Trials and Tribulations [Chaelisa]

Chapter 82 (part 1)

“Yeah,” she answered, wiping at her forehead with the back of her hand to rid it of the perspiration which coated it. “I’m ok,” she sighed truthfully, placing a grateful hand on her mom’s forearm.

“Nightmare?” Amy questioned knowingly and Lisa nodded her head minutely in answer to the query.

“Yes,” Lisa replied.

“It’s been a while since you last had one,” Amy remarked and Lisa shook her head in disagreement.

“No it hasn’t,” she responded, pushing herself up slightly in the bed so that she could talk to her mom properly.

“You haven’t said anything,” Amy commented as Lisa leant back against the head board, her eyes glancing at her alarm clock to find that it was just coming up to nine in the morning.

“I know,” Lisa said, reaching for the spare pillow beside her and pulling it over in to her lap. “I didn’t want to worry you,” she shared with Amy, her hand manipulating the fabric of her pillow case distractedly as her eyes watched.

“Are they still about the accident?” Amy probed interestedly, taking hold of Lisa’s hand to stop its fidgeting.

“Not exactly,” Lisa replied evasively.

“Do you think that we need to talk about them?” Amy asked and her daughter lifted her eyes and smiled at her.

“I don’t think so,” she said, squeezing her mom’s hand before elaborating a bit further. “It’s kind of weird but I actually find them useful.” Amy studied Lisa for a few moments, evidently debating whether to press the issue any further but she decided against it, trusting that if it was anything serious that her daughter would tell her.

“Ok, but you know where I am if you change your mind.” Amy accepted, leaving the offer open for future use.

“Yeah, I do,” Lisa acknowledged, squeezing her mom’s hand once more. Amy tucked a loose strand of messy hair behind Lisa’s ear and smiled happily, placated by her daughter’s response. “You know,” she started, her voice lowering deviously, “the reason that I actually came up here was to let you know that Jisoo’s out in the back garden destroying my flower beds.”

“She is?” Lisa asked spiritedly, her eyes lighting up in excitement.

“Yes,” Amy confirmed nodding, the corners of her mouth turning up in to an even wider grin. “I guess she finally figured out what the key that you gave her unlocks.” Lisa threw the pillow she’d been picking at to one side and quickly whipped back her duvet cover, almost hitting her mom in the face with one corner of it in her eagerness to go downstairs and join her best friend. She flew out the opposite side of the bed to where Amy was sat perched and hurried for the door to her room. “Please put some shoes on before you go outside!” Amy entreated, watching as Lisa disappeared hastily through the door, one hand lifting in to view over her right shoulder in silent recognition of the instruction. Amy shook her head from side to side in amusement as she heard Lisa bound down the stairs two at a time and she stood up, laughing to herself as she made her way out of her oldest daughters’ room and towards Jules’s.

Once downstairs, Lisa barely stopped in the hallway long enough to slide her feet in to her crocs before hurrying out the back door and on to the crisp lawn of the garden. Her eyes immediately fell on Jisoo who, with shovel in hand, was digging a very large hole in the soil which used to home a small segment of her mom’s petunias. Lisa allowed herself to watch Jisoo for a minute, pleased that her friend had finally realised which lock the key she’d given her for her birthday opened.

“So,” Lisa said, a smirk appearing on her face as Jisoo turned her attention in her direction. “You finally figured it out huh?” Jisoo plunged the shovel in to the ground by her feet and leant on the handle as she studied the younger girl approaching her.