Touch The Sky | ✓

Twenty-Four

Katie arranges to come to New York the following weekend, to visit both Terry and I. To my surprise, Mom and Dad announce that they're going to be joining us, although they'll stay in a hotel so that we've all got enough space.

I'm slightly nervous about the upcoming weekend, mostly because I'm not really sure where anyone stands with anyone else.

Has Mom gotten over herself? Does Katie even know anything?

Am I going to be stuck in the middle of it all?

Repeatedly throughout the week, I wake up covered in sweat and in a panic. I keep having the same terrible nightmare that I'm running through a field of long grass, desperately searching for Seth.

Katie's terrified sobs follow me as I run, her cries about losing the baby playing on repeat.

I'm not really sure why it's Seth I'm running after, but it's unsettling.

Between my exhaustion, our social lives and work, Seth and I don't actually manage to see each other that week.

As I stand in the arrivals area on Friday night, waiting for Katie and Stephen to arrive, Seth starts to sound a little antsy down the phone.

'So, remind me again why I'm not meeting any of the rest of your family this weekend?'

I sigh, looking up at the board and noticing the flight has now landed. 'I think that this weekend is going to be dramatic enough without adding you into the mix.'

He scoffs. 'What does that even mean, Cora?'

'Mom and Terry vaguely made up a couple of weekends ago but things still aren't great. I don't think Katie even knows anything about what's been going on...'

'I don't get it.'

I rub my temple with my free hand, starting to feel a little bit stressed. He actually sounds annoyed, which is fairly rare for him. 'Are you mad?'

I know he's been a bit put out that we've not been able to see each other this week, but I have too.

He huffs out a breath. 'I just don't understand. I really want you to meet my family. My family is already so excited, you know? Like, don't your parents want to meet the guy you're in a relationship with?'

I swallow roughly, beginning to understand a little bit better about the differences between our relationships with our parents. 'Well, I've not exactly told them about you yet. I know that sounds really bad, but we're not that close. The last time we all saw each other, it didn't feel like the right time.'

I know that it doesn't sound good, but my family situation is a little more complicated than usual at the minute. If I were getting serious with Seth at a different point in our lives, when Katie wasn't having a crisis and Terry wasn't furious with our mother, it would definitely be different, but I'm just trying to keep everything in the balance.

There's a pause. 'Right,' Seth finally says, his voice angry and clipped.

I close my eyes briefly. 'I wish we were having this conversation face to face.'

It's quite difficult to explain to Seth, what's been going on in my head this week. I'm still quite annoyed at Mom for how she's been treating Terry recently.

'What, you'd rather see my face when you basically tell me that you're embarrassed about me?' he lashes out bitterly.

It's pretty uncommon for us to fight, given that we're both relatively mellow personalities. Usually, if there's something going on that we don't like, we just talk about it calmly, but this feels completely different.