Falling Fast

Chapter 27 - When the claws come out

Mum and Dad were just up when I got home at half ten. I walked into the kitchen intent on the fruit bowl after my late night binging not really thinking anything of it.

“What happened to you?” Dad asked.

“Peter,” Mum groaned. “It looks really nice, Zoey.”

“Huh?” I asked blearily. “Oh. Hair. Lexie finally convinced me. Haven’t we got any grapes?” I went to look in the fridge.

“Were you up all night too? Dan came back not looking much better.”

“Mum, we went to McDonald’s at two and left at seven, we ate junk and… Seriously, we have no grapes?” I slammed the door shut. “Ugh. I’m going to bed.”

“Lexie isn’t replying,” Dan said as soon as I got into our room.

“She didn’t give the guy my number,” I said. “We were making a point.”

He sat up and looked down at me from his bunk. “What point was there to make?”

“That I don’t need you to look after me.”

“But –”

“Night, Dan,” I said and flopped on my bed falling asleep almost instantly.

**************

When I stepped out of the shower late that afternoon I immediately cobbled together some granola and a yoghurt even though it was nearly dinner time. Mum came in from the back garden with a frown and concern in her eyes.

“What’s up?” I asked and sat on the counter.

She looked up at me and her eyes began to brim with sadness. “Grigory just told me about him and Katya. I’m sorry, hun.”

Oh so her name was Katya was it?

I shrugged. “It’s not like I liked him or anything.”

She toed her gardening shoes off and walked over to me. She put my bowl on the unit and held my hands. “I’ve had my share of broken hearts, Zoey,” she said softly.

“Please don’t hate him, Mum,” I whispered around the lump in my throat. “He never did anything. Not really.” Apart from stealing your first kiss. Don’t forget that.

She smiled sadly and gave me a much needed hug. “You’ll be ok,” she soothed.

“I know,” I said. It wasn’t much comfort right now. When I got distracted and thought about Grigory I felt like I wasn’t ever going to be ok, and the fact that he lived so close didn’t help, but I knew that eventually I would be. I sighed and let her go. “I have some Russian to learn.”

“Zoey, you don’t have to keep doing the classes if you don’t want to,” she said and rubbed my arm.

I nodded. “I know. But I want to finish this term at least. There isn’t long left and, well, it’s going to look good on my UCAS CV and I really enjoy it. I just wish the recording was of someone else.”

“Eat your breakfast first, yeah?”

“Normally you call it ‘horrifically late breakfast’. You must be off your game.”

She smiled. “I must be. What are you ever going to do with me?”

“Send you packing off to work,” I joked and picked up my bowl. “Seriously, how’s that going?”

She smiled properly this time. “Great. Busy, but really great.”

“Good. Dan keeps forgetting he’s got an allowance.”