entered the kitchen not taking a second to look around the room. 

"What was that Ronnie?" Charlie asked turning to his youngest with a grin. As he stood beside an occupied high chair spoon feeding the 'missing' infant.

"I panicked and thought Matty had gone missing." Veronica took a moment as she worked on re-centering herself as the tightness in her chest resolved the longer she looked at the perfectly fine baby.  

"Oh. I heard you getting ready and thought I might as well as we don't want a grumpy Matthew on our hands. Do we?" Charlie had turned his final two words to the baby using a more teasing tone. The pair both being aware just how cranky the little baby could get and neither wanting it when everyone was returning to their normal work days. Matthew clapped his hands towards Veronica when he noticed the pair had stopped speaking and Veronica found herself giving him the fond smile she only held reserved for him, to her knowledge. 

"Good Morning Matty, you can't come out until you've finished your breakfast. Grandad will finish feeding you whilst I finish getting ready." Veronica explained to him before kissing the top of his forehead and moving to fix herself something to eat. She gently pulled at the large jumper she had chosen that morning, one which was big enough that she was sure it probably belonged to Jacob at one point before finding its permanent home in her wardrobe. She poured herself a bowl of cereal knowing that she had to eat but also knowing that the first day nerves would make it so she could not have something overly heavy. 

She pulled out the chair next to Matthew's high chair before taking a seat and diving straight into eating her food. She still had a lot to do before she was ready to go and therefore, could not take the time to eat slowly and or like a lady. Strong footsteps would take her concentration away from where it had been equally split between her bowl and the infant and towards the stairs. Bella had finally made her way to the bottom of the stairs dressed in a typical outfit for the girl, nothing particularly outstanding or something that would draw the attention of the student body towards her. From what Veronica could make out, Bella chose to dress as plainly as possible so there was less for the student body to talk about in regards to her other than her relationship. Which seemed like a big change in comparison to how the girl used to describe herself whilst she was at school in Pheonix. Another red flag for the girls relationship. Something Veronica would keep note of for now until she could make a strong argument in the future. 

"Bella, are you driving yourself in today?" Charlie asked his eldest already knowing the answer wanting to be interested in his daughters life yet knowing that it revolved around her current relationship. Charlie too, felt as though this relationship was not healthy, he had voiced it to Veronica this, but he was also aware that Bella had to figure this out for herself as she would not listen to her other family members and it would only ram a wedge further between them.