Love the Stars

Chapter 2: She's Home

Xander Stone

I start walking up to Tony's house, and see someone at the front door contemplating on what to do. "Can I help you?" I ask to see if I can help in any way. "I don't know. Can you?" They say. Wait! I know that voice!

"Hopefully, you are at my best friend's house." I say my reply, hoping in my head she'll respond back. "Oh well then it's a good thing my mom didn't move." Oh my god! That is Stella! She looks faded. "Stella?! How are you? Come on in! They've been expecting you." I say happily. She talks again, "Yeah, it's me. I'm... uh same old same old." I open the door for her and carry in her suitcases while she carries in her kennel. She looks around like she is remembering her past before she moved with her dad. I know why it's quiet in here, Tony is reading some book. I take a look on how she is doing, and she looks worried about something.

"MOM!? TONY!? I'M HERE!" Stella yells out, to see if anyone hears. Next thing we hear is my best friend's heavy ass footsteps clomping down the upstairs hallway and down the stairs. "STELLA! My little sister!" Tony says excitedly coming to Stella, giving her a hug. They hug for a few minutes, before Tony says, "Sorry, mom isn't home right now. She is teaching a class, but she made sure that I was home when you came." She waits for a few seconds then smiles saying, "That's okay Tony, I knew she probably would be. My room still the same?" Stella asks, and we hesitated for a few seconds. Before I could reply, Tony shakes his head no. "We moved your stuff, like all of it to the basement. We had a whole bathroom built down there for you too, so it is a large apartment for you. Your room kind of got turned into the guest room, but we made the window in the basement bigger, so you still have your bay window." Tony responded. He got a look on his face, that says he's scared to see how she responds. We both thought she would freak out and yell, but what she does leaves us puzzled. She starts laughing, like a balloon bursting laughing. So, I finally ask, "Why are you laughing?" She seemed to laugh so hard, that she started coughing heavily. Tony face turns to worry now, and I stare in wonder. "I've been wanting the basement since I was ten. I didn't complain though, but thanks. I'm going to go down and unpack and put my stuff away. Could you bring down Solaris? Hes in his cat kennel. He did not like the airplane ride so much, so he is a little grumpy. Be careful." She responds, asked, and seemed to be a bit of a warning too. She starts walking down to her new basement apartment/bedroom, and I don't care, but I'm staring at her ass. She takes down her suitcases too, while Tony gets her cat.

Wow, she's just gorgeous!

I go and sit on their living room couch and start playing on the PS4. I knew she wanted the basement for a long while, since she would get more privacy down there. Tony goes downstairs to her new room with her cat. He looks super fluffy. I helped install so much stuff down there, and I just hope she likes them.

Tony and Stella talk for about thirty minutes, I can hear her ranting, but I stay out of it. A few seconds later, Tony comes running upstairs to get an oxygen tank, and then runs back downstairs as fast as he can.

"Tony, my car should be here in a few hours. It's a 2022 white Toyota RAV4." Stella says. That's a nice car. I'm watching her carefully, and she notices and stares at me like 'what?'

"Tony," she pauses, "can I borrow your laptop, since mine is charging?" He nods his head and smiles. He's happy his sister is back, but he's not the only one. He runs up and gets his laptop and asks why she needs it. "I'm looking for a bakery job. I worked at a bakery in New York when I lived there with dad. I love baking and it helps take my mind off of you know what..." She said, and I wonder what she means. All we hear next after about 30 minutes is, "YES! There're two bakeries nearby that need someone to bake the goods! I'm so applying!" Both Tony and I stare at her like she is crazy, but we chuckle a little bit. Since were both staring at her in a 'you're crazy,' she responds, "What? I love baking, quit staring at me!"

She takes out a bottle of medicine and shakes it in the air for Tony to see, and Tony then turns around and get her a glass of orange juice and takes it to her. I finally ask, "What is that?" They both respond back 'nothing' too quickly like they are hiding something. Now I'm more worried. All I hear now from downstairs is soft rain music, which means only one thing.... She's going to sleep.

Her mom got home a few hours later with groceries for her basement apartment. They seem to be trying to catch up, but once I hear Ms. Knight yell, "TONY?!," Both Tony and I run downstairs in a panic. Stella drinks some water her mom got her, and she finally stops coughing to respond with, "Oh you know, the normal. It's going mom, and I love my new place. You made it look like an actual apartment, with a kitchen and bathroom. You even made the window bigger because you know I love bay windows." She chuckles a little bit, and Tony and her smile. Tony says, "So, sis, your car finally came. It's a cute little vehicle just the right size for you." She does this little giddy dance, that I find adorable. She got all of us to laugh because of her giddy dance, so she really must love that car.

As I stare at her, all I feel is a brush of fur that scares me, and makes me jump. I, of course, get laughed at, but I wasn't expecting his fur to touch me. Sweet Stella says, "Sorry Xander, Solaris is a little bit sneaky. Plus, when I got him his first collar, he figured out a way to get it off because he hated it, and the little bell on it." What a sneaky cat. I crack a smile, and say, "It's fine. He's a cute cat." I have a feeling that, that cat likes me.

Tony hands her, her spare key, that the towing guy used to get the car off the truck. She puts it in her nightstand, which I notice have other medications in it. We all go upstairs, and Stella is carrying Solaris, she then sits on the couch and is petting her cat. "Rosemary said she should be here by tomorrow. She applied to TXSU too, to be here with me. Yes mom, she knows. I could see the question on your face." Stella says. Knows what? Ms. Knight smiles and replies with, "She can have the guest bedroom then." Stella has this cute smile on, and says, "Thank you, mom." She goes back to petting her cat, to keep her calm. "Rose is the one driving the moving truck here, she wants to be what I want to be. So, staying up isn't an issue for either of us." She said, then gets a glum look on her face.

"Thank you for not throwing a welcome party. I don't do parties. I've tried and failed, so yeah." Her soft voice said, we all nod and smile a 'no problem.' She never liked parties. Stella asked her mom about her class and Ms. Knight responds back, "It was good dear. There're some dummies, some smart, some really cute men, rude bitches, but that's normal." Stella makes the most angelic giggle, but then asks, "How cute? On a scale of 1-10?" I rolled my eyes and clenched my jaw. Her mom responds, "Think Andrew Garfield and Gregg Sulkin." Stella's mouth drops open. The things I could do with that mouth... no stop thinking that right now. "Damn mom, that's not cute. That's smokin'!" She says back to her mom and gives another giggle. Tony just shakes his head, trying not to laugh, and I'm trying not to punch a wall. I want her to think I'm smokin'. Damn I sound like a girl. She is smiling at all of us.