Toddlers Until Teenagers

Chapter 44

       The rain pours down the big panelled window, like tears on a face, and I sigh, curling my legs up to my chest. Fiona's out for groceries since there's literally spiderwebs growing in my house. She's gone with Ethan, and Josh is taking a shower.

      Whenever it used to rain, and I was a little girl, Alex would instantly pop his head through the front door, and I would know that it was time to dance in the rain. I would grab my bright pink boots and raincoat, and we would dance in my backyard, slipping and giggling, noses runny, hands freezing. We would usually do this in his backyard, too, and pretend the flowers Dina planted were like trees in a wild forest. After lots of dancing, my mother would finally convince (more like drag) us to get inside the house.

   We would wash up, and until around 7  years old, we would have bubble baths together in our swim suits. Then, we would sit on the sofa downstairs, and watch TV while drinking our hot cocoa and cuddling up with blankets and toys, like our safe haven.

    But, when he left, everything fell apart. I was depressed, and I watched the rain gliding down the windows, just like the tears rolling down my cheeks. Mom would always come, and she would always hug me, trying to cheer me up.

     But, soon, Ames came into my life.  When it used to rain, Lily, Amelia, and usually my mother would all gather up at our house and we would bake, and watch Mean Girls or some other funny, classic movie. If it was pouring so hard that the electricity would be threatened, we would decide to do each other's nails and flip through gossip magazines in the candlelight.

   Usually it was just me, and Amelia. Most of the time mom joined us, and sometimes Lily had time off to tag along. It would be amazing. Baking, laughing, getting hyper, sneaking in a glass of wine or two, as well. But now, I'm alone, listening to the rain and the shower sounds in my ears, sadness sweeping over me.

    Suddenly, I hear footsteps out on the porch. I sit rigid, thinking of possibilities. Fiona just left with Ethan, and Josh is up having some time to himself. Who could it be? Slowly afterward, a doorbell rapidly rings throughout the house. I unfold my legs and trudge toward the front door, the wooden floor cold on my feet.

    As I peer through, I see a face I've wanted to see. Amelia. I throw the door open, and she throws her arms around me, and I smell her vanilla scent and the little droplets of water on her hair dissolve, and she's kinda wet, but I don't care. I hug her hard, her blonde hair flowing behind her, and start crying. She soothes me, pulling away, and shutting the front door, while one arm is on my shoulder.

   She steers me into the house, and we sit on the sofa, my sobs uncontrollable. I cry, about how lonely I felt, and about Alex possibly not wanting me anymore, and about my mom at the other side of the world. "Shhh, it's fine, alright?" Amelia pulls away, examining my face.

    "Hey, hey." She wipes my tears away, and crawls off the sofa, out to the CD drawer. She fishes out Mean Girls, and jabs it into the CD player. "See, it's alright."

     "Just like the old days."

***

        Amelia stayed with me for the rest of the day, and by noon, I had Josh, Ethan and Fiona all beside me, curled up on the sofa, stuffing their faces with pop corn and watching several old action movies. Right now, Josh looked like he was about to sleep and Fiona was in the bathroom, while Ames was lying on the sofa, beside Josh. Something is surely up in between them, but I can't think right now.

I am losing everything, slowly, like family, my boyfriend which was my best friend, my happiness, my studies. Right now I am a worthless teenager who has been through hell and beyond, the times of suffering with Ben, still engraved in my brain, but no one really knows how it felt.