"Mum! I thought you... I saw the blood on your bed!"

"Blood? I spilt some water on there! Emma, you terrified me! Why the hell did you run away? You're never going out alone again, you selfish idiot! I accepted that you were dead."

I shook my head and buried my face in Mum's warm jumper. My body was shaking as I cried and made her soaked in my tears. All the terror I had felt was finally leaking out of me, in the form of tears. I was so relieved. So happy.

"I was so scared. And a voice in my head was there... It convinced me you were in danger. I thought someone was in the house when I came back as I heard noises."

"Oh, Emma... Someone was in the house."

What... What?

"What do you-"

"Come downstairs to the living room."

We left her bedroom and made our way towards the living room, downstairs. Mum went to the kitchen to make me a drink while I sat down on one of the sofas. And I waited. And waited. For something to happen, but nothing did.

Until I heard a key in the front door.

"Mum...?"

"Emma?" That wasn't Mum's voice. It was deep, like a man. But why was a man here?

"I'm back, love."

I gasped and squealed at the same time. Jumping up from the sofa, I ran towards him and squeezed him so tightly it probably prevented him from breathing.

Dad!

"Why did you go? I needed you here so much!"

"I told you ages ago — my boss had an important job for me to do in America."

"America? Why did you go so far away?"

"Pff, only heaven knows why. My boss is like that sometimes. But I have a surprise for you Mum. Where is she?"

As if on cue, Mum came rushing into the room and leapt onto Dad. They hugged and kissed (where I looked away) and sat down beside me on the sofa.

"Because I had to leave you in such awful circumstances, my boss offered me something."

We waited in anticipation to hear what it was.

"He offered me... £50,000."

Mum gasped and shouted out in joy. My jaw dropped to the floor and my palms got sweaty. £50,000. That could buy us everything we've dreamed of!

"But, he also offered me," he coughed, "a £50,000 house in America. It was his, but he cleared it all out and said he didn't need it anymore. He said it would be free of charge."

"What did you choose?" Mum urged him, clapping her hands excitedly. I smiled — but it was forced.

"I told him I'd call him tomorrow morning, after I'd asked you. So?"

Mum sat still, chewing on her nails as she thought. It was a very big decision to make, even I didn't know what to choose.

So we waited silently, for Mum to choose between two life-changing offers.

***

A/N what do you think she'll pick? More importantly, what do you want her to pick? Leave your answers in the comments, thank you so much for reading and I'm sorry I haven't updated for a while (been busy!).