ᴛᴏᴏ ʏᴏᴜɴɢ » ᴢᴀᴄʜ ʜᴇʀʀᴏɴ

Chapter Eighteen

May 11, 2018

Sunlight warmed the back of Maeve's neck as she moved down the street, passing beautiful European shops and cobblestone courtyards with gorgeous fountains.

The building she was searching for came into view as she rounded a corner, tucked in between two ancient-looking businesses. She was already smiling as she crossed the street, thinking about who was waiting for her inside.

She hadn't seen Kendra in ten months—her sister had left the July after graduating highschool to travel around the world. It had been her dream to travel since she was a child and she wanted to fulfill it before returning home for college.

The two were ecstatic when they realized they would both be in Europe at the same time, and had planned the meeting weeks before. To say Maeve was excited was an understatement. She adored her sister; she had been the main source of encouragement and support throughout her home life, after all.

Clutching at her jacket, Maeve pulled the door of the quaint restaurant open, eyes immediately scanning the tables inside. A young woman with shoulder-length brown hair and deep blue eyes was sitting next to the window that overlooked the street. She looked up to see who had entered, her face breaking out in a wide smile.

Their embrace was loud and full of more squeals than would be expected of a seventeen and nineteen year old. Maeve pulled away from Kendra's shoulder, absolutely grinning.

"I missed you so much, Kenni."

When she was a baby, she couldn't pronounce Kendra, producing the nickname she'd been calling her sister for years. The older girl smiled at the name she hadn't heard in months.

"I missed you too, Mae."

Maeve swatted at her sister's hair.

"Oh, still doing that, are we?" Kendra asked with a laugh. Maeve stared at her with widened eyes.

"Your hair looks so much shorter than in the pictures!" she exclaimed.

Kendra grinned, setting her hand on top of Maeve's head.

"And you're still just as short."

"I just remembered why I haven't hated being apart from you for so long."

Kendra scoffed, pushing Maeve lightly in the direction of her seat. Both settled in across from each other, ordering before they could get into talking because they both knew wouldn't cease for hours.

And hours passed.

They talked about their travels, Kendra moving through every continent she'd visited, telling endless stories of unique towns and quirky people. Everything she spoke of was beautiful. It was apparent that her way of telling stories had aided her throughout her school years. Maeve told her sister about the shows, how it was beyond nerve wracking at first, but like with everything, time and experience made her comfortable in a new environment.

Kendra asked her about school, which she had successfully kept up with. She didn't lie, it had been extremely tough, involving too many late nights and early mornings to count, on the bus or in the van, in hotel rooms and lobbies, or at the table for meals. She was determined to balance it all, motivated by the idea of proving to their parents she could handle it.

That led Kendra to ask how their parents had been at home when she was gone. She had always been aware of how her performances affected their parents' expectations for Maeve. She never wanted that for her younger sister, because they were simply not the same people.

"Were they horrible?" Kendra asked, her face scrunching up a bit.

"Oh, you know," Maeve said. "They've backed off a bit with their words—well, rants—" Kendra snorted— "but I still get the Stare."