Love And Lies

Chapter 2

I'm woken up by someone shaking me, so I reach up to rub my eyes before opening them, seeing mom sitting on the edge of my bed with a small smile, her long dirty blonde hair that matches mine hanging straight down to her waist, and her green eyes that also match mine are bright, surrounded by a thin layer of eyeliner, and mascara covering her thick lashes. People have always confused us as being sisters, and it's easy to see why.

"hi, sweetheart. How are you feeling today?" she asks, and I sit up, running a hand through my hair, then I give her a fake smile, "I'm fine." I reply, lying through my teeth,

"are you sure? Because its okay if you're not." she says, running a hand over my hair, before cupping my cheek, making my smile falter, letting out a sigh, "I'm not, mom. I'm really not." I say, my voice breaking, and she wraps her arms around me, pressing her cheek to my head as she strokes my hair, "it hurts so much." I sob, soaking her blouse with my tears,

"I know, sweetheart. I know." mom whispers, kissing the top of my head. She then pulls away, taking my face in her hands, "it hurts now, but I promise you this pain will fade. It'll never fully leave you, but it will fade into something more tolerable. Don't let the pain control you, Olivia." she says, wiping my cheeks,

"I'm trying so hard." I reach up to put a hand over my heart, "but she she's gone, and I couldn't do anything." I say, shaking my head,

"no, but you can do something now. You can live your life, remembering how good of a person she was. Remember and love the memories of her, especially when it hurts." I take a deep breath at that, closing my eyes as I picture Marci's smile in my mind, then I open my eyes, hugging mom, "I love you, mom." I whisper,

"I love you, too, sweetheart." she whispers back, kissing the side of my head. "now, even though you're going back to school today, there is no rush, so take as long as you need to get ready. Your principle is okay with you turning up late, so we can go when you feel ready to go." she explains, and I give her a small smile, reaching up to wipe my cheeks as I pull away from the hug, "I'm gonna have a shower." I say,

"okay. Me and dad will be downstairs if you need us." she replies, and kisses my head once more before standing up, walking out of my bedroom.

After sitting in bed for a few more minutes, I finally stand up, stretching out my aching muscles from barely getting out of bed for the past two weeks. I then pick my phone up from the bedside table, and turn it on, my breath catching in my throat when I see my lock screen picture. Me and Marci both had matching lock screens, the pictures of us taken by my dad when Marci's parents hosted the monthly barbeque at their house. Dad was taking pictures all day, and he caught one of me and Marci when we had one of our 'who can pull the stupidest face' battles. Marci made my half of the picture as her lock screen, and I made her half as mine. It was such a fun day, but then again, all the monthly barbeques were a lot of fun, and we would always end the night with a bonfire, and some really bad off-key singing that would make Prince and Michael Jackson roll in their graves.

I smile at the memories, trying not to cry as I take my phone with me when I leave my room, heading towards the bathroom. I close the door behind me, and open my Spotify on my phone, scrolling through my saved playlists until I get to the one that Marci made for me, which is jam-packed with our favourite bands and singers, as well as a few parodies and joke songs we both loved. I smile, letting out a small laugh when Bromance by Ryan Higa and Chester See starts playing as I walk over to the shower. I put my phone on the sink counter, before turning on the shower, letting the water warm up as I strip out of my pyjamas and underwear.

Once I've done everything I need to in the shower, I turn off the water and step out, wrapping a large town around my body, then using another smaller one to pat and rub my hair dry until the towel is wet and can't dry anymore. Walking over to the sink, I hum along to the music playing, and I start to brush my teeth, plugging in the hair dryer for when I'm done. Once I've finished with my hair, I pick up my phone and walk out of the bathroom, going back into my room, but I pull up short when I see dad sitting on my bed, "hi." I say, turning off my music, and he smiles at me, standing up from the bed as he puts a hand on my shoulder, pressing a soft kiss to my forehead, "hi, doll." he says, using the nickname that he's called me since I was little, "how-" I cut him off before he can say anything,