No reviews? I'm sad now :(
Anyway, sorry for the wait. I have two major exams on Tuesday and Wednesday and I have been revising like a mad woman.
A very different scenario greeted Tybalt when he arrived home. The lights were out, it was dark, and the curtains had not been drawn. He unlocked the door and let himself in. A cat yowled at him, and Tybalt jumped. Cursing, he slammed the door behind him.
"Mum?" he called "Mum, are you all right?"
He shuffled into the living room. Regina was slumped on the sofa wearing a nightie and a dressing gown. She didn't reply to her beloved son, which made Tybalt immediately suspect something was wrong.
"Mum? What are you doing? You're not dressed!"
She still didn't reply, and so Tybalt hurried out to the kitchen where the cat food bowls were. They had remains of food. He breathed a sigh of relief. That meant this turn wasn't going to be a bad one if she could still be bothered to feed the cats. He closed the curtains, switched on the lights, and then started to clear up. Usually, Tybalt would just leave it for Regina. She didn't seem to mind. When the house resembled what Tybalt considered tidy, he went back into the living room.
"I'm about to order dinner" said Tybalt loudly, because he knew otherwise she would ignore him "What do you want? Chinese food, pizza, fish and chips, kebabs, or an Indian?"
Regina shrugged blankly.
"Ok. We're having a Chinese" decided Tybalt. He pulled the menus out from the draw "What do you want to have? Chow mein?"
"Whatever"
She was still in the mood to talk. So far so good. Tybalt decided on some food that he liked, and some that he knew his mum liked.
"Perhaps one night you could cook" suggested Tybalt "You could do my favourite, you know, Sausage Surprise!"
Even though the stuff made Tybalt feel sicker to his stomach than the idea of Mercutio naked, he knew it would cheer Regina up and make her feel somewhat better.
"Another time, Tybalt" sighed Regina.
"But you love cooking Sausage Surprise! Well...maybe you could make Cat Cake as a treat. Since it's...um...Rosaline's birthday in March. Maybe I could invite her round and you could make it for her. You like Rosaline, don't you? She's a nice girl"
"Tybalt, I just want to sit here. Stop bothering me! Go out!"
"I've been out! Mum, you've got to eat. I'm going to order dinner tonight. Why don't you go and have a wash and get changed into a clean nightie? And then we can have dinner, and you can tell me all about..." Tybalt hesitated, trying to think of something that his mum liked that didn't drive him completely potty "What the cats did today!"
Regina just rolled her eyes and sank back onto the sofa. Tybalt walked back out into the hall to order the food. He hated it when his mum acted like this. He never knew how bad it would be, how long for, what she would do this time, whether she'd end up in the hospital. She was so unpredictable, she could change any minute now. Tybalt clearly remembered her worst breakdown when he was fourteen. It had been awful, probably the worst period of his life...
With food on the way, Tybalt started cleaning up a little more. He hated cleaning. It was so stupid, as everything would just get dirty again. But when his mum was like this, it was best to keep up appearances so that no one could accuse her of having brought him up in filth.
"Hey, mum, I've ordered us the food. It'll be here soon. I got all your favourites, you know, prawn crackers and sesame prawns on toast. What do you reckon?"
"I said stop bothering me!" screamed Regina.
Much as Tybalt would have loved to have yelled back at her, and maybe thrown something, he didn't. He tried to be patient.
"Ok. Fine. You can have a think about it. I'll wait for the food"
He hated this. It was even worse when the phone rang and the prank calls started, or when the door knocked and then the giggles came out of the shrubs. He knew it was them. The Montagues. Sometimes Hermia was with them, sometimes she wasn't. He knew they liked to get at him through his mum. He hated it that Hermia had been the one to tell them all about his mum, and then give them his phone number and tell them where he lived. He dreaded each evening. He hated being in when it happened, and he hated the guilt that came when he was out and his mum was alone.
After twenty minutes, Tybalt carried through two steaming plates of Chinese food.
"Ta da! Smells good, doesn't it, mum? I'm starving. What about you?"
He placed one down in front of his mum, and then sat down in the armchair. He switched on the television, to his favourite show, The Jeremy Kyle show. Regina simply played with the end of a noodle, and Tybalt watched her precariously. For a while, she didn't eat it, and then she started to take small mouthfuls. Tybalt sighed of relief. She didn't clear her plate, she never did when she was in this mood, but at least she ate something.
"See? I told you you'd fancy it. How about...I run you a nice bath, and then you can get changed into something clean, and then you can have an early night. You always feel better after that, don't you? Tomorrow we can go out for a walk and maybe go and buy some groceries and stuff. What do you say, mum?"
Regina sighed sadly, and leant against the sofa.
"Maybe you should just go to bed" suggested Tybalt, sensing it was the easier option. He did not like having to force her to wash. He was, what, almost seventeen? It was way too awkward now. He helped Regina to her feet, guided her up the stairs, to her bedroom. He helped her into bed, and then hugged her.
"Night mum"
"You good boy, Tibby. You've always been such a good boy"