Pretending Forever

Chapter 2

I was sitting alone in my room, when a thought struck me. Reagan. Out of nowhere. What had happened to her? I thought she must have social media by now, so I looked up her name there. Nothing. Nicknames? Nothing. She must just have an unusual username that I can't find. The thought passed, and I went to bed, but a few days later, it struck me again. I tried to recall the days of that last summer, but it was blurred, six years having faded the memories. Her smile, though. Something I would never forget. Still, it didn't help with the memory searching. 

I asked my mom if I could look through some old photos on her computer. Confused, she obliged, so I said I was getting ready for school. I'm not sure why I felt I had to lie about it, I just had this strange intuition. I saw playing at the pool, laughing at the beach, making fairy houses in the backyard, sleepovers, some pictures from that summer, but I couldn't find anything. I shared all of the pictures with myself, so I could look over them any time without my mom getting suspicious. 

"Chloe, help unpack the boxes!" Lilly called from downstairs. "Your room isn't going to create itself!" I trotted down the stairs, only to be handed a few boxes to haul back up to my room. It was pretty bare, except for my twin bed, shoved under the window. I start to pull things out and stack them where the bookshelf will go. I grabbed some sweaters and stacked them where the dresser was going to be. I hoped the new furniture we ordered came soon. I get that my dad got a new job and whatever, but did we have to move somewhere that's going to be so dang cold? School was going to start soon, and I didn't want people to think my clothes had been lying on the floor for a week. (Even if they had)

With all of the confusion from the move, unpacking and setting up furniture, and then with school starting, I almost forgot about Reagan. Until I met Mattie.