Amelie
The car halted right in front of my family house and I stepped out of the car. Anna helped me with my bags while I led the way to the doorstep. Everything was just as I remembered; the little garden by the right where I and Ben would always play pretend as farmers, and by the left was an old pool that lost its functionality when I was still a child.
I gave myself several minutes before raising my hand to the wooden door. The sound of footsteps and moving furniture alerted me of someone's presence inside the house. Although I had already informed them of my visit during the drive, I still expected my parents to be in shock at my sight.
The door swung open and the figure of my mother, Elizabeth lodge, came to light. A woman in her mid fifties whose physical appearance was not so different from mine. But unlike my slender shape, my mother had a little bit of fat around her bones.
"Amelie dear, welcome." She said as she opted for my bags. Anna handed it over to her before turning towards the car. Her job was done, but it felt kind of weird that she now knew my family house. I didn't like her, she was a liar just like Liam.
"You've lost weight, have you been eating at all?" Mom asked as her pupils scanned me all the way from my head to toe. 'Of course not!' I screamed mentally. There was no way I could have added weight when I was sharing a house with the antithesis of my very existence. "Oh, I nearly forgot. Ben's coming back from school today."
"What about dad?" I asked.
"He's been out of town for a while. You know, duty calls."
My father, Emmanuel Lodge was a journalist and news reporter. His work was now a bit demanding for someone his age, but he had to work for Ben's tuition fees. My salary from Storm was barely enough to cover my expenses, and I had spent all the divorce money on rebranding myself, and getting a new job.
"The girl from earlier, who is she?"
"A friend from work." I answered briefly.
Mom's eyes glided away from the bag she was carrying and fell onto me in a very unnatural way. When she looked at me like that there was only one thing she could possibly want.
"When do you plan on getting remarried, you've got wrinkles now."
I didn't listen, I turned towards the kitchen and went straight for the fridge. I just spent three hours without breaks on the road. I barely had food in my stomach, and definitely did not have the strength to engage in an argument with her.
A year after my divorce to Liam, this was all my mother could think about, me getting married to another man. I hadn't even had time to heal back then. We fell out with each other and it was pretty heated. I had intended to start afresh in Wales back then, but because of her I had to relocate. That way I wouldn't have to constantly deal with her nagging.
"I just got here mom, can I rest a bit?"
"I'm sorry." She was quick to apologise which was a nice development. But now that I have given her the idea that I would answer her later, I had to mentally prepare myself for their reaction after I tell them about Liam.
I went ahead and settled on one of the kitchen stools as mother pulled my bag up the stairs and into my room. I was still angry, angry at the fact that I was running away again from a man I so wanted to crush. Unless put in his place, Casmir wouldn't stop with his harassment.
*
*
I got out of bed by five in the evening. Ben wasn't home yet, but mom was already preparing a massive dinner for the family. I went straight to the kitchen to help her. Although we worked in silence, I could feel my mother's eyes always stealing a peek at my face. She wanted to repeat her question again. But just when her lips parted for her to speak, a knock came to the door.
"I'll get it." I lowered the bowl of whisked eggs and immediately went for the door. I already knew it was Ben on the other side, but I still decided to ask. Our family house was pretty old fashioned, there was no peephole, and the only way to identify who was knocking was through voice which wasn't very reliable.
He didn't answer and I immediately opened the door for him to enter. He was big for a nineteen year old boy, way too big even. His figure towered right above me just like Liam's, but unlike my ex husband, he had a bright smile on his gentle face.
"Sis Amy." His big arms swung around me and he captured me in a warm embrace. Weren't boys his age supposed to always fight with their big sisters? I returned the hug just before mom came and stole him away from me. Ben was the baby of the house. Even when he was a teenager my parents still treated him like a child.
My mom wasn't a fan of him living on campus, but the distance from the university and the house was not very friendly. It was obvious she had missed him, and she made that abundantly clear.
"Mom didn't tell me you were coming, is everything okay?" Ben's deep baritone stopped me in-between steps. Maybe I should just come clean with them. I had intended to drop the bombshell during dinner like they did in most TV shows, but I didn't want anyone choking to death on their food.
I took a deep breath before turning around to meet their inquisitive eyes.
"Liam Hardwood is in London, he wants me to be his wife."