Azure

CHAPTER2

*Two weeks later*

“Mumm!!”, I yell from the stairs

“Come take a look at this”, I make my way down the stairs to the living room where she and my dad are sprawled. My brother left minutes ago to school

I woke up this morning to an admission notice from the college I applied to and immediately thought of showing it to my parents, after my shock wore off. The long awaited admission is finally here

I walk behind the couch they are on, stretching my hands between them with the screen on and the notice in black and white. My dad takes my phone from my grasp, together with my mum, his wife they read the email out loud pausing with every full stop to digest the sentence they just read

Mum is the first to hop off the couch and envelope me in a hug, her husband followed suit after and they tell me just how happy they are that I have gotten my admission

Dad urges mum and I to go get whatever I may need for school and not waste a second more. He hands over his credit card and personally sees us off to the garage where I get into Mum's car as she drives us off to the mall

On the drive there mum asks for the list I made a while ago, asking me to go through it, to cross out what I may not need anymore and to add what I may have forgotten

We arrive at the mall in half an hour and the first stop made is to get underwear, mum and I pick out cotton panties, bras without the underwire, pajama sets, period panties and I sneak in a few sexy one pieces and lingerie.

I smile slyly as mum swipes the card, the smile freezing on my face as my eye catches that of a man by the entrance. He stops as our eyes meet, his eyes do a quick sweep of the inside before landing back at me and the bags obviously filled with lady underwear. I look away in embarrassment. When I lift my head back up he is gone.

Mum engages me in conversations as we make our rounds, the clothes we got mainly consists of baggy outfits, winter wear and very few bodycon, we get more boots than sneakers and heels, a few face caps and beanies. A few trips to the car and all the bags are secured

I smiled at every d**k, Tom and Harry, engaging the staff in conversations, asking for their opinions since they work there. Mum dropped advice here and there when needed

Mum winks at me on the drive home, taking a different turn from the one that leads to the house

“Let's have some girl time”, she says focused on the road a wide tooth smile on her face

I smile, connecting my phone to the car's Bluetooth, Mum and I sing loudly to the songs from my playlist. It has been a while since we had this much fun together. We used to when I was in high-school before I got my car, not too often though but enough. We have gone through half the songs by the time the building magnifies into view

Mum parks around the block, we both get out of the car, she ensures the car is locked and secured before leading the way to the cinema, she buys two tickets to a romcom, warmly holding my hand in hers as we go get snacks

My dad definitely knows where we are, I saw mum share her live location with him earlier, their romance sickens me in the best possible way. We head for our seats, the lights still on as other people make their way in. Mum chatters away telling me how much she would miss me when I am gone, how she hopes I would come home during the holidays, how happy she is that I would be going to college, how grateful she is to God for giving her the kids he did. As she goes on and on a figure catches my eye

A man, the face familiar but I am yet to place it, on his arm a female, short in comparison, looking fragile beside his frame. I turn away before I am accused of being a creep for staring too long and tune back into mum's chattering. The lights turn off a while later and the screen before us comes to life, the whole room cackles with laughter at the comedic scenes, mum points and whispers in-between. The man is gone, clean out of my mind before the movie even reaches its peak. The couple on the screen amuse me with their antics and before long I am absorbed in the movie

As the lights turn back on, mum and I stride to the exit and towards the hallway, it is already dark outside and I genuinely am craving my bed. My eyes shut slightly as I yawn and stretch ultimately cause me to run into a wall, okay maybe not a wall I soon realize, as my eyes blink open. Just my luck, I run into the same man I saw earlier, upon closer inspection, I realize he also is the same person I saw at the mall. What is it with him and not staying put

He looks down at me, not on me, at me and I crane my neck to look up at his face, the distance and intensity causing me to look back down, and suddenly the plain black shirt on him looks like the most interesting thing I have ever witnessed

P

I clear my throat seconds later, my voice clear and loud enough for just his ears as I apologize for not paying enough attention to my surroundings. He straightens casting a glance at my mum before nodding an acknowledgment to my apology

I scurry away from him to my mum, taking a glance back as we resume walking. Mum’s hold on my hand is firm, probably to keep me from injuring myself or falling over. I glance back and the man seems to be in a heated argument with the lady from earlier, heated meaning the lady is ranting, hand gestures and all and he just stands there with a bored expression not even glancing at her, it is almost like she is talking to herself

The ride home is short, mum taps me awake when we arrive. We leave the bags in the car with the intention of getting them out tomorrow as we both drag our exhausted bodies to bed