Friday Flash Fiction - week 21!

Numb

I wiped the snot dripping from my nose with the back of my hand. 
“Sophia,” Mum said. “Use a tissue.” 
Really? Well, I guess it is rather rank. I reached over and pulled out a scented blue tissue and threw it in the bin. Dad hadn’t said a word and his silence was always the worst. Worse than Mum’s who could blow as hot as the desert or as cold as an ice cap in the space of seconds. 
“They’re right,” he whispered. 
“David!”
“What?”
“You can’t just drop a bombshell like that without any warning!”
“How much more warning does she need?” 
They’re right. I looked at the pair of them yelling at each other across the breakfast bar. I heard no words, only the crashing of their voices and the words floated around like autumn leaves in a storm. My head felt twice the size as normal and I let it drop behind me and rest on the cool kitchen tiles. They’re right. Does that mean what I think it means? 
And then, as if the wind stopped, the words dropped to the floor and there was silence. 
“Sophia,” Mum said. “What Dad’s trying to say is-”
“He’s not my real dad.” 
“Of course I’m your real dad. I’m just not your biological dad.” 
“Why did no-one tell me before?” My insides felt like ice and if I inhaled too deeply the ice will shatter into a million pieces. 
“It never seemed like the right time,” Mum said. “It’s still not the right time.” 
“Why didn’t you tell me before?” I looked at Dad. 
He answered slowly. “I was afraid you’d love me less and I couldn’t bear it.”  
“To be honest, I probably couldn’t love you any less at the moment.” 

***

Looking back I regretted those words and we’ve moved on, but things have never been the same. I guess they couldn’t, could they?

L. Besley

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Flash Fiction diary

For the first time I'm doing a mini series using the same characters and this is a follow-on piece from last week. The people who commented encouraged me to write 'the conversation' which was about to take place at the end of last week's FF. You should be able to read this as a standalone piece, but if you're interested in last week's piece, click here for Confessions. 

I've been doing a flash fiction online course with Calum Kerr for the last six weeks. Although it's been hard to fit it all in around my normal working week, it's been really interesting and I've learned a lot. 

I've also stepped, rather gingerly, into the 21st century and have set up a twitter account! If you'd like to follow me, I can be found bumbling my way through this technology @laurabesley 
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Flash Fiction is short enough to read whilst you're waiting for the kettle to boil. It's fairly quick to write too, but with it being so short, every word has to count. 

On 4th May 2012 I decided to embark on a project: to write a piece of Flash Fiction every day. I'm hoping this will keep the creative juices flowing and ultimately help me hone my craft. Every Friday I'll be posting 'the best of the week' onto my blog for you to read. If you have anything to say (good or 'constructive'!), I'm open to comments.  

Thanks, as always, for reading.