The Right One

Two

Alex frowned as if offended, "Just mum and Hope? What about me? I've been taking care of her as well."

Sophie ignored him and continued, "Mum has been with me since I got to the hospital. She and Hope have gone back to pack her things. She'll be moving in with us for the time being to help take care of the baby."

"That's a great idea," Raymond nodded to emphasize his words. "Hold on . . . Hope is back?"

Sophie nodded. It then occurred to her no one had told him. "Yeah. She got back home two days ago."

"I thought she was writing her exams . . . ?" Raymond asked, confused.

"She's done with them," Sophie clarified.

"Oh, okay. That makes sense," Raymond nodded. "We should probably take this conversation outside so as not to wake the baby."

"She's probably going to sleep off the whole day and then keep everyone up all night," Alex pointed out. "But we should probably go outside. We have a lot to catch up on."

The others agreed so they quietly made their way out of the room.

•     ~     •

"You really should come with me," Hope's mum said, dropping the piece of clothing that was supposed to go into her bag and turning to face her daughter.

"For the umpteenth time, mummy . . . No," Hope refuted.

"I can't just leave you inside this house by yourself," her mum insisted as she distractedly threw a wrapper into her traveling bag.

Hope rolled her eyes although careful not to let her mum see. "I'm a big girl, mum. I can take care of myself. You don't live with me in school, you know."

"But at least in school, you have a roommate," her mum countered. "What are you going to be doing in this house by yourself? You know it's not advisable for you to be alone all the time with your condition."

"Anyone that hears you say it like that will think I'm pregnant. Mummy, I'll be fine. Nothing's going to happen to me here. We have neighbors in case of any form of crisis which there won't be so there's nothing to worry about," Hope insisted.

"If this is you trying to reassure me, you're failing woefully," her mum pointed out with a scoff.

"Mummy now! That house will be too cramped for all of us oo."

Her mum shot her an incredulous look that read 'That big house? Say something else.'

"Let's pack your things and get you back first. We'll talk about this later," Hope concluded with a sigh.

Her mum looked like she was about to argue before deciding to drop it. "Fine, but just so you know, this conversation is far from over. You're not staying in this house alone."

Hope knew better than to keep arguing the subject so she decided to drop it. Maybe she could talk to Sophie about it and convince her to convince their mum. She couldn't afford to move in with them in that house where her mum would be monitoring her every move.

They finished packing and ordered a cab back to Sophie and Alex's place. Alex had initially insisted on driving them home and back but her mum had asked him to stay with his family instead.

They soon got to their destination and Hope and her mum made their way inside the compound. Hope turned the knob and the door opened as it hadn't been locked in the first place. Hope followed her mum inside with her mum's bag flung over her right shoulder.

Hope's eyes involuntarily flew over the interior of the house the way they usually did whenever she stepped inside. She'd fallen in love with the house the very first time she had set foot in it. It was a huge house painted pure white with streaks of color that came from the paintings and picture frames around. She loved how it managed to be both simple and elegant at the same time.