Heart Strings

Chapter Thirteen

Henry's POV

It was Friday night and I was sitting at the table with my mom and sister. I made lasagna for the three of us. Mom hasn't touched her plate, sipping on red wine that was staining her lips. Sabrina was watching something on her table as she bit into a meatball.

The table wasn't anything special, just something to keep her entertained. She had finished all the pages of her coloring book. I didn't want her playing with rocks and bugs anymore. She seemed to like it, which I took that as a good thing.

"Where is Chad?" Mom asked suddenly.

I choked on my water and looked up at her as I placed my glass down. It had been days since the tub incident, and Chad wasn't here. I didn't mind it at all.

"I don't know." I said poking at the noodles on my plate.

"What?... You haven't seen him?" she asked leaning up in her seat.

"It's not like I have a reason to." I snapped

Chad was a stranger, I avoided him at all costs when he did come around. So, his disappearing from the house hadn't affected me. Mom rolled her eyes standing up and walking over to the couch.

"Sabrina let's watch a movie." Mom called out as she sat down on the white couch.

I looked to my right, and Sabrina hopped down from the chair. She grabbed the tablet and walked over to the couch. I sighed and got up, cleaning the table off.

Since Mom had stayed in the tub for three days, I had time to check the house for any drugs. I cleaned the house from top to bottom. I brought new towels. It felt nice to do something nice for her.

In the past three days, I also thought about Maddison. I would be tutoring her tomorrow, the situation was still new to me. I also began to feel bad, I hadn't had the chance to tell her about the money part. It is not her business anyway, I brushed that thought away.

I was scraping the food into the trash bin when my phone rang. I placed the plate down and grabbed my phone off the table.

"Hello?" I said

"Henry." Phoebe whispered into the phone.

"Why are you whispering?" I asked leaving the kitchen.

I heard rustling and sniffles.

"Phoebe?" I asked after a moment of silence.

"Yeah?"

"Why are you crying?" I asked curiously

Phoebe goes quiet, her breathing hindered.

"I'm not." she sniffed

"Well, as much as I wanna say on the phone. I need to take a shower." I said

"Okay..alright." she breathed out. After the line went dead. I felt like a bad friend for not asking more questions but I was exhausted.

I reached the bathroom, turning the shower on to the hottest temperature. I closed the bathroom door and began to strip my clothes off. My mind wandered back to Maddison.

I remembered part of her conversation about us, me.

-Start of Flashback-

"So, ever since then, I've been hooked on honey." Maddison laughed as she sipped on a newly made mixed drink. It was a fruit punch mixed with Sprite and watermelon juice.

"Do you like honey?" Maddison asked

"No, watch a document of bees." I muttered

Maddison let out a tiny giggle.