Until Harry - L.A. Casey Page 0,45
the bathroom and into my bedroom, where a cold chill wrapped around me, causing me to shiver. I found myself smiling and shaking my head when I found another set of Pokémon pyjamas, and it only caused my love for my mother to grow.
She was so thoughtful.
After I was changed, I put on some fluffy socks and slipped on a pair of new slippers before I blow-dried my hair. I didn’t bother with keeping it straight, but just blasted it dry, and when I was finished, I tied my hair on the top of my head in a messy bun.
I felt relaxed then.
Just as I was about to crawl into my bed and resign myself to the quiet and darkness, the doorbell chimed. I closed my eyes on a sigh and momentarily contemplated ignoring it, but I decided against that when I thought of all the people who had been by since I’d arrived, to pay their respects and offer their condolences for my uncle’s passing. I left my room and headed downstairs to greet whoever was at the door. My uncle deserved everyone’s respect and condolences, and I would happily accept them even if it killed me.
I opened the door, and through my sore eyes, I saw a very familiar face instead of a strange one. “Kale,” I said in surprise. “What are you doing here?”
His lip twitched as his eyes flicked down to my pyjamas before they resettled on my own. “Your mum said you came home because you couldn’t deal with everyone in the pub, so I came here to keep you company. I don’t want you to be alone right now.”
I whispered, “But I don’t deserve your comfort, I don’t deserve anything from you.”
Kale’s brow furrowed. “Why not?”
I shrugged. “Because I made everything horribly complicated for you, then just left and never spoke to you for six years.”
Kale’s lips thinned to a line. “Let’s get you into the sitting room, and we can watch a film or something. I’m not talking about this today, tomorrow or the next day. When things aren’t so fresh about your uncle’s passing, we will talk, but for now let’s just hang out.”
I widened my eyes for a moment but quickly nodded, turned and went into the sitting room while Kale shut the front door. I was glad for the few seconds alone because I felt like I was about to freak out. While I knew Kale and I would have to talk – and talk about everything – hearing him say it out loud sent me into a bit of a tailspin.
I dreaded to think how that conversation was going to go.
“Are you okay?” asked Kale, his voice startling me.
I numbly nodded. “I’m great.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You can’t lie to me, Lane.”
Isn’t that the bloody truth?
“Okay, I’m not great, but I’m not in bits either – not right now anyway.”
He gestured to the sofa. “Sit down and turn on something for us to watch. I’ll be back in a minute.”
I blinked. “Where are you going?”
“To make us tea, obviously.”
I was surprised when I snorted, and even more surprised when it brought a bright smile to Kale’s face. “A cup of tea would be perfect.”
He chuckled and turned on his heel. “Three sugars and loads of milk. On it.”
I felt my jaw drop open. “You remember how I take my tea?” I asked, my shock laced throughout my tone.
He stopped by the sitting room door and, without turning around, he said, “You think I’d forget it?”
I said nothing, so Kale proceeded to walk out of the room and down the hall to the kitchen. I gazed at the space he vacated for a few moments, before sitting down on the sofa and staring ahead at the blank television screen.
He remembered how I took my tea. I didn’t know if it was just an afterthought, because he’d made me so many cups of tea during my lifetime, or if it was a bit of knowledge he held onto after I left, and it killed me because I couldn’t ask. It would have been awkward. I couldn’t ask him any kind of question that related to feelings between us. I knew how that conversation went, and it wasn’t pretty.
Besides, a conversation about our past would be on Kale’s terms; I owed him that much.
I turned the television on and scanned through the channels until I landed on The Big Bang Theory. That was safe. It was a comedy show, and there was