Wandering

9|

Tom had brought my mom home and I had notified her that I'm going out quickly. She nodded quickly and I was out the door. I had told Chris and Ben to meet at the end of the street across from me so I can get hold of a phone. Then I can meet Chloe and text her often. I jog to the street, hoping the guys are already there because I'm a little late. 

I hope Chris still kept his offer of one of his old phones otherwise I'm meeting them for nothing. I see Chris with Ben trailing behind him also walking up to the end of the street.
"Hey Chiara." Ben huffs.
"Hey." I half smile.
"Got the phone." Chris pulls something from his back pocket.
"Want to sit somewhere so we can set it up?" He asks, passing the phone to me. I nod and we make our way towards a park bench.

Once I set the phone up, Chris and Ben give me their numbers so I can text in case of an emergency. I choose not to download any social media just yet since I don't want to face the comments about me anymore. Whilst Harry, Chris and Ben are being nice, I'm sure everyone else hasn't changed. 

I only have the two boys numbers in my phone so far. I have to keep this from my mom otherwise she's going to lash out. And I can't tell Harry because he'll find out about Chris and Ben so I guess I'm keeping it between the three of us. 
"Have you seen Harry?" Ben asks, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Yeah. Mom had dinner with Tom and well he was there." I avoid the whole apology conversation.
"How'd it go?" Chris joins the conversation.
"Average. Mom announced about her and Tom. She went a little mad when I said I already knew... I told her I assumed because I couldn't bring you guys up." I make the lie up on the spot.

I thank the guys again for the phone, and the help recently. Chris gives a smile and Ben half smiles. I jog towards the store I went to yesterday to find Chloe again. I hope she's here. We didn't discuss when to see each other next. I'm pretty excited to see her again, she's going to be a good friend. I can tell.

I arrive at the store and search the isles in case there's anything I want but I don't really see anything that calls out to me. Instead I go to the tills. My eyes line up and down at each cashier with the auburn hair. I can't see her from where I'm standing so I walk a little closer. I squint my eyes, attempting to get a better view.

"Looking for someone?" A familiar voice calls out behind me.
"Chloe! I was looking for you!" I laugh.
"Here!" She giggles.
"I got a phone! I came here for you." I state.

Chloe tells me she just finished her shift and I smile.
"Wanna come to mine?" She asks after we exchange numbers.
"Sure why not?" I smile towards her.

She leads me towards her house and she talks about her day at work and how a mother shouted at her son for flirting with her. Take in the mind the boy was about 10. I laugh every now and then as she mimics the boy. 

We arrive at a small house with bright green grass surrounding each wall. It seems like a cozy and comfortable house unlike my own, which just brings back bad memories of growing up.
"Coming? Or would you prefer to stay and look at it outside?" She jokes. I nod and follow behind her. She opens the door and a staircase leads upstairs as you walk in.

I kick my shoes off and tie my hair into a low ponytail
"Anything to drink?" She asks.
"Water." 

She hands me a glass of water and we sit at the breakfast bar. She throws a pack of pringles on the counter and takes a handful.
"Where are you parents?" I ask, taking a bite from a pringle. She laughs in respose. I assume there's something I don't know.
"I moved out." She answers, making it all make sense."
"Oh shit! How old are you?" I ask, trying not to sound rude.
"23. How old are you?" Oh so she's the same age as Rose.
"19." 
"Oh so you young?" 

I nod and she smiles. We finish of the pringles, humming along to the radio. Eventually she turns it up as silence falls upon us. She gets up to dance and it reminds me of myself.
"Come and dance Chi!" She exclaims. She is literally me. But the me in Italy. I remember the way I made Romeo dance with me at the lake. And how we spent the day laughing and smiling together. 

Instead of drowning myself in my own sorrows, I get up and dance to the music. The song playing is 'Can we dance' by the vamps. We scream out the words as if we were at a middle school sleepover. It felt good to be myself. I suppose being around people like Chloe bring out the best in you. 

The song ends and we stare at eachother in silence. Our eyes meet and we explode into laughter. I'm sure if anyone saw us they'd wonder what was going through our heads. Who hurt us...

I flop on Chloe's bed and sigh. I'm exhausted from all the dancing and singing we just did. It was like our own concert.
"I'm so tired." I say with an airy chuckle.
"Stay the night? I'm tired to drive you back... and you are not walking in the dark." She points an accusing finger.
"But my mom-"
"Fuck your mom!" She rolls her eyes.

I told Chloe about my Mom and how she's so controlling and exhausting. Chloe hates her already and she hasn't even met my mother. I can't understand how Tom puts up with her. 

"Tell me more about Romeo." She says out of the blue.

"Romeo was amazing. He was the first guy to really care about me. He loved me." I say with a sigh.

"He still loves you. I found his instagram." 

I get up from staring at the ceiling and whip my head to face her.