• AMALIA •
Later that day, after we eat dinner, my dad walks into the living room, where Enzo and I are sitting, watching one of his shows.
Enzo giggles as soon as he sees him and climbs onto his lap, grinning from ear to ear. I smile as my dad wraps his arms around him, kissing his cheek.
He looks over at me. "What time does he have to be in school tomorrow?"
I frown. He goes back to nursery tomorrow. I want him to stay with me. "Half nine." I say.
"Okay." He responds. "I'll take him."
"Okay." I whisper, suddenly having an overwhelming feel of uselessness. I wrap my arms around myself and lean back, focusing on the TV. My phone dings with a message, and I look down at it.
ARCHER: We'll be back soon.
ME: Okay. :)
ARCHER: How are you feeling?
ME: Fine. Just a little tired. I might be asleep by the time you get back.
ARCHER: Okay. Goodnight, then.
ME: Goodnight. [love heart emoji x2]
"I wanna talk to you." My dad says.
"What about?" I ask as I shove my phone into my hoodie pocket.
"You and Archer. When are you getting your divorce?" He asks me.
I look over at him. I have the urge to tell him everything, but I don't. "We haven't really talked about it yet." I say quietly.
"Oh." He responds. "Do you want me to look into it for you?"
"No. It's okay." I tell him. "We can do it."
"Alright." He says. He leans back and looks down at Enzo as he grips onto his hand. He smiles. "I like it when you both stay with me."
"Me too." I say. "Enzo likes being here."
Hearing his name, he looks up at me and giggles. He stands, balancing on my dad's legs, and wraps his arms around his neck, hanging onto him like a koala on a tree. I laugh.
"I'm gonna go to bed." I say softly. "Enzo, come on."
"I can put him down if you want, baby."
"Oh, okay." I whisper. "Thanks."
I lean over and kiss Enzo's cheek, then hug my dad goodnight before slowly going to my room. When I get there, I exhale a pained breath and sit down on the bed, turning to lay down.
I get my phone out and turn on an alarm for half eight so I have time to make Enzo a special breakfast before he goes to nursery.
I put it on charge and go to sleep.
•
I wake up.
I sit up, furrowing my eyebrows because my alarm hasn't gone off yet. I pick my phone up, eyes widening when I see that it's ten past nine.
"Dad!" I shout.
No response.
Panic swirls inside of me and I get out of bed, ignoring the pain surging through my body as I rush down the stairs.
"Dad!"
He pokes his head out of the living room door. "What's wrong?"
"Have you taken Enzo yet?" I ask, rushing past him into the living room. I let out a relieved breath when I see him on the couch, wrapped up in his coat and ready to go.
My eyes water.
"Mama!"
"Hi, honey." I say sadly. I sit beside him on the couch and pull him into my lap, wrapping my arms around him. "I'm gonna miss you while you're in nursery." I whisper.
"I'll miss you too, mama." He responds. "You see me soon though."
I smile. I lean down and kiss his cheek. "I love you."
"I love you mama." He says, leaning on me.
"It's time to go." My dad tells us softly. "Come on, Enzo." He adds, his voice full of something similar to regret.
Enzo crawls to the end of the couch, and my dad lifts him up.
"I'll be back soon, sweetheart. Maybe go back up to bed and get some more sleep."
I don't respond. When I hear the front door open and close, I lean back on the couch and let out a sob. Tears upon tears fall down my face as I hug my knees to my chest.
"Amalia?"
I let out a small gasp as I snap my head up to the sound of Archers voice. He's standing in the doorway, concern creasing his eyebrows. He rushes over to me and sits down, wrapping his arm around me. "What's the matter, princess?"
I turn to bury my head in his chest. He sets his hand on my back, and I sob again.
"Amalia." He whispers, my name a plea on his lips.
"I was supposed to wake him up and make him breakfast." I say. "I slept in. I can never do anything!"
"Who, Enzo?"
I nod, sniffling. I pull back and put my head in my hands. "I can't do anything for him. It's always my dad doing it. My dad takes him to school. My dad puts him to bed."
"Because you're hurt. He doesn't want you to exert yourself."
"I feel so useless." I whisper. "I can't do anything, not even for my own son."
"Of course you can. You're injured. You need extra help for a little while but soon things will go back to how they were and you'll do it all." He tells me, rubbing his hand up and down my back in a soothing gesture. "It's okay."
"No it's not."
"It is." He whispers. He sets his hand on my shoulder, then puts two fingers beneath my chin and tilts my face toward him. I sniffle. He lets out a small sigh and wraps his arms around me again, tucking me into his side. He plants a kiss on my lips and smiles down at me. "You're an amazing mother, princess."
My bottom lip wobbles and I start crying again.
•
Archer drops Alexandra off at her new school halfway through the day, and I make food for when he comes back. I took food tech in secondary school, and I remember we only ever made one thing that was actually edible. I decide to make that.
Archer comes back a few minutes after it's done, and I save the rest for later, for when Enzo and Ally get back from school. I pass a plate into my dad, then put Archer and I's onto the kitchen island. I grab drinks and sit down, waiting for him to walk in.
When he does, he smiles at me. "What's this?"
"I made you food." I say. "I haven't tried it yet, though. So if it's bad, just pretend it's not."
He laughs. "Alright."
He sits down and takes a bite. His eyes widen, and I brace for him to spit it out. "This is great." He says. "I didn't know you could cook."
"I can't." I admit. "That's the only thing, really."
"It's really nice." He promises, taking another bite.
I pick some up on my fork, taking a bite, and I grimace. "Liar! This tastes horrible!" I spit it out into a tissue and gag.
"You said to lie." He defends.
"I was joking." I roll my eyes. I sigh. "Sorry."
"You don't need to be sorry." He responds.
"I wanted to make you something nice."
He grins. "Well, I appreciate the thought."
I sigh and stand, taking the plates away and dumping the food into the bin. I put the dishes in the sink and begin washing them.
I feel him come up behind me, but I don't turn around. He wraps his arms around my waist and pulls my back flush against his chest, bending down to plant a kiss on my shoulder. "I'll do those. Go sit down."
"It's fine." I assure him.
He makes a "hm" noise and kisses my shoulder again.
"What're you doing?" I ask, my lips tilting upwards.
"I missed you."
"What?" I laugh. "You saw me just now."
"That's not what I meant."
I pause, looking up at him. "I missed you too."
He smiles and plants a small, short kiss on my lips. I kiss him back, this time for longer, but still just as gentle.
I turn back to the dishes, and he unwraps his arms from around me, leaning on the counter next to me instead. We talk as I finish washing them, then turn to him.
He holds onto my hand, then wordlessly pulls me up the stairs, into my bedroom. He guides me over to the bed and sits down, pulling me down with him.
"My dad asked when we're getting a divorce.." I whisper. "He even offered to help. I think I need to hurry up and get into that Married Ladies group. I can't do the dinner here, because my dad will know."
"Amalia." He says softly. "Why don't you just tell him that you need help?"
I snap my head over to him. "I can't. He barely already trusts the fact that I can take care of myself, this'll just make it worse." I tell him. "I don't want him to think I can't look after Enzo, either."
"He won't think that."
"He won't say he thinks it, but he will." I respond. "He probably already does."
Archer sighs. "Okay. How about you do it at the shop? I'll help make food."
"You calling me a bad cook?" I ask, lips tilting upwards at the corners.
"Mhm."
I feign a gasp. He laughs. He wraps an arm around my shoulders and smiles down at me. Then his eyes scan my face, and he brushes my hair back from my eyes.
•
I wait at home while Archer gets Ally from school. I wait in the living room, but stand up when I hear the door open.
I pause in the doorway when I see Alexandra stomping up the stairs. "I'm not going back!" She yells.
"Ally!" Archer shouts, sighing as she gets to the top of the steps and walks angrily to her room. I can hear the floor creak from how hard she's stomping.
"What happened?" I ask, concern blazing through me. "Is she okay?"
"She didn't make any friends." He says.
I frown. "Aw." I'm suddenly reminded of when she was younger, on her first day of dance class when she was too afraid to go talk to anyone.
"Can you try talk to her?" He asks. "Please?"
"Okay." I respond. I walk up the stairs, then go to her room. I knock.
"Go away, Archer!" Alexandra yells from inside.
"It's me." I inform her.
"You go away too!"
"Please?"
She doesn't reply. Carefully and quietly, I open the door. She's laying on her bed, her face buried in her pillow.
I make my way over to her, sitting down on the bed. "Ally." I whisper softly.
"What?" She asks, her voice breaking.
"What happened?" I question gently.
"I have no friends!"
"It's only your first day, Ally."
"No one even spoke to me!" She exclaims. "I tried to talk to people but they all ignored me!"
"You just need to give it time."
"I had to eat lunch in the toilets!" She sobs.
Sympathy swirls inside of me. "Hardly anyone makes friends on their first day. You can try again tomorrow."
She shakes her head. "I'm never going back!"
"Ally.." I whisper, "I know it may seem like the worlds coming down on you if you don't have friends yet in school, but it's not. If people can't realise how amazing you are, they're not the type of people you should want to be friends with anyway."
"None of that matters if I'm a loner!" She yells. "Just get out! You're not helping!"
"Okay." I say gently. "I'm sorry, honey."
She doesn't respond as I leave.