If Only

Chapter 20- 2 Letters, 3 Goodbyes, 5 Minutes

"Welcome, once again, to my house." he says, opening the door for me. I smile and step inside, slipping off my shoes. Ah yes, the familiar feeling of the slippery tile where I busted my ass. And the familiar sound of bubbling water and the sight of Jeremiah. This place feels oddly more homey than my house does, not that that's that big of a surprise.

"Well, don't just stand there. You can go sit on the couch. My parents should be coming back for lunch anytime now but don't let that stop you from getting comfy." Darion smirks, kicking off his shoes and tossing his backpack on the couch. I take his invitation, lounging back on the cushions. He lazily unzips his bag and pulls out the stack of papers. I groan at the sight of them. I have about three months to learn and complete four months of lessons and work, not to mention I have to tackle all that we're doing now.

"So"-- I accentuate the 'o'-- " what're we doing first?" I ask, shifting.

"Hmm, let's see." he starts to list off stuff I know I wasn't there to learn. I stare at him, eyes squinted. "I'm just kidding! We're obviously going to do what you were doing when you... left." he laughs.

"And that was?"

"Depending on the subject," he begins to explain. I throw my head back and groan.

"Let's start with math I guess." I say, sitting up.

"As you wish." he pulls out a stack of paper-clipped worksheets. I instantly know I'm going to dread this.

A few hours pass, allowing us to finish a few lessons along with various worksheets. I can mentally grasp a lot of it, but there are some things that I'm definitely going to have to go over again. Not to mention, I might have to take a final to make up for my missed one, meaning I'll definitely have to review. So prepare for my potential make-up final and my final coming up-- what an eventful remainder of my year.

The door clicks open, followed by two distinctly different voices. A man and a woman enter one after another, the women in front. I don't have to have much context to know that they're Darion's parents.

"See! I told you he would be here! Oh, and look! He brought a guest. Not to mention, it's a giiirl." his mom teases.

"Mom!" Darion complains.

"What dear? I'm just teasing you." she laughs. Her smile is big, her teeth straight and white. Bright white.

"Exactly! Quit! Fleur, this is my mom and dad-- Janet and Arlo. Mom, dad-- this is Fleur. My best friend." Darion introduces us.

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. White." I say with a cheerful smile.

"Oh wow! So formal! Well, hello to you too Fleur. And please, call us Arlo and Janet if you wish." his father says. I nod and watch them walk with ease to the kitchen. They've definitely had their fair share of practice when it comes to walking on slippery tiles.

"Oh, Fleur! I just remembered that I still have your backpack from a while ago. No one ever asked for it so I kept it. It's in my room if you wanna go get it." Darion says. Something tells me he wants me to leave the room so I thank him for keeping my bag and excuse myself. I take the back stairs extra slowly to hear their conversation.

"Yes mom! She is the girl that was hit! Okay? Yes she was my friend back then, and she still is but please try not to talk about it around her. I don't want her to get uncomfortable or anything." Darion rushes out. I've heard enough, not bothering to stay for the rest of the conversion as I hurry up the stairs as fast as I can which isn't very fast seeing as I have to scoot up the steps. I head straight to Darion's room to see that he redecorated it. He put up various posters of bands and albums, added LED lights that are currently set on bright white and flashing, and even has a picture of me and him on his nightstand. Of course, I'm in a coma but it's still us. I look around the room and spot my bag in the corner. It looks like it's been relatively untouched for the past few months but I'm sure that's not the case.