The Bitter Aftertaste

For Lyssa

"It's just that she seems to cope with it all..." He drifted off with a heavy sigh, running his hand through his sandy brown hair. "...well," He finally said with a small nod to himself rather than anyone else. "She copes with it so well." He ducked his head awkwardly when he saw Alyssa's glare. He could still feel it burning into him as he breathed nervously.

"Well, it was a long time ago," Alyssa finally replied coldly, not glancing at him as she spoke but instead staring up longingly at the stairs, as if wanting her daughter to come down and explain this herself. "And I suppose we all had to move on. Holding onto the past and being bitter isn't going to be of much help." She finally turned to look at him as if expecting some soft of an answer to her statement.
"Oh," Was all he was able to say as he glanced around the room trying his best to avoid Alyssa's eyes. "Um... well you know, I better get going." He got onto his feet and stood there awkwardly.
"Bye." Alyssa muttered, looking up at the stairs once more. He followed her gaze.
"Maybe I should say goodnight to-"
"Maybe not." Alyssa interrupted with a firm and final tone.
"... Maybe not." He muttered to himself. Quickly slipping on his coat, he hurriedly stepped out into the cold and rain, not having to look back to see all the pain in Alyssa's face as he left once more.

The soft click of the door sounded and slowly the tears trickled down Alyssa's face. She made no attempt to wipe them off since this happened every time he left. Instead, Alyssa put down her head against the cool glass table and just let the tears run their course. Soon, the sadness would end and all that would be left in it's place would be the bitter aftertaste of it all.

However, Alyssa lifted her head up as soon as she heard a door opening. Wiping away her tears quickly, she awaited the soft thumping of her daughter coming down the stairs, which came only seconds later.
"Is he gone?" Was the first thing she said.
"Yes, he is." Alyssa tried her best not to let her voice sound anything less than normal.
"Oh, okay," Alyssa could hear the slight disappointment in Julia's voice as she spoke. "Well... when is he back?"
"Not for a few months. He's... leaving for a bit."
"Oh. Okay then. So we're heading back tomorrow then?" Alyssa nodded her head in reply. Julia started back up the stairs, having had all of her questions answered.
"Julia?" Alyssa called. "I was thinking that... maybe next time... you'd be able to come here on your own. I'm sure you're fully capable of doing it." As soon as she mentioned it, Alyssa saw Julia's eyes widen and fear appear in them.
"Yeah. Maybe. We'll see I guess." She didn't wait for a response but instead hurried up the stairs and into the guest room.
Alyssa sighed, feeling only slightly guilty. Oh, what a horribly selfish mother she was.

A/N: A really, really short story that I wrote... because I was bored... and... yeah...

Constructive criticism appreciated.