***James***
I exit my room and head straight down to the dining room, earning some quiet chatter from the staff as I approach the doorway. I enter, seeing my mother and Lottie sat at the table, a sight that still felt foreign to me without my father there.
My mother jumps out of her seat, and she rushes over to me, hugging me tightly. I wrap my arms around her too, apologetically, because I know what I have put her through lately on top of losing my father, and she has been so strong regardless. Her resilience floors me.
"Oh my sweet boy," she says loudly in relief, "I was so worried."
She pulls back and grabs my face in her hands, an expression of pride on her face.
"Your father-" she begins to say before her eyes go watery. I nod at her, because I understand what she cannot say. She
