LANIE WOKE UP WITH HER eyes swollen, her intensive crying from the night before making them puffy afterward. She knew her parents weren't home at this time, but there was still a tinge of fear still laced in her body from the night before.
But she had to put aside her fear and sadness and replace it with the mask of happiness she wore every day to shield her genuine emotions from the people around her. Valley Fest was hours away and she wanted to go, hoping to get her mind off of horrendous things that float in her crumbled mind.
Lanie groggily walked up to her closet and opened it to see the sight of designer clothes which she winced at, knowing her parents were usually the ones to make her wear these clothes. Sure, they were extravagant and beautiful, but Lanie was the type of person to go out in casual clothes, unlike her parents.
"Fuck it," Lanie said before she dug into her drawer below the designer clothes that were hanging from on top of it.
She pulled out her white mesh top and her denim mom jeans. Lanie knew it would hide most of the bruises on her arms so she thought it was appropriate to wear it, completely ignoring the hot South California weather she had to endure as well.
The ride to Valley Fest was relatively quiet, but that's how Lanie liked it. No yelling, no pain, just the soft roars of the engine from her car and the wind that flowed through her window. It didn't take too long when Lanie finally arrived at the festival.
Lanie was calmly walking around the festival, seeing happy children with smiles on their faces as their parents would congratulate them for earning a prize at one of the games. Lanie smiled at the thought, wishing she had those types of memories with her parents, but all she had from them was mostly pain and anger .
Meanwhile, Robby and Sam were practicing their karate for the demonstration they were going to perform later that day and as per usual, Robby's mind was still on the mystery girl.
"Robby, are you thinking about that girl again? You should get over it, you have to come to the fact that you may never see her again." Robby winced at Sam's words, but deep inside, he knew that was a major possibility too.
He has only met the girl once and she already had a chokehold on him. "Sam, you didn't meet her. I swear there was something when I touched her hand."
Both teenagers stayed silent after that, focusing on their karate, but all Robby could think of was the girl he all too needed to see once more. And it was as if his prayers were answered when Robby turned his head to the left to see a figure who looked almost exactly like Lanie.
Robby stared at her for a second before turning his attention to Daniel, but when he finally processed his sight, Robby whipped his head so quickly, almost earning him a whiplash.
