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ps: again, long long chapter!
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Iris
"I need popcorn!" I yell out to Colt, who is in the kitchen, making us fairly good cocoa milk.
I am laying on the couch in front of the tv in Colt's house as we have been kicked out of my house because his parents and my parents are having some sort of 'best friend' dinner and they need their kids to be out of their way.
Ugh, some parents we have.
"Make it yourself!" Colt yells back.
"I can't and you know it."
"Then forget about popâ"
"Can we order pizza?" I say, excitedly jumping on the couch. He stops in his way to look at me jump as he gets us the cocoa milk.
"No. Now, stop jumping on the couch, will ya? I pity the beautiful couch."
"Why?" I stop jumping but keep standing.
"Cuz you weigh like some hundred kgs and jumping on the couch is going to hurt it," He replies, very sincerely and calmly.
"You littleâ" I grab a pillow but, then, I see he is holding our cups. "If you weren't holding those beautiful and aromatic cups of cocoa, I would have smashed this pillow on your face. So, I am going to sayâI hate you!"
He shakes his head in amusement as he comes towards me while I sit cross-legged on the couch. "I have been hearing those words so many times."
I take one of the cups, rolling my eyes. "Shut up, Dias."
"Whatever, Cooper."
"I can't believe I gave those delicious chocolate cookies to you when you moved here."
"Those cookies were half-burnt." He snorts.
"No, they weren't." I gape at him. "They were baked with love."
"Too much love." He snorts again. I punch him on his arm, hard. He hisses in pain, saying, "Damn, lady."
He looks at me, knowingly, as I smile back at him. "That was the first thing you said to me-"
"-and you were like 'ugh, you are such an idiot. I hate you.'!" He says in high pitched small girl voice.
"I did not speak like that!" I gasp, offended.
"You did."
"I did not!"
"You did!"
"I met Thomas yesterday."
"You diâwhat did you just say?" he asks, surprised. I let out a breath as I recall how I met him and what had happened some days ago.
I have no idea how past days passed awayâtoo fast yet too slow. Tomorrow Daisy is coming and I have absolutely no idea what to expect from this girl. Every time she comes home, she does something so unexpected that even Mom and Dad are surprised.
Now, Colt looks at me, first, with surprise but, slowly, it dissolves into concern. "Are you fine?"
"It is weird, you know. The way he acted," I reply to him, putting the empty cup on the table, in front of us.
"Are you fine, Iris?" he asks again.
I sigh, saying, "I don't know. Why can't I just have one year without any drama in my life? Wasn't last year enough?" I groan out.
"You are not fine."
"I don't know."
"So..."
I wave around my hands in the air, explaining, "I just don't know what to feel about him, now. I just feel indifferent which is both a good thing and a bad thing."
"Good thing... got that. The bad being that you both were good friends and now you are not." He nods, keeping his elbow on the headrest. He huffs out in anger. "To be honest, he had no right to be jealous when he saw you with Noah. It is not like you were the one who broke up with him. It is not like you were theâ"
"Colt," I interrupt him. "I really have stopped caring but..."
"You deserve a fucking closure," He says. "If it wasn't for you making me swear, I would have been fucking happy to get convicted for murder."
I give him a look. "Bro, you sound like those who would just love to go to jail and, seriously, don'tâI can't do anything without you," I add, hugging him.
"I know." He laughs, hugging me back.
"You know what?" I ask, pulling away.
"That I am your lifeline," he replies, wiggling his eyebrows.
"No, go off." I push him away. I glance at him, smirking, and say to him, "So... lately, you have been acting weird."
"...weird? What do youâ?" His phone rings, indicating a notification. As fast as lighting, he picks it up with a smile on his face but then, it turns into a scowl. "Notâ"
He pauses and glances at me.
"Not who?" I ask him as if I have no idea who he is talking about (like yeah right).
"No one," He tells me, opening the Netflix. "Let's watch a movie."
For someone who literally asks me every day about my day, he sure tells me nothing. I pout but don't say anything. When he wants to tell me, he will so there is no need to force him.
"Can we see Resident Evil?" I say, excitedly.
"I want to see Deadpool," He says like a kid.
"What about World War Z?"
"Naa, The Walking Dead."
"You have seen it like thirty-two times, already. Let's see Captain America: Civil War."
"Aqua man."
I make a gagging sound at it.
I say, much to his happiness, "Iron Man. We are going to see Iron Man."
He grins at me; his favorite superhero is Iron Man.
"Now, I can't say no to that," He says, hugging me sideways. "By the way, Iris, you know I am always with you no matter what happens, right?"
"I know, Colt." I smile at him. I don't bother adding, "Also, if you everâby ever I mean anytime, you realize you got the Pepper to your Tony, promise me to tell me."
***
I fall to the ground with my eyes closed.
The End.
"Can you not make me cry?" I hear Juliet sniff in the quiet room.
If it is not more obvious, I had been dancing and no, I didn't die (if I had, the page would've been blank). Since it is a Saturday, the team had come to Julio's dance studio for practices.
Rolling my eyes behind the lids, I rise, breathing out. "It wasn't that good," I say to her, stretching my arms a bit.
Half of the room groans and Kei scoffs. "Not good? What are you? Julio?"
Julio clears his throat, giving Kei a look. "You don't mean that, right?"
Kei looks at him and blinks. "Nope never did."
"Alright." Julio turns to me and says, "It was alright. I would give you a solid 95 and I need a 98, next practice. Right, Iris?"
"Yes, Julio," I say back, firmly.
"Okay, dancers, practice over. On Monday, we meet again."
With the Nationals near now, we need everything to be perfect. Every dance, every step, every expression of every dancer, whether solo or in the group, has to be good. Kei and I have seen videos of other participating teams and we have very strong competition, this year.
We have been preparing for this, since December, and thus we have to make sure we get ourselves in Worlds.
"Wow, he is in a mood," Keisuke says, coming next to me. Justin passes a bottle to me as I get up.
"Happens always some days before the main event," Juliet says, picking up her bag from the side, and we all do the same, going out.
"Remember when we were in Worlds, two years ago? Julio stopped all the practices for two days straight just a week before we were leaving." Justin says, looking at us.
"That was because some of the dancers broke down with fear that we won't be even in the top 3," I say, after drinking from the bottle.
"But, come on, you can't deny the fact that he was a new teacher then and freaked out when he found out about it," Keisuke says, shaking his head.
"He is very much one of a kind," Justin says, laughing.
"Yeah." I laugh, turning towards my car. "Bye, guys. Remember to practice, alright?"
"Of course, that would be your goodbye words." Keisuke rolls his eyes as all of us go our respective ways.
Since it is too early to go home and it is indeed a Saturday, I decide to make a detour.
"Shit, it has been a while since I came here," I murmur to myself, pushing the glass doors of Coral's.
Looks like my brain is still a freak and I still love coffeeâyup, everything's the same.
The aromatic smell of coffee and chocolates and baking andâshit, I can feel my saliva dripping. I walk towards my favorite spot in the café, involuntarily, but see that it has already been occupied by someone.
By the looks of it, a man is sitting there. He has worn a black sweater and black jeans with Vans shoes. He runs his fingers through his hair, looking down at something.
I almost scoff.
"You don't have anything other than black?" I look at Noah. He is reading a book which I assume is covered with a thick brown cover.
Noah, slowly, turns his head up towards me, surprised. Actually, I should say I am surprised too by that grey round-framed specs on his nose.
"Well, well, well. Guess who got an appointment with an eye doctor? I will give you a hintânot this woman," I say, grinning. I take my seat across from him, in front of the window. He gives me a pointed look, almost taking them out but I stop him.
I say, "Don't. It looks... different on you."
He frowns. "Different?"
"Good different," I tell him, keeping my head on the palm of my left hand. "So, reading?"
When I try to get a peep of the book, he closes the book, abruptly, and keeps it beside him. I look at him but he looks at the book with a hard look. "Just passing time."
"Anyway," He looks across my face, saying, "You are coming here after practice?"
After glancing at the book, I look at him and nod. "Yeah. It was a bit hard since Kei and I are participating in the city's dance fest."
"...Dance fest?"
"Don't you know?" I ask him. "Every year in February, dance fest is organized by the town's committee. It is not a big event but an important event."
He tilts his head and says, "You really love to dance."
I don't bother hiding my grin. "I really do."
"I wish I can see you dance one day."
His statement takes both of us off guard. For a moment, we both just look at each other until I look away, feeling flustered.
What the hell? He just said that like a normal person; there is no other meaning and no reason to get flustered. But, of course, he is Noahâhe usually never says anything like that.
"Thaâ"
"Youâ"
Another eye contact between us and I let out a laugh while he has a small smile upon his lips.
I look outside the window. "Wait, they have water lilies now? I haven't been here for some eleven days and this happens and I don't know? But who am I kidding? They look so good; I wish there was some sunlight to spark up it more."
I look at the garden, smiling, and only when I look at the daisies, I turn towards Noah, wide-eyed.
Before I can say anything, he says, "You are not getting involved."
"But why?" I pause. "How do you know I was going to ask about Daisy and Percy?"
"It is written all over your face." He shrugs.
"Shut up," I grumble, rolling my eyes. "Come on, Noah, just tell meâ"
"May I take your orders?" A waiter comes, interrupting me. Noah smiles, knowingly, as he lowers his hand. The idiot called him purposely.
I sigh and tell the waiter, "One chocolate mocha with whipped cream and... two cupcakes."
The guy writes it down, before going away and now, Noah turns to me, questioningly. "Only two?"
"Won't you eat one too?" I ask back and realization shines in Noah's eyes but he shrugs. "You aren't getting yourself anything?" I ask him.
"I already had three cups of tea. I think I am okay."
"Three cups?" I ask, surprised.
"Not that big of a surprise." He sighs, running his fingers through his hair.
I just stare at him, waiting for more, but he turns his eyes away from me. I know I have to change the topic, somehow, and I do such an unexpected thing: I take his glasses from his face and put them on mine.
"Bella." He looks at me, shocked.
I blink my eyes, adjusting to it. I ask him, smiling widely, "How do I look?"
Now, he just stares at me with his usual coat of blankness but... but there is something else as I stare at himâsomething undecipherable. Then, he looks away as he holds out his hand, gesturing to his specs.
I pout and say, "Why? Do I not look good?"
Just now the waiter comes with my order and I ask him, "Um, hello, do you mind answering if I look good or not?"
The waiter looks at me in surprise but slowly, his cheeks redden and he says, "You are really preâ"
"Okay, you can go." Noah glares at him and the waiter goes away, quickly. He turns to me, disbelieving. "You are incorrigible."
"Hey, I was just asking him for an opinion, nothing more," I say, shrugging, before turning to my mug of coffee. "Eeee, coffee. Ooh, look at the whipped cream." I take the mug, happily, and suddenly, my vision fogs up. "What theâWhat just happened?"
"You have never worn glasses before, have you?"
I look up, squinting my eyes to see somethingâanything. I feel a rough hand with a soft touch on my cheeks. Slowly, the glasses go off my face and I come face to face with amber eyes. I gulp, feeling the soft intensity of his eyes on me.
"Fine, now?" He asks me, taking the glasses and leaning away from me.
"Yeah, I'm fine," If you don't count the frantic beats of my heart.
I take a sip from the coffee. In an attempt to change the topic, I ask him, "So, what are youâ"
"All I can tell you is you will know tomorrow," He says, putting the glasses properly on the table.
I frown. "At least, tell me, what are you gonna do?"
"Me? I am not going to do anything." He shrugs his shoulders, casually.
"You are very annoying, Noah," I point out. He leans back, smirking, as he keeps on looking at me. I look at him, confused.
"Why are you looking at me like I am doing something wrong?" I ask him after he doesn't stop looking at me, for twelve seconds.
"You aren't doing anything wrong. You are... making everything right."
"That's very cryptic." I laugh. "But, then, I should have expected that from you."
"You know what? Let's play a game," Noah says, smirking.
I raise an eyebrow. "With you?"
He looks like he wants to say something but settles on: "Yeah"
I start to protest but then, he says, "Just twenty questions."
"Oh," I take another long sip from my coffee. "You start. I am way too indecisive."
He nods and asks, "If you become invisible for a day what will you do?"
"Hmm," I ponder. "I will go to LA, watch broadways for free, since I am invisible, and then come back. You?"
"I will rob all of the casinos in Las Vegas," He says and I can't help but laugh.
"What?" I say, still laughing. "That's... that's actually a good one."
"Better than yours?"
"Hey, I didn't know we are competing," I say, sobering up. He smirks and I drink my mocha, looking at him.
"If you get to be any famous character for a month, that character would be?" I ask, after twenty-eight seconds.
He thinks for sixteen seconds, before looking at me. "James Bond."
I perk up my eyebrow in amusement. "Really?"
"He is... James Bond. I know what you will be. Kim Possible."
"Undoubtedly." I grin, taking one of the cupcakes. "Your turn."
"The movie you want to be in?" he asks as he takes another cupcake.
I answer, "I don't know but I can tell you my favorite movie...10 things I hate about you."
He looks at me as if trying to analyzing me. "The movie or are you going to actually tell meâ"
I laugh, saying, "Though there are a lot of things I hate about you, I was just mentioning my favorite movie. What about yours?"
He answers, right away, "I like the Fast and Furious movie series. But if I have to choose The Tokyo Drift."
"That's very specific." I point out and he shrugs. I roll my eyes at his expressionless face. "Would you kiss a donkey's butt or eat your least favorite fruit for a month?"
"Kiss a donkey's butt."
"Ew, no." I make a face. "I rather eat Grapes for a whole month."
"You hate grapes?" He asks, surprised. "They are alright."
"All the more reason to hate you more, Noah."
He just chuckles. "Then, what's your favorite fruit?"
"I like cherries."
"Cherries?" He raises his brows.
"Yeah," I lean forward, getting something out of my pocket. "I love them so much that my lip balm is cherry flavored." I show him my lip balm, before keeping it back.
He blinks at me as I lean back, eating another cupcake. He tells me, "You are one of a kind, Bella."
For the next two hours, we both ask each other questions back and forth. He likes the combination of monochromic colors (I ain't surprised). His favorite genre is R&Bs, much like I expected.
He runs his fingers through his hair almost like a habit. His nose twitches cutely when he lies (I, seriously, control my laughter). He is different right now; there is no trace of the hostility in him as I have seen in school.
"Have you... ever been in love?" He looks at me, seriously, now.
"Now, that's serious," I shake my head. "No, I have never been in love. Sure, I did like Thomas but I never loved him." I look back at him, asking, "Have you ever been?"
"No, I don't think I can be in love with anyone," He says.
"You can't be too sure," I say to him. "Falling in love is as inevitable as death."
"I can just keep postponing it."
"And what good will come from that? You will get hurt."
He pauses, looking between my eyes. He murmurs, "It is better than getting her hurt."
Emotionally unavailable. That's what Noah is.
Whatever has happened with him, I don't know and I won't pretend that I know. But whatever it is has made him into a lumpâplain and just accepting what he thinks he deserves.
I want to say something but I can't as some noise erupts near us. We both look at a birthday party of a ten-year-old girl as all of the guests sing Happy Birthday to her.
Noah cusses, before turning to me.
"Let me guess, you forgot something," I say and he nods.
"You can say that," He says, "Tiffany is having her eighth birthday party, next Sunday, and you are invited. I will give you the invite, later."
"Oh, okay. Didn't expect that," I say. "Speaking of birthdays, when is yours?"
He tenses at the question but answers, "November 12."
"Oh, so you are a November person, huh?"
He looks taken aback. "What do you mean?"
"Nothing..." I draw out.
"When's your birthday?"
"March 3rd."
He scrunches his brows. "That's in a month."
"Yeah, so? It is not like you are gonna throw me any surprise party," I roll my eyes.
"True. I have better things to do."
Don't show you are offended. Don't. Don't. Just change the topic.
"Yeah, okay." I ask, "When did you actually realize soccer is your calling?"
He looks at me for eight long seconds as if enjoying a private joke.
"I was six, then." He smiles, remembering. "I had participated in this small tournament in Nottingham and won. The adrenaline rush and that feeling of victoryâthat was the moment I knew it is something I want to do."
I grin. "I get it. I remember going to my first Dance show in New York. I was five, and we were living there, then. Aunt Stevie was so excited to go but nobody wanted to join her. I, like such a human I am, offered to go. They were like silk; you know the dancers. Effortless and smooth. I was beyond intrigued; so much that I sneaked backstage and met the dancers. Just that moment, I knew."
"You started learning dance since you were five?" He asks, curious.
"Yeah. Mom enrolled me in a dance studio when I was five. I just... love it."
He doesn't say anything and just looks at me, with a glimpse of a smile on his face. I look at him, again confused, by his expression. Before I can even ask, my phone starts ringing and I am beyond surprised, looking at the name.
"Why is the house locked?" Daisy groans out, impatiently, when I pick up.
***
"You know, putting an emergency key inside a pot is so gross," Daisy says, loudly.
Daisy, in her own holiness, is laying on the couch, eating Colt's emergency Kit-Kats and watching Gossip Girl (obviously). By the looks of it, she hasn't changed from her clothes.
She has worn a grey coat over her black dress and black leather boots. Her long blonde hair has been made into a French braid while her blue-grey eyes look...very much alive. She is taller than me but those boots add extra inches, making her really taller than me.
"How the hell are you so early, Daisy Annabeth Cooper?" I groan out, entering my home as I stumble over some four suitcases. "And, were you thrown out of your college? What are all these suitcases for?"
Now, she turns to me with a scowl. "This is definitely not the treatmentâwait, you were out."
Suddenly, she jumps over the couch while wearing heelsâgod damn, my sister is crazy.
"Were you on a date?" She asks, grinning, as she holds me by my shoulder.
Frowning, I say, "No."
She drops her hands with slumping her shoulders. "You are no fun. By the way, where's the best place to keep the two alcohol bottles?"
"In the bar, duhâoh, did you drink?" I sniff her and yes, I am right.
"Just a bit of champagne in the plane," She replies, sheepishly, before defending her intentions. "It was a long flight."
"Idiot." I roll my eyes as she gets the two large bottles of wine, one is red while another is white, from her bag. "how can thatâyou know what? I don't wanna know."
She tells me, "I bought them from the bar downtown. Dad said something about how classic wines are running out."
Just to be clear, we aren't alcoholics. Dad loves to keep his bar updated with everything. Daisy likes to drink but she's not obsessed with it. For me and Mom, we both have always liked champagne and chardonnay; the white wines.
As Daisy takes the bottles to keep them in the kitchen cabinet, instead of the bar, she asks, turning towards me, "So where were you exactly?"
"Coral's. For coffee and cupcakes."
"So, I assume you dropped off everything just to arrive here."
"You assume? Yeah, okay." I scoff out, crossing my arms, as she laughs. "You did tell Mom and Dad, right?"
"Yeah, just after I called you," She says as she comes out of the kitchen.
"Good." I let out a breath of relief, looking at her.
"Okay, I am gonna change," She says, walking towards the stairs. Now, she stops and looks at me with her very own smile. "I missed your stressful ass, Cooper."
"I missed your irresponsible ass, Cooper," I say to her, grinning, as we both hug each other.
"Can I ask you something?" I ask as we pull back.
She gives me a look as if she knows. "I did get matching boots for you too."
"Ah, the best sister ever," I say, punching her arm, playfully. She stumbles back a bit by the impact.
She looks away, holding up a finger. "If that's what I get for being the best sister, I am giving away the tag."
"You are such a stick." I laugh, as she goes upstairs, turning her back towards me.
"Doremi, you need better insults," She says, before going inside her room.
"It wasn't an insult, Annabeth," I say back, loudly. "It is a fact."
Ten minutes and four seconds later, I am laying over the couch, scrolling through my Instagram until I hear a bark.
"Woof!"
I turn to find Yeti tries to open the door with his nose as Caleb pushes it open.
Yeti is a white Samoyed; we found him, as a puppy, in the rec park in a box, one year eleven months ago. Caleb, Colt, and I knew we love him as Yeti looked back at us with those timid small eyes.
Now, he is the family dog. Since everyone loves him so much, we take turns to take care of him for two weeks each but he stays at my place more often, stating who is his favorite. Last two weeks, he was with Caleb and now, it is my turn.
"Oh my, Yeti!" I say as I bend to hug him while licks my face. I hold his face, looking at him. "Wow, you look handsome as ever."
"I am hurt, Iris." I hear Caleb say. I look up and find him leaning on the sofa.
"Daiz is home, by the way," I tell him, ignoring what he said.
"Oh stop, I know I am handsomeâwait, what did you say?" he turns to me, surprised.
"Daiz came early."
"Tell me you are kidding," He says, straightening up and looking at all the directions.
"Woof! Woof!" Yeti also looks in all the directions and suddenly, leaps out of my arms and runs upstairs.
"Yeti!" We both say, running behind him. A minute and a second later, we reach Daisy's room and see him scratching the door.
"Yeti, I am coming in a bit! Wait for me and Calebâ" Suddenly, the door opens and I see ping-pong balls being shot. "âwatch out."
I back out from this as Caleb tries to dodge or kind of protect himself from the balls while Yeti jumps up and down, trying to catch them.
"Daiz! Stop! Stop for fuck's sake," He says and now, the shooting of the ball stops as Daisy comes out in her ridiculously pink pajamas and white sweater with a black slip-on.
"Now, that's what you get for messing with Ava's sleep," She says, holding the gun, proudly. Taking out my phone, I click her picture as Yeti looks between both of them.
"Daiz, I apologized for Christ's sake!"
"And I said watch out for me."
"Oh-kay, guys, chill it down beforeâ" The door opens and we hear the voice we all are afraid of.
"Why, in seven worlds, is the house full of ping pong balls?"
Mom.
***
"It's 2330 hours, Steve. We have an early flight! Would you just get your lazy arse out of the couch and pack the bags?" Mom says, loudly, from the kitchen to Dad.
He is playing poker with Daisy and me in the living room. I roll my eyes as Daisy audibly sighs, stroking Yeti.
"Oh, hell no. I am good here," Dad replies, not even looking above his cards.
He is in a competitive mood, even though Daisy is beating himâbad. As for me, I was out of this game a long time ago just as Caleb left to go to some party someplace, exactly two hours ago.
Remember not to shut your phone; Caleb will call. Definitely.
Mom comes inside the room, looks at Dad, and scowls as she flops down just beside me. "Steve, she's already beating your arse bad. If I will pack, then you will get too obsessive over not putting your duckling boxers in the bags."
As I gape, looking between Mom and Dad, Daisy coughs, hiding her laughter. I see Dad, slowly, turns towards Mom with a wicked gleam while Mom is smirking.
"You just didn't, Mia."
"What did I do?" She says, placing her hand over her chest, as she bites her lower lip; a habit she does when she lies.
"So, children of mine and Mia's, have I ever told you why we don't go skieeâ" Before Dad can even complete, Mom presses her hand on his mouth, giving him a stern look.
Daisy and I share a look, as Yeti sits up alert, looking at us.
"Don't you dare, Cooper," She says but Dad removes her tiny hand, in comparison to his, and holds both of her hands as she tries to wiggle out of it.
"So, where was I? Oh right, the ski trip. Remember we had got the tickets for a ski trip six years ago?"
"The gift from Grandma Elena, right?" Daisy asks, curious.
"Yeah. The reasonâ"
"Steve, I swear, if you say anything about that, I will tell them aboutâ" Mom again interrupts Dad.
"Looks like Mom wants to play revealing the secrets game," Dad says, smiling, as he looks at her. "Well, then, Mia. I have another story too."
Mom looks so red that it feels like she might explode at any moment.
"Woof! Woof!" Yeti barks, sensing the same as he jumps towards Mom's lap, licking her face. Daisy and I start to laugh as Dad tries to get Yeti away from her face.
"Looks like story time's over, girls." Dad laughs, holding Yeti, while Mom rolls her eyes but we all can see the smile on her face.
"No. You can't do that!" I say, crossing my arms.
"Yeah, you lift our curiosity, and then it is a party without any EDM or drinks." Daisy comments; only my sister can relate anything to a party.
"Some woman in the same place and the same cottage was desperately in love with your Dad. Well, I just told her to back off but, in end, we got prohibition of entering the ski cottage," Mom replies, shrugging, wiping her face with tissues.
"You are sugar-coating it," Daisy states, professionally-looking at her.
"Damn right, she is," Dad says.
Mom narrows her eyes at Daisy, saying, "I hate that you took up psychology."
"Dad, will you?" I groan out.
Dad chuckles, ignoring Mom's glare. "Her telling the woman to back-off is the understatement of the century. She fought with her â physically, I mean."
"After she threw ketchup on me and cussed some profanities," Mom defends herself.
"Woah," I say, respecting the lady more. "How did it feel?"
"Amazing." Mom and I give each other high-fives. "Alya treated me with three scoops of Vanilla ice cream."
"Wait, wait, wait. You wouldn't have to fight. I mean Dad must have told the woman to back off. Right?" Daisy looks at Dad but Dad just shrugs, stroking Yeti's fur.
"He didn't know," Mom replies, rolling her eyes.
Daisy and I share a look, muttering, "Boys"
"Yeah, well. If this dumbass mustn't have fought with whatever was his name, we wouldn't have been here with these two kids. Do you wanna know that story, girls?" Dad asks, smirking.
"We have heard the story some hundred times." Daisy comments.
"Only a hundred times," Dad and Mom say, simultaneously, before looking at each other and smile. I look at Daisy and see she has a nostalgic expression on her face. I nudge her with my feet, grabbing her attention.
But, before she can turn to me and reply, Dad starts with 'How we met?' story (yes, we have named it that).
"Starting the second month of freshman year of the uni. I crashed with this beautiful blonde lady with stormy eyes who was carrying her books in the library."
"Oh, god, the dramatics," Daisy says, shaking her head.
"I crashed with this skyscraper of a person with an ego larger than the Sahara Desert," Mom says, sassily.
"Moving on, we both crashed towards each other. I looked at her and knew she is Mia Harrington, the school's valedictorian. I thought she knew me too but she didn't, like you all know, as she kept on mumbling that she had to leave faster, without even looking at me."
I add in between, "And his ego was hurt so..."
Mom smiles at me, before continuing, "He started commenting about how girls get excited in a library instead of in bed, and then, words were exchanged. I had forgotten why I had to leave because I was busy fighting this wanker."
"Now, this is the part where it gets interesting." Dad, now, smiles. "A total drunk started flirting with her and like her knight in silver armor, I protected her andâ"
"And got a black eye and a broken arm." Daisy and I laugh, giving each other high fives.
Dad frowns. "Well, he was way worse than meâI won the fight."
"Dad," Daisy tells him, "if Mom had not used her pepper spray on that guy, you would have lost."
"Why am I not enough?" Dad questions us and both of us can't stop laughing. Mom smiles, looking at us. Dad looks at Yeti. "You love me, Yeti?"
Instead of any sound, Yeti moves to Mom, and we, three, start to laugh.
"It is okay, Steve," Mom kisses his cheek and he smiles at her, softly.
He looks at us, grinning. "Well, because of my...state, she visited me daily in that week. We become friends and then, a couple and now, married and have two weird girls."
"Dad!" Daisy and I groan.
"Wait, you missed a detail," Mom says. "A couple and then, four years later, Daisy happens and six months later, we get married, and then four years later, we have Iris."
"Too much info," I mumble to Daisy and she agrees with me.
"Moral of this story: You will definitely one day meet your soul mate," Dad says, looking down at Mom as she blushes profusely. "But after I meet him," He says, looking at us.
I roll my eyes but then see Daisy. She has a frown on her face. I nudge her again and she looks at me. As I look at her, questioningly, she smiles and mouths, 'I am okay.'
Now, Mom's eyes widen. "What time is it now?"
"Two minutes past midnight," I state.
"Steve, we have an early flight! We have to pack our bags. Planned nothing. What about the cab? Are the tickets printed? We have to reach the airport early. Check if our phone bills are paid or not, I don't wantâ"
"Honey, calm down. Tickets are printed and in my main bag. Landon's going to pick us up at five-thirty and we will reach the airport early. As for packing the bags, we are messy packers so we will stuff everything to death in the bags."
"Butâ"
"All the bills have been paid. We did that yesterday, remember?"
"Yeah. Okay, now, let's get to packing. You, both... you both are technically woman, so you can handle yourself pretty well but, really, go and get some sleep."
As if on cue, Daisy yawns loudly. "I, better, go, and sleep." I narrow my eyes at her behavior but don't say anything. "Nighty night, family. Yeti, you coming?" She gets up and moves while Yeti follows her.
Mom and Dad turn towards me in half a minute. "I have to practice. So, I will be heading to the basement in a few minutes."
Dad smiles and gets up. "Well, I have to go pack for a marvelous week." He says in an English accent. I giggle as Mom glares at him and he winks at her, going upstairs.
"I know you have difficulty sleeping again," Mom, suddenly, says. I look at her, surprised. "I also know you only told this to Colt but your Dad and I know about it since the night you got that nightmare."
She turns towards me as her stormy grey eyes look into my soul. Instinctively, I scoot closer to Mom as she wraps her arms around me.
She continues, "Iris, you and I both know we both are trying to deal with Father's death."
Her voice falters a bit but she steadies herself quickly as I wrap my arms around her, too, putting my head on her chest.
"I know you are a strong woman butâ" She pulls me away to look at my face. "âremember that you shouldn't hold on to the past for a long time"
"Yeah, Mom. I know." She looks as if she wants to ask something but is scared. "What is it, Mom?"
She sighs and looks at me. "Your Aunt Gabriella wants you to spend spring vacation in London but she is okay even if you say no."
Gabriella Harrington, Mom's younger sister, and an amazing aunt. She lives with her wife, Tamara, in London. They have a daughter, Alex, who is six years old, and recently adopted two twin sons. The best thing about her, apart from the fact that she is the CEO of the family renowned sports brand, is a baking goddess (No kidding).
"I don't know. It will be good to meet her in person after all these years of the only video calling each other," I say to her. "But you know, Mom, I am willing to try...I will go there in the break."
Mom looks at me, surprised. "Are you sure, Iry?"
I nod. "I am."
But she still looks at me in concern. "I don't want to push your limits, Iris, because I, myself, know the feeling. I am just trying to say is that even Father wouldn't want you to lose your happiness, especially when you're alone. Don't show others that you are happy. Show that to yourself."
I smile at her, saying, "Did youâ"
She lets out a laugh. "Yeah, Iris, believe me, or not, I just came up with that."
After seven seconds of silence, I ask her, "Mom, how are you?"
She smiles, looking at me, as she tucks a hair strand behind my hair. "I will be much better knowing that my daughter, herself, is better, and don't you dare fake it, I am much of a Sherlock when it comes to lying."
"Hey, my mom always told me not to fake myself." I nudge her, playfully. "I love you, Mom."
"I love you too, Iris."
"Okay, this is way out of the topic but I just remember something," I say, pulling away from her.
"What?"
"Is it true that girls played hard to get only to get Dad's attention?"
Mom laughs in reply.
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