Need

Heat rushing to my pale face, I quickly looked away from his light brown eyes to his now-brown stained shirt and muttered, "Shit! I'm so sorry!"

I put down my tray of now-spilled coffee mugs on the nearest empty table. I grabbed a few napkins and started patting lightly on the wet area of his blue shirt. From the corner of my eye, I saw people staring at us, causing my cheeks to get warmer.

Focused on the spot, noticing it wasn't doing any good, Drew muttered quietly, "What are you doing?"

He took the napkins in my hand, his thumb brushing mine lightly. I looked up at his eyes and his lips turned into a smirk, a very familiar smirk. He looked down at his stained shirt and let out a sharp breathe. He looked back at me and smiled, "Let me go clean that up in the bathroom."

I nodded, not able to say anything. He nodded and headed to the bathroom. I looked back at the coffee counter and received a goofy grin from my best friend, Jack. I walked to the back room and grabbed a "I Love Gold Lion" T-Shirt. I walked out and saw him ordering coffee, with his shirt clearly worse than before.

Looking at the stain that had gotten bigger, I laughed. I handed him the shirt.
He raised an eyebrow as he looked at it.

"Really?" he says, unfolding it.

"Yup. If your getting a free shirt, you get a shirt from a coffee shop you apparently love." I said with a grin as he slipped it over his other shirt.

I looked back at Jack and he winked. I laughed as I sat down at a table.

We sat down and he began tapping his finger on the smooth black painted wood. I looked down at his tapping finger, "Soo... at the lake, what were you going to draw?" I asked him, after a minute of silence.

"I drew the lake.. It's pretty interesting how the water is so clear and how the reflection of the sky jumps right off." he says, his lips curling at the ends, clearly imagining it in his head.

"Yeah.. My mom used to tell me how she loved to just lay there staring at the lake, watching the clouds of the reflection pass by.." I said, looking down at my hands.

I looked back up to meet his eyes. They were filled with concern.

"So you work at the bookstore? How's that going for you?" I asked, masking my face in what seemed like a normal expression.

He shrugged, "Well. It's a summer job and I need the money.. "

I studied his eyes, He's hiding something, I can see it in his eyes.

After a few minutes of silence, he spoke.

"At the bookshop... I'm really sorry about how I reacted, Lucy. It's just when you looked at me with those eyes... "

Heat rose up to my face, he lowered his voice "It felt as if you looked right past..." He stopped and looked into my eyes.

I swallowed, "Yeah, I understand."

I said this because he was doing this right now at this exact moment. Like he knew all my secrets. Like he knew how much people have hurt me in the past. Like he knew me. The only other person who could read me like that was my mom. My mom is dead.

He pressed his lips together tightly before turning it into a smile, "The book you bought.. It's one of my favorites."

I smiled back, "Yeah. I read a little bit of it before work. Love it already."

He looked his watch, "I should probably get back to the bookshop. It's only me today."

"Right.. So, sorry again about your shirt.. " I said, laughing lightly as I stood up.

He stood up too. "Nah, it's fine. My boss might like it."

"Here, " I got a napkin and wrote down my number, "If you ever want a free coffee or someone to talk to, call me."

I looked up at his brown eyes, and we stood there, holding our gazes. I smiled, rolling my eyes, turning on my heel, going back behind the cash register. He walked off with a smirk and a wave before leaving.

Jack nudged me and said, "He's cute. You like him?"

"I just met him. He's nice." I said, shrugging.

30 minutes had passed by until Jack said, "Hey Lucy, I'll take over."

"You sure?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yup. Now go home, honey. You seem a little weird today." He said, biting the inside of his lip.

"Alrighty then." I took off my apron and hung it in the back room.

I muttered a "See ya" to Jack and started to walk to my house.

It started to rain so I ran home. It was dark when I got home, I stomped off any mud that was attached to my rain boots. I heard yelling coming from upstairs. Hearing a slam, I saw Kim walking down the stairs. She was drunk.

"Your daaad still looves her. That ssstupid bitchh." she slurs. I ignore her but she keeps going. "He gots' those mmmmaps yer mom usssed to mmmake fer himm. To fiind herr. But ssshe's gone. Sshe's-"
She hiccuped. "-DEAD!" She falls on the floor giggling, rolling on the floor. I look at her with pity.

"Maaaps wwww-wwont helpp himm finndd her! Nothing can! She's dead! DEAD!" she gets up and grabs my face in her hands.

"Lemmme tell yuuh a joke." She laughes as I shove her hands away from my face, but with her strong grip, she holds it in place. Breathing out the sweet scent of alcohol. "Knnock knock. Whoo's there?" She laughs to herself before she whispers, "Definitel-lly not yeer sluu-uut of a mother." She cracks up but stops shortly as I punched her in the face. She falls to the floor, passed out. Tears ran down my face as I bolted up to my room, passing my dad's room. I went back and looked through the crack of the door. He was looking at mom's Love Maps, crying.

Tears falling, I go to my room, closing the door silently hoping to not wake up Ashley who's in the next room.

I jump onto my bed, crying, remembering my mother's soothing voice in my head. I scream into my pillow, wishing I had her back. I needed her. Dad needed her. I sat up, sobbing while looking at the ceiling. Trying not to remember the last words I said her.. Words that I regret... Words that I wish I could take back...

Words.