STMH Chapter 5

STMH Chapter 5

A Chapter by Angie Diane♥♥

Chapter 5

Tristan

            Tears are streaming down my face, but I’m still running. I don’t know when I’m going to stop. The pain in my heart is real. The only other time I felt this kind of pain was when I learned about my mom’s passing.

            I keep running until my legs start to burn. When I stop, I notice I’m near Mountain Park. This park has a lake by it. I slowly start to walk down to the lake. I notice a bench as I get closer. I take a seat on the bench. Memories start to flood into my head.

~

            “Hey, Tristan, it’s time to get up. You don’t want to be late for practice,” my mother says while she’s shaking me.

            “I’m up, I’m up,” I reply and throw the covers off me. I get out of bed and start getting dressed. I’m glad I took a shower the night before. 

            “What do you want for lunch today,” Mom calls to me.

            “A tuna sandwich with a bag of sour cream and onion chips sounds good,” I reply.

            I sit down at the table. There is a plate of eggs already waiting for me and a side of toast. Mom is putting together my lunch for the day. I smile at her when she looks over at me. She walks over to me and gives me a kiss on the forehead. I smile wider. “Are you going out with Marie later?”

            “No, I have practice later today. After practice, I’m going out to eat with the guys. Marie’s father is taking her somewhere tonight as well. I’m taking Marie out to dinner on Sunday night,” I reply.

            “Alright then,” Mom says with a small smile on her face.

            “I have a game on Saturday,” I tell her. Mom always goes to my games. Dad works on Saturdays.

            “You know I’ll be there,” she says and smiles at me.

            I look over at the clock, I notice I only have a few minutes before I have to get going. I kiss Mom goodbye on the cheek. Mom also needs to start getting ready for work herself.

            I take off for school after that.

~

            I smile a little to myself. Memories of Mom keep coming to the surface. A lot of the memories are good. I really miss Mom a lot. She was the glue that held my family together. Now that she’s gone, it’s been a lot more difficult.

            I do know that Dad is having a hard time dealing with her death. I’m still grieving myself. I just did not expect Dad to say such harsh words to me. More tears start to well up in my eyes. Thinking about what he said hurts my heart.

            I lie back against the bench and close my eyes for a few minutes.

~

            A loud knock sounds on the front door. It is nine o’clock at night. I wonder who that could be. Tomorrow is the big game against Thompson high school. I’m planning to go to bed in a few minutes. I run down the stairs quickly. Dad is already at the door. He only got home about an hour ago.

            “Dad, what is it,” I ask.

            “I’m sorry, son, I have to go,” he says and bolts out of the door. I wonder what happened.

            When Dad comes home a few hours later, his eyes are red rimmed. His eyes look dull also. I put a hand on his shoulder. He wraps his arms around me tightly. “Dad, what’s going on?”

            “Your mother…” he starts, but then doesn’t finish. He just holds me tighter.

            “Where is Mom,” I ask him.

            “She’s gone, son,” he says slowly.

            My eyes widen. “What? How?”

            My breathing starts to get heavy.  I feel the tears start to well up in my eyes.

            “Your mother was on the way home from the store…when a drunk driver hit her car. She ended up being ran off the road…” Dad starts. The tears start running down my face. I fall down to my knees on the ground. Dad is now crying again too.

            “I’m sorry, son, I’m so sorry,” Dad tells me. Dad pulls me up and holds me even tighter.

~

            I jolt up on the park bench. I didn’t expect to fall asleep on the bench and dream about learning about Mom’s death. That night wasn’t that long ago.

            I sigh a little to myself. I try to take my mind off of that night. The memories are still painful for me. Memories from the big game against Thompson also start flooding into my mind.

~

            My alarm goes off. I need to start getting ready for the big game. I don’t move a muscle yet. I didn’t sleep a wink the night before. My eyes are heavy from all the crying I have done throughout the night.

            I force myself to get out of bed. When I walk down the stairs, Dad is sitting at the kitchen table. Dad has a blank look on his face. He has a coffee mug in his hands, but he isn’t drinking anything. I sit down at the kitchen table with him. “Morning, Dad.”

            “Morning, son.”

            “I’m surprised to see you home,” I reply.

            “I couldn’t bring myself to go to work. I wasn’t able to sleep without your mother by my side,” Dad says while tears start welling up in his eyes. I hug Dad tightly and he tries to compose himself. Tears are dripping down my cheeks too. “You’re up pretty early yourself.”

            “I have a game today. I was thinking about skipping the game, but I don’t want to let my team down. Also, I need a little bit of normalcy to keep my mind busy.”

            “That’s a good idea. I will try to get my schedule changed so I can attend the rest of your games throughout the rest of this year. I’m sorry I haven’t been able to attend as many games as I would have liked to,” Dad says with a small smile.

            “It’s okay, Dad, I know your job can be quite taxing.”

            Dad and I sit in silence for a few minutes. We are both wrapped up in our own thoughts. I hear my stomach growl. Mom usually made a small breakfast for me before the game. I get up and look through one of the cabinets. I just grab some cereal. I’m not really all that hungry.

            I make Dad a bowl of cereal too while I’m at it. He smiles at me sadly. I don’t think Dad really has that much of an appetite either, but we both eat anyways. After breakfast, I get ready to head to the gym.

            “I’ll see you after the game, Dad,” I reply.

            “Alright, see you later, son. I’m going to have to start going through your Mom’s things…” he trails off.

            I nod and head out the door. Axel’s mom is picking me up today. My mom and his mom always took turns driving us. I pace around while waiting for them to get here. I need to keep my mind busy.

            I’m still pacing when I hear a honk. Axel and his mother have arrived. I try to form a smile on my face. I try my best to get amped up for the game. “Hey Axel, hello Mrs. Swan.”

            “Hey, man, I’m so ready for the big game,” Axel says with excitement.

            “Hey Tristan, good luck at the game today boys. I can’t wait to watch you boys play,” Mrs. Swan says with a smile on her face.

            On the ride to the school Axel is doing a lot of the talking. He is talking about the Thompson players we should look out for. I nod my head, but hardly say anything. I’ve been quiet for most of the ride. Which is not normal for me. I can see Mrs. Swan shooting me concerned looks from the mirror. I haven’t told them about Mom. I can’t bring myself to do it.

            “Hey, Tristan, are you alright, man,” Axel asks me suddenly.

            “Yeah, I’m okay,” I respond. I know full well that it’s a lie. “Just have a lot on my mind.”

            “If you’re sure man, you can always tell me if something’s bothering you,” Axel says shooting me a concerned look as well. I sigh quietly to myself.

            “Thanks Axel, you’re the best,” I say with a smile.

            When we arrive at the school, I can feel the excitement in the air. We head to the locker rooms. Axel is greeting members of our team. I just nod to them. I change into my volleyball uniform silently.

            Coach gathers the team together. “Boys, focus on their number 5. He has a really strong spike. Their number 2 is also a really strong setter.”

            “Yes, coach,” we all say.          

            We warm up before we start to play. Everyone does a spike. I jump up in the air and spike the ball. I also practice a set with Drake. He’s really in top form today. Now I wish that I had slept better last night.

            The game starts, we are the first to serve. I run up the court, I throw the ball up, and I hit the ball. Thompson receives the ball. They get the first point of the game. I sigh to myself. Now, I really regret not getting much sleep, but thinking about what happened to Mom kept me up all night.

            We are able to get the next point. The ball is now in our court. Justin, our libero, receives the ball and sends it up. I look at who I should set the ball too. I notice that Thompson’s middle blocker is tracking Drake. I set the ball to Nick, our outside hitter, so that we are able to confuse Thompson. We score the point because I threw off their middle blocker.

            “Sorry guys,” I hear from the opposite side of the court.

            “It’s okay, we’ll get the next one.”

            “Good job, guys,” I say.

            The game continues. My next few serves are good. They start to get worse as the game progresses. I’m honestly not able to concentrate. Plus, the lack of sleep really didn’t help me all that much.

            The coach calls a timeout for our side. I drink water. Axel walks over to talk to me.

            “Dude, are you okay,” he asks me.

            “I’m trying to be,” I reply.

            “What’s wrong, man, you haven’t been yourself all day,” Axel says.

            “I really don’t want to be talk about it right now,” I say. I want to try to focus on the game.

            “Alright, we’ll talk later then,” he says and shoots me another worried look.

            As the game starts again, my thoughts turn to Mom again. I can feel tears welling up in my eyes. The tears start streaming down my face. Everyone’s eyes are on me. I feel my breathing start to speed up and my lungs constrict in my chest. I’m having a full-blown panic attack on the volleyball court.

            Coach gets me off the court. He gets me to sit down. I just cry into my arms. He subs me out for one of the juniors. He tries to talk to me, but I don’t reply. I can’t speak. I just run out of the gym.

            I cry until I let all the pain out.

~

            Remembering what I went through after Mom’s death is painful. I sigh. I just stare at the water ahead of me. I’m going to sit here until I can clear my head. Maybe I’ll ask Axel if I can spend the night at his house.



© 2024 Angie Diane♥♥


My Review

Would you like to review this Chapter?
Login | Register




Share This
Email
Facebook
Twitter
Request Read Request
Add to Library My Library
Subscribe Subscribe


Stats

75 Views
Added on April 25, 2024
Last Updated on May 12, 2024


Author

Angie Diane♥♥
Angie Diane♥♥

Not like you need to know..., NJ



About
Hello, I'm Angie! I'm going to be 32 soon. Writing is something I love doing. I'm glad to be creating again. Also, I love anime, reading, and many other hobbies. Lately, I've been making YouTube v.. more..

Writing