Far Away

21

"Macy! I just did the dishes!" My mom's voice echoed across the kitchen. Detaching the cup from my lips and placing it gently on the counter, I looked up at her and raised a brow.

"Sorry... I was thirsty..?" I said, earning nothing but a frown from my mom. "Did I do something wrong?"

"I've been cleaning the house all day and I keep finding new messes everywhere. You left the blow drier on the bathroom counter, Mace. You know that I want you to put your things away when you're finished with them."

I smiled at my mom and rounded the kitchen counter as she continued on her rant, wrapping my arms around her. She stood with her hands at her sides, refusing to hug me back. 

"Relax, the house doesn't have to be perfect." I said, pulling back.

"It does if your friend is coming over tonight. I don't want him to think we live like pigs."

I laughed then walked back around the counter to my cup, placing it in the sink. I looked up to my mom who raised her brows at me.

"I'll wash it!" I said, throwing my arms up in surrender.

My mom nodded then walked to the living room, sitting down on the couch with a over-dramatic sigh. As I turned the water on and soaped my cup, my mom spoke up.

"Is he your boyfriend yet?"

"No, mom." I said, grabbing a sponge and wiping the rim of the cup.

"What did you two do last night?"

I looked up at my mom, then quickly looked back down to my cup as I rinsed it. "We watched a movie." I said.

"Which movie?"

I bit my lip, trying to remember which movie it was. We were only twenty minutes into the movie before we dozed off.

"Some new movie with Adam Sandler." I lied.

"Was it good?"

I turned off the tap and placed my cup in the drying rack. I shrugged at my mom as I dried my hands. "Yeah, it-" Before I could tell another lie, the doorbell sounded.

"He's here!" My mom yelped, jumping up from the couch. "Mace, quick! Make sure everything's in order!" My mom hurriedly began to smooth down her clothes and pat down her hair, all the while scurrying around the living room, fixing the pillows on the couch.

I looked at her, completely shocked by her actions. My mom turned towards me, her eyes widening.

"Go answer the door!" She said, swatting her hands at me to get me to move. As I stumbled out of the kitchen, I looked back at my mom to see her moving to the kitchen table to fix the plates and cutlery so they were properly positioned.

I got to the door and gripped the door handle, closing my eyes and sucking in a deep breath.

Tonight was going to be a long night.

When I opened the door, Harry was turned around, looking at a black van which was parked at the end of my driveway. He waved at the car, signalling for it to go, then turned towards me with a smile spreading on his lips.

"Good evening," He said. "You look nice."

I looked down at my black high-low maxi dress, then back up to him. "Thank you." I said, returning his smile as I moved to the side to let him walk inside. Harry put his hands into his pockets as he walked in and as I closed the door behind him he looked around.

After a second, Harry took a long breath through his nose and hummed. "What's cooking?" He asked, turning to look at me as he shrugged off his shoes.