🌟She's Special🌟

Wrapping Things Up

Thursday, January 15th (7:50 AM EDT) (Olivia's Perspective)
5 Years Ago~
"Mommy?" My 8 year old said quietly as we walked down the weirdly quiet Madison Ave.
"Yes, my sweetest pea?"
"Where are we going?"
"Well, we're going to the bank because I need to do something there, and then we're off to lunch." I told her with a smile. Bella told me a joke that she learned in school.
"That's really witty."
"What does witty mean?"
"It's like being smart and funny." She nodded in understanding.
"Can you keep a secret?" She asked.
"Yes, I most certainly can." We walked into the bank and went to sit down as we waited.
"Sometimes, I don't find some of the jokes funny. They're too boring." I laughed quietly.
"How are they too boring?"
"They just....are super easy things that you could guess Mom. I like it when they're the outside of the box type of jokes. It makes it even funnier. But, I just fake laugh. Sometimes, I even fake laugh at some of  Uncle Sonny's jokes. But don't tell him, okay? Promise?" I couldn't hold back my laughter.
"I promise. Bella, you can trust me with some of your secrets. Mommy wouldn't tell anyone if you wanted it private. You know that, right baby girl?"
"Yep! And Mommy, I'll always tell you my secrets. Okay? But, you have to tell me some too!"
"That sounds like a fair deal! Come on, let's go run this errand so we can go eat!"
"Italian!" She squealed happily.

I wish that it was still like that. I wish that my daughter felt more comfortable talking to me and didn't bottle up all of her emotions, I wish that she wouldn't feel the need to hide her social media posts from me, and from what it looks like I wish she wouldn't hide some of her experiences from me. It isn't healthy, and quite frankly it's sad considering she says that she's so close to me. I'm not saying she has to tell me everything, but at least give me something to work with.
Me: Bella, I hope you have an amazing last day in Utah and I can't wait to see you tomorrow evening.
Bella: I can't wait to see you too, love you 🙂

That was quick. I texted her back and she told me that she was sorry for ignoring me.

Me: You know that when you get home we need to speak, right?
Bella: Yeah, I know.

Hm.
***************
Park City, Utah (Park City Skating Arena) (11:50 AM) (Bella's Perspective)
Basically, we had the choice of choosing what we wanted to do on our last day. We decided to do some skating, shop for souvenirs, and take a small hike up one of the hills. Then, we'd go out for dinner.
"You know, I'm not quite sure the whole hiking before dinner thing is smart."
"Why?" Paisley asked.
"Well, you guys are lazy so half of you will either want to turn back or be tired from it, which in turn will run dinner."
"True, dinner isn't fun when people are whining and complaining."
"Well, that's on them, I'm here for the full ride." We stepped on the ice and I happily skated away. Did I mention that I took ice skating lessons for a while? I had this phase where I thought I'd be the world's best figure skater, I mean I could if I tried, but I realized I loved dance and gymnastics way more, so I stopped. However, I've still retained everything from my lessons.
"Where did you learn to do that?!"
"Skating lessons," I told Sapphire. You know, Sapphire's my friend but I never really got the chance to sit down and get personal.
"I didn't know you did skating."
"Yeah, I used to. It was a phase. What about you?"
"I swim. Well, I did. I stopped after we moved here, I mainly just dance these days."
"Which style is your fav?"
"Hmm, definitely have to say hip hop. You?"
"Modern. I like I bit of everything. When I was younger, I loved ballet." It was nice to talk to Sapphire solo!
"Hey, would you like to hang out at my house when we get back home? Like, next week? If I'm not grounded of course."
"That'd be cool! I'm free Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"What are you two losers doing?"
"Talk about a nice greeting. Why does it matter to you Preston?!" Sapphire said jokingly.
"Well, damn you didn't have to be rude about it." We rolled our eyes.
"Anyways, Alexis wants to know if you guys wanna get hot chocolate and snacks with her. Some girl thing. I don't really know."
"Tell her we said sure." We got out of the rink and went over to where they were selling refreshments.
"We need to have some more girl time before we leave! Come on!"
**************
Morgan's House (2:45 PM EDT) (Noah's Perspective)
Considering I don't have practice today, I decided to spend time with Morgan at her house.
"Where's your Dad?"
"He's still at work fool." I laughed.
"Why the insults?!"
"Why does that matter?"
"I wanted to know what he thought of Sunday's football game."
"Seriously, do you come here just to talk to my Dad?!"
"Do you come to my house to hang out with my little sisters?"
"Okay, fair. Fair. But, we need to watch the new episode of Umbrella Academy it's so good."
"Oh yeah, that show with Addison Montgomery in it."
"When did you start watching Grey's Anatomy?"
"When Bella started forcing me."
"You're such a good brother."
"Call me Derek McDreamy."
"Now, you have too high expectations."
"Wow, rude much??" She laughed.
"Come on, let's go to my room!" There are perks of having Morgan as a girlfriend, she's super funny, nice, and calm. But, she also is home alone a good chunk of the time so we get to hang out in her bedroom a lot.
"By the way, I actually wanna watch this episode, so can we save that other stuff for later?!" She joked.
"Fine with me bossy." She rolled her eyes and started the show.
*************
Park City Mountain Resort (2:15 PM MDT) (Bella's Perspective)
So, nobody wanted to hike anymore so we decided to go back to the resort and just hang out at the arcade until we had to get ready for dinner.
"So we have like 2 hours or so. Let's look for some fans to play." When you win games you get tickets and you can redeem them for treats and prizes. I was trying to get something for Lei since she was the only one I hadn't gotten something for.
"Let's play Fruit Ninja. It's the easiest game." Hannah and I savagely sliced all the fruits while laughing.
"Hannah, that was a bomb!"
"Sorry, just trying to catch them all!"
"Look at the tickets we got."
"Sixteen to be precise. Here's 8!" I added them to my stash and we kept going.
"Jake, do you wanna play this game with me?" I asked. I pointed to the big Crossy road screen.
"Sure." He said calmly. When we were away from everyone else, I spoke.
"You're such a weirdo."
"Why?"
"You were trying to downplay your excitement. It's okay to be excited, you know." He finally relaxed.
"Is it just because you were in front of the boys?"
"Maybe.."
"Are they giving you a hard time? Because of what happened on the plane."
"Occasionally, but I can handle it." I watched as he managed to not get hit by any cars in the game, he's really good at it...He'll probably get a lot of tickets.
"Just making sure. Do you play this game a lot?"
"Used too."
"Me too, it's one of those iconic games that feel so nostalgic whenever you play them again."
"It gives off fourth-grade vibes."
"Omg yes." We continued talking as we went to go meet up with the rest of our group.
"Well, you guys only took...I don't know forever." Kylie said.
"I'm so sorry, I was just trying to get enough tickets for the stuffed animal. It's for Lei. Have a heart." I said sarcastically. They all laughed.
"Excuses." I have to say, I had so much fun these past 4 days. We chatted, skied, snowboarded, skated, and the part that I cherish the most, staying up late and just having fun. No one could judge us, say we were crazy, or anything like that.

"Leah, you need to be careful before you fall again!" Hilary said while turning up the music.
"I'm not going to fall, you're just negative, how about you just keep supplying us with snacks?!" Hannah laughed.
"Don't mind her, Leah gets snappy after 1 AM. Just feed her Twix and she'll be fine." Leah kept jamming to 'Shake It' by Metro Station before tripping over her foot and falling off the bed.
"She's just so predictable," Sapphire said.
"I'm okay! I'm not hurt."
"Yeah, you're not hurt now. You're going to feel it in the morning." Paisley said in a know-it-all kind of tone.
"But, while you're not feeling any pain, let's keep dancing! Come on!" I helped her up and we continued to dance to all of our favorite songs. It was one of the most memorable jam sessions from the trip.
***************
Our Manhattan Home (8:45 PM EDT) (Olivia's Perspective)
"Leia, it's 8 PM and you have school in the morning. Let's get ready for bed." I said to my 6-year-old as she played with her dolls.
"I'm not tired." She continued to play on the living room floor.
"Well, we could read a book, maybe it might help make you feel sleepy sweetie pie. Come on."
"I don't wanna go to bed." I sighed and got down on one knee so that I could be at eye level with my daughter.
"Lei, there comes a time in the day where everything stops, and we have to wind down and go to sleep. You don't need to go straight to sleep little lady, but you're definitely not going to play or watch tv anymore, it's bedtime."
"I don't want to!" Now, I was a bit shocked. Leia isn't usually defiant, that's behavior that I would've expected from Noah and Bella at her age during bedtime, just because they simply hated it.
"Leia, you're not going to yell at me." She began to cry. Rather than entertain the tears, I turned off the tv and put her toys in the bin before taking her upstairs to her bedroom. Leia continued to cry and I sat next to her and watched as she cried for the next 7 minutes.
"You know, I can't understand you when you're crying or yelling. If Mommy screamed and cried, you'd be confused, no?" She nodded.
"Well, it's the same for you, Leia Mae. Is something wrong?" She left her room and once again I was confused.
"Leia, sweetie." That's when I realized it was more than just a tantrum over going to bed. When Leia's sad she likes to hide in the coat closet. Maybe she's afraid of going to sleep.
"Leia?" I sat in the coat closet with her. She was crying again.
"Please talk to me, what's bothering you?"
"Please don't make me go to bed, Mommy. Please."
"What's wrong Leia?"
"I have nightmares, please, I don't wanna go! I'm gonna have the dream about getting hurt again!"
****************
Riverhorse on Main (6:50 PM MDT) (Bella's Perspective)
"May I have the filet mignon please, and a ginger ale as my drink?" I asked.
"Yes, you may!" The waitress smiled and took my menu. Now, this was a super fancy restaurant. We were having these really fancy appetizers, and I have to say, it isn't too shabby. It tasted really good.
"I'm usually not a big seafood fan, but this tastes awesome." Jonathan pointed out.
"I know!"
"Hey guys, after dinner why don't you guys come to our room?!" Axel whispered.
"No, no one's getting in trouble the day before we go home. Are you crazy?!" Alexis asked while rolling her eyes.
"Dramatic much?"
"She isn't being dramatic, she's being realistic. You know how much they check the rooms, you idiot." Georgie said in an annoyed tone.
"Hey, guys, cut it out. We don't have to argue over it." I said.
"The answer is no, besides we have packing to do, so how about this, we pack after dinner, and we meet you at the Starbucks before curfew?" I suggested.
"Sounds fine."
"Yeah, instead of arguing, let's enjoy our last dinner."
"Last supper."
"You didn't have to make it religious." We all laughed.
"That gave off April Kepner vibes."
"It indeed did and it was scary." We continued to talk about a multitude of things, and I have to say, dinner was so much fun. I can't wait for the second senior trip!

~To be continued