Forest Eyes

Chapter 4 Frosting

I rolled over onto my back trying to open my eyes that were glued shut with exhaustion. I sat up sleepily trying to register the reason for the excessive loud knocking at my door. I scratched my head giving the door the evil eye. It was almost seven I read when I looked at the clock. My dad slipped into my room with a huge chocolate and strawberry cake. "Oh my god!" I exclaimed. The cake was huge and it looked delicious. "Daddy!" I squealed like a kindergartner. He laughed his eyes brighting as he did. "You never call me daddy anymore." He smiled which I never saw. My dad had been in the military and he had seen so many people die and so many homes destroyed that he was a hard one to make smile but somehow my mom had always gotten a laugh or two out of him.

We ate the cake for breakfast and my dad kept wiping the frosting on my nose so by the time I was finished I had a big brown nose and chocolate frosting all over my clothes. We sat there for a couple minuets enjoying our cake when my dad piped up. "You know your mom would be so proud of you right?" "She always told me you were gonna show them all, that you were going to be a star!" He elaborated with his arms giving me the jazz hands. I giggled quietly. "Yah dad I know you always say that every time my birthday comes around." He laughed this time. "Yah well I'm going to say it till the day I die so get used to it!" He said vigorously. This time I burst out laughing choking on a piece of my cake. I quickly grabbed for the milk on the table. Gulping down a few swallows I regained my composure. "Are you ok?" My dad said, I could see him trying not to burst out in tears laughing. I put the crook of my elbow up to my face coughing into my sleeve. "Yah dad."

Later that day I went out with Aron and Rebecca to the mall to go shopping for dresses. Rebecca picked this small gothic dress shop that had the words "Vampiric" printed in calligraphy. "Really?" I huffed. "Come on!" "You'll love it!" She squealed pulling me towards the door.

Once inside the mood completely changed. Everything was dark and mysterious there were deep reds and purple's some whites. And black. Everywhere dark charcoal-coal black.
I went over to one of the racks. As I walked over to the dress section I noticed the bright sapphire blue dress with black lace trimming. My eyes went wide. "Aron!" "Rebecca!" I practically screamed. They both came rushing over. "What,what's wrong?" Rebecca said in a panic. I took her chin with my hand and turned her head in the direction of my dress. "Oh my god!" She exclaimed. "I know!" I said. "Should I go try it on?" I didn't want to get to excited but then again where would the fun in that be so I made a big deal coming out of the dressing room making sure to walk like a regal queen. "You look perfect!" She said standing up. She pointed her finger down and moved it in a circle signaling me to spin around so she could see the front of the dress. I looked at myself in the mirror again. "Oh you're so getting that!" She said. I looked at the price tag it was only thirty five dollars not too bad and i had my credit card.

As I was paying for my dress I had spotted a pair of really cute shoes but I decided that I would come back later and purchase them. It's a good thing because Aron would have made me buy them right then and there. We successfully came out of the store without her spotting them witch was a relief. The sidewalk outside of vampiric was covered in litter and there were discarded cigarette butts speckled everywhere. I had to cover my mouth with my sleeve to keep from gagging. "Oh that's going to make me sick." Rebecca said. "Yah me two!" Yelled Aron. They started hurriedly walking away and I had to jog to keep up. Once we were farther away I could actually breathe without wanting to spew my breakfast everywhere.

We shopped for three hours straight and my feet were screaming as I walked through my front yard heading towards my doorstep. I dug my keys out of my back pocket only to drop them on the mat. I bent down searching in the darkness until I found the cold jugged blade of the keys. I pick them up and slid the end of one of the keys into the dead bolt. Turning the key I waited until I heard the click and then I let myself in. I headed upstairs peeling of my jacket and kicking off my shoes. I changed into my pajamas and I padded down the hall to the bathroom. I washed my face and was turning off the lights when I noticed a brown smear on the inside of my right bicep. I rolled my eyes. I must've missed it this morning when me and my dad were wiping it on each other. I ran a wash cloth under the sink and scrubbed until the chocolate had come off and my skin was red.

After climbing into bed and reading for about half an hour I set my book on my nightstand next to the picture of my mom. I sighed quietly looking at the photo, sometimes I look at the picture and it feels like she never left but then I land back in reality and remember she's never going to come back. Not in three years not in ten years not even a hundred. And I think of all the people who loose there minds waiting out of grief, out of pain, for the ones they love to just return, like there death was a ruse, a fake. But not me. Once I heard about the accident I new she was gone, gone for good. So many people came to the funeral, people I didn't even know but who apparently knew my parents because my dad had hugged each and every one of them. The funeral was held in this massive church with an organ and everything. When the people with speeches came up I was asked if I wanted to say anything but when I got up there i broke down in tears and my dad had to pull me off stage but I resisted I still wanted to say something but I didn't know how so my dad finally got me off and we sat back down onto the hard wood of the pews. The ceremony was long, lots of speeches lots of crying. And when it was over I had insisted on being at the burial so I could throw flowers into her grave. And I did.

My dad never cried at the funeral but late at night sometimes I can here soft silent sobs coming from his room as he stares at the wedding rings on his dresser. And then that's usually when I start to cry to. One time when I was really sad because I was being bullied in school and I heard my dad in his room crying asking my mom what he was supposed to do to help me. She never answered. When I finally snapped out of my dazed memory I flicked my lamp off and huddled under the covers. Within minutes I was bundled up, asleep. Lights out.