"Really? Well, I heard a lot of kids are going there. Why don't you go?" Mum placed her coffee on the kitchen counter and sat opposite me.

I barely noticed as I stared at the pamphlet for some club called 'The Sharing'. Below a caption there was a photocopied pictured of people of all ages smiling and standing together.

My eyes were focused on a man a little in the background. He looked deeply uncomfortable and was obviously unhappy in the cheery backdrop.
"Oh my God!" My shoulders tensed and I felt an unpleasant icy knowing fill my stomach.

"What?" My mother looked up from a phone bill. There was an alarmed expression on her face.

"Nothing, nothing..." I muttered, trying to remain calm. "I think you're right..." I looked up at her with a soft smile. "Is it alright if I go next week?"

I could see my mother was studying me carefully. I knew she worried about me and how I hadn't really tried to make friends after Bella left.
But I didn't really want to make friends then, and now that seemed like a good thing. There would be less people to 'lose contact' with.
"Alright..." She sighed and gave in as usual. She shook her head and looked back down at last week's mail. "You worry me sometimes..."