Troubled Soul (manxman) *Completed*

Fifteen: Cleo

"Javier? Everything okay?" Sitting down next to him, I took in his worried face as his pencil was aimlessly doodling over his sketchbook. I had noticed he was awfully quiet throughout the entire class and now, he just looked sad. Even now as I sat next to him, it didn't really seem to bother him. He simply shrugged while some of the other students in class started laughing.

"I thought Aly and I could continue working on the project you assigned. But he isn't here today."

So that's why he seems so bummed. "You two were already ahead of everyone else; you're not going to be behind at all. And even if he's out for awhile, it'll be okay." He shrugged again while leaning his head onto his hand. He looked so bummed about not working on the project and probably being around Aly, that I dug deep into my brain. "But I can give you a seek peak of the next project."

This time his eyebrows rose as he asked, "Really?"

After quickly walking back to my desk, I grabbed a paper before handing it back to him. He carefully studied the paper before he dove into his sketchbook and lost himself in his work. When I walked back over to my desk I took my purse out of my bag before quickly asking Perry if he had heard from Aly.

By the time class was over for the day, I had completely forgotten about my phone. I simply walked out of my classroom and started to walk towards the parking lot. "Cleo!"

When I turned around, I screamed while seeing Penelope leaning against the wall behind me. She had been my roommate throughout college, and was one of my best friends. Once we graduated she moved to California for a music teacher job she accepted. It was really hard when she moved away, because we had been so close.

I instantly noticed the baby stroller resting by her feet, her baby girl sleeping inside. After Penelope had moved to California she met her boyfriend Jayden, who became her fiancé. Four months before their baby girl was born, Jayden was killed by a drunk driver. I had begged her to move home, but she was so emotionally destroyed that she just didn't know what to do. I had flown to California for the birth of Amelia, my Goddaughter, who was now a year old.

"Oh my god!" I screamed while wrapping my arms around her. "You look fantastic!"

"Oh please," she said while gripping onto me with just as much power. "Look who's talking!"

We laughed as I pulled back to get a good look at her. Her blue eyes were twinkling under the fluorescent lights in the hallway, her light brown hair pulled up into a bun. She seemed to have even more freckles sprinkled across her face as two dimples could be seen while she was smiling. She still had multiple earrings in her ears, simple rings splashed across her fingers. When she wiped a piece of hair out of her eyes I noticed the little heart tattoo on the side of her wrist, the one I knew she got with Jayden.

"Why the hell didn't you tell me you were coming?"

Penelope laughed as she said, "Because I wanted to see your face! It's so rare that I get to surprise you. And I'm on a little vacation right now; coming to visit my best friend seemed like the thing to do."

I hugged her again before cooing at Amelia before we walked out to my car. As we made our way back to my house, I helped her inside while picking Amelia up into my arms. As I watched her sit down, I noticed just how tired she looked. There also seemed to be a hint of sadness in her eyes.

"So tell me," I said while looking at her with a stern look. "How have you really been? And don't lie to me."

She sighed while taking a long sip of her water. "It's been better I guess. It's hard being a single mom, especially as she's getting older. Work is alright, but it seems to have lost its spark."