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Imogen Halstead (age 13)
Word count: 975
Request: for my no.1 bro Amanda_Upton 🫡
Imogen's POV
"I'm going to the park dad!" I call out from my room. Within two seconds my dad greets me in my doorway, "for what?" He nods curiously. I sigh, "me and my friends are gonna have a picnic" I shrug. He chuckles lightly, "alright, fine. But I want you to keep your phone switched on at all times, and I want you home no later than six" he waves me off. I smile, "okay!" I call out as he disappears.
~
I've been sat on this stupid bench for twenty minutes, twenty minutes! And I'm starting to realise that my friends are now a no-show. They said they'd meet me here at half past, it's now 1:50pm. I pull my phone out to see that they haven't left me a message to let me know they're going to be late, so I check their social media. My heart sinks when I see Amelia's location, they're at the mall... all of them are at the mall without me. They said we were going to have a picnic...
I call her number to see if they maybe just got held up, but when she answers I can hear it's evident they plan on staying at the mall without me.
Amelia: *laughing in the background* "oh, hi immy!"
Me: "uh hi? Where are you? I thought you said half past at the park?"
Amelia: "oh yeah, Ummmm about that... we decided to cancel the plans because we wanted to see the new movie instead"
Me: "oh I didn't know, no one told me"
Amelia: "oh, well uh- sorry, we just thought you wouldn't turn up anyways..."
Me: "okay..."
I hang up and place my phone in my back pocket before staring at the little kids playing in the park behind me, how could they leave me out like that? I sigh and wipe my tears away as I stand up and pull my hood over my face, I notice that I'm not too far away from a certain someone's house. So I make my mind up and begin my trek. It takes me ten minutes to reach her house and by the time she opens the door I'm already crying with tears free falling down my cheeks.
Haileys POV
I'm sat on my couch watching a soppy romance film when I hear my doorbell ringing. I furrow my brows and creep over to my door before opening it ever so slightly. I'm instantly confused when I'm greeted with a young child, their hood raised over their face, and they seem to be crying. I bend down a little to see who's under the hood, and when the kid looks up I soften my glare, "immy? what's wrong? What're you doing here?" I pull her into my house, before looking around for jay outside.
"My dads not here, it's just me" she sniffles and takes her jacket off. I frown and lead her over to my couch, "what's going on, sweetie?" I brush her tear drenched hair behind her ears. She sniffles and wipes her tears away, "I was supposed to be having a picnic with my friends at the park, just around the block. But they were late, so I called one of them..." she sniffles and I rub her back, "she said that they're at the mall, they cancelled but didn't tell me. They said they thought I wouldn't turn up anyways. They just didn't want me there, hails..." she shakes her head. I sigh and pull her into a hug, "it's okay kiddo, you don't need them" I reassure her.
"Look at me, Imogen" I notice her going quiet. She sniffles and finally looks up at me, "don't let yourself be pushed around by them, you're worth more than that. And I know you're feeling crappy right now, because I would too, but don't let this ruin your whole day. Does your dad know you're here?" I cup her cheek. She shakes her head, "it's alright, I'll let him know you're safe, and that he needn't worry, because you know he will" I smile. She chuckled lightly as she sniffles again, "how about you go find a pair of my old sweatpants, and get comfortable. The ones that fit you are in the bottom draw. My intelligence hoodies on the back of the door. We're gonna have a chill day, yeah?" I nudge her arm. She nods, "yeah" she stands up and gives me a small hug. I hug her back and watch as she disappears to my room.
"Did you tell my dad?" She resurfaces around ten minutes later in my hoodie and an old pair of sweatpants. I smile and pull her into my arms, "yeah, I did. He said he'll talk about it when you get home, but he's fine with you being here" I nod. She smiles weakly, "what's that?" She points to the food on the table. I smile, "we're gonna have a picnic" I shrug, "gimme' a hand getting this outside, yeah?" I add. She smiles, "okay" she eagerly grabs the snacks.
After an hour or two of chatting and eating lots of snacks, we're now both laying down on a blanket in my back yard. Imogen has her head rested on my stomach with her hands around my waist, "that one looks like a turtle" I point to the sky. I wait for a response, however, I soon come to realise that she has fallen asleep. I check the time and smile, we still have at least half an hour before it gets dark. I close my eyes and sigh, joining her for a small nap. I hope life stays this way, you can always come to me for comfort little one.
