What If Love?

II

     My name is Chris. Well actually it is Christine but I like Chris better. It is 3 years after the entire "family falling apart" section of my life and I am 16 while Julia is 21 and in college in our place of origin if you will, France. More specifically Nimes, France. Julia is studying culinary at the universite de nimes. I sent her away after mom died and dad left us. Mom died from cancer and she always wanted Julia to accomplish something. Soon after my mom died my dad stuck with us for a month and a half but, I guess he couldn't handle having two daughters. After a while I guess he just snapped.

     This year I am starting the 11th grade. School starts in two days and Vi just texted me to come over. Now something you should know about Vi is that she is considered a rebel at school. She barely shows up to school but she has outstanding grades. She leaves school campus to go pick up lunch everyday from McDonalds. She has bleach blond hair that is extremely straight with light blue gray almond eyes. She goes to parties all the time at night so, it is extremely rare that she asks me over because usually just sneaks her way into my house. That is why I have two pillows and two tooth brushes at the house. So naturally I respond to Vi with "OK but I am getting home EARLY this time!" Vi responds with "OK OK!" Directly after I read that last text there was a ring on the door bell. I get out of bed and head downstairs. In my brain I start thinking of what ifs. What if the house wasn't empty? What if it wasn't just me here? What if family dinners were an actual possibility? What if Dad is at the door begging me for a second chance? As soon as that thought came I pushed it out of my mind because I knew two things about that thought: 1. That thought wasn't possible ,even in my wildest dreams, because he probably has a new family. 2. It just makes me sad thinking about that. At the end of my thought process I have reached the door. I answer it and all I can hear is Vi's rich but light voice saying "UGH! It took you long enough!!" And I see her zoom inside and go up the spiral staircase that is in the corner of the living room.

     See the way the house is set up is you have the entrance hall that is set up where you have three decisions. You can go to the right into the dining room and kitchen. I don't like to go to the dining room because it reminds me too much about our family dinners. Or, you can enter through the left where there is the grand piano room and the living room. Yes, we have a grand piano room. My mom used to love playing it and she was really good at it. She put me and Julie into private lessons and she would help us out with it a lot. Julia got really good at and she still can play really well but, I hated playing the piano. I still try to attempt it every so often when I'm missing momma. She taught me a song that I will never forget. She called it "Somewhere in a lavender field". Anyway, the living room has tons of old photos and antiques from dad that he forgot to take with him. There is one photo that I love so much that I removed from living room to move it to my room. It is of mom and dad before me and Julia. It is taken on a old Polaroid camera and mom looks like she is having so much fun. The living room is where the spiral staircase is and whenever Vi comes over she always takes that staircase. If you choose to go straight from the entrance you are met with stairs and a skinny hallway that leads to the back of the house. As I head up the spiral staircase and head down the long staircase that leads to my room my mind wanders as I pass some of the rooms. I pass Julie's room, What if she hadn't moved miles away from where we live now ,which is Novato, California (It is outside of San Francisco)? I walk passed her room and bathroom and approach Mom and Dads room. I pause to look inside. I am hit with the familiar smell of Mahogany and lavender. It smells so familiar that it almost brings me to tears. I get snapped out of it to hear Vienna yell from my bedroom, " CHRIS! HURRY UP!" My head whips away from the dark and empty room. I close the door and head towards my room.

     I arrive in the doorway and I see Vi looking through my closet, I assume looking for an outfit for me to go out wearing. I believe this because Vi has always said how she would never wear anything from my closet. She still hasn't noticed me in the door frame so I know the only way to grab her attention. " Vienna Smith!" I yell, she responds with " I TOLD YOU NOT TO SAY THAT NAME!" There we go, now I have her attention. I walk over to my bed and Vi returns back to raiding through my closet. I sit on the bed and ask "So, what are we doing tonight?" Vienna responds with " Oh I don't know," She pulls out a mini skirt that is hot pink but, she quickly retracts back into my closet, "Sean is having a party tonight if you wanna come. It's only Friday night." Sean is our schools top quarterback, although that means nothing to me other than " He's popular",  all of the girls at our school swoon over him. Including Vi.  She is giving me the classic Vi puppy-dog eyes so I say "Fine i'll go but only for a hour. Ok?" She starts pumping her fists in the air while saying " YES YES YES YES YES! I LOVE YOU!"

     I have a strange feeling about tonight. Like something exciting would happen. A small voice in the back of my head says " What if..."