Just in Fifteen Days

13. Emily With A Heart

That's Ashton exploring the literal underworld. So exciting and too beautiful!

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Natalie's POV

Just as I had reached home from another boring day at lectures in the school, Char called me and said that she would be coming over to my place by four. And mind you, she was in front of my door with her car sharp at three fifty eight. The girl was as punctual as I was to watch Netflix every night at nine thirty.

Right at the moment she came home, she made a run towards my closet and started digging up my dresses. I knew I had to look good and presentable but she was acting as if I was supposed to represent America in front of the whole world. Freak.

Mom hadn't been at home since five in the morning as she had come home early yesterday. It was an emergency and she had to be there immediately. My mom was my other best friend and I had so many things to tell her - right from how I had played the guitar in front of the whole classroom, how Ms. Jacobs had loved it, how Andrew had made fun of me on Instagram, the way Steve had hit him in the school, how I had bumped into Ashton and the way I was feeling about him, how Ashton fought for a girl in the cafe with Andrew and all the fun that followed later. There was so much but mom hadn't had gotten time lately.

Whenever she would, she would go to dad to spend some time with him even when it was futile. We didn't even know if he was able to hear us or not, probably he was, because everytime I played his favourite song, his eyes held a different type of shine, I could sense it.

"Well, well! Look, who's looking like a doll," Char said as she held my arms making me involuntarily stand and circled around me.

She had spent almost an hour searching for a perfect dress, perfect polish to apply on my ugly nails, perfect shoes and a perfect hairstyle. Everything that Char did had to mandatorily follow the word perfect.

I took a glance at myself in the mirror and was elated to see the reflection. It was neither too much nor too light. It was appropriate. But, come on, this wasn't a date. How I wish, it was! I hadn't dated in a while.

"Thank you! You're the best, Char," I said as I hugged her. Of course, she had that smug look stuck on her face.

Carefully locking the door and dropping the keys in the pot of the rose plant, I made a dart at Char's car. She was already ready with the engine on. She was much more excited than I was and Steve had involuntarily accepted her loud giggles and loquacious self. She could be so talkative at times that you would beg to shut her mouth. But, I couldn't deny the fact that without she being around, I would always feel something missing.

She was the only one who had been with me through thick and thin. Not that mom wasn't, but she would mostly be busy at the hospital and I couldn't blame her. She was doing it for me and dad and all that I could be was just grateful. Char had helped me much more than she would ever know when I was in the most difficult and painful phase of my life and I would never forget that.

"Are we really going to go for that trip, Char? It's for a whole week!" I had forgotten to ask her if she was serious when she excitedly jumped beside me saying that Steve and her would get to spend seven, whole days together. I wasn't really interested. It was somewhere near but I would rather choose sitting at home and chilling with Netflix.

"It's an educative trip, dumbo. And before you say, I know there's nothing different that we really learn but come on, we all will be together, we will have some fun."

Ignoring her for a long time, I sensed Char still talking about other random things but I was too busy in my own world to reply her anything more than a hmm. Before I knew, we had reached The Olson's, the best cafe serving waffles and chocolate mousse, and it was mandatory for everyone to taste it once in their lifetime. Ashton would really love it, I thought.