Next-Door Neighbour

Chapter 17: It was a Merry Christmas!

Caleb

My entire life I have always complained about how lonely I felt. I thought my life sucked because some kids at school bullied me. After all, I didn't have friends at school, and I thought no one understood me. But I was so wrong. I shouldn't have cared about those kids who didn't give a flying fuck about me. I already had everything I needed. Most importantly I had people who loved me.

I grew emotional as I sat outside my bedroom listening to Valentina's and Mom's conversation. She wasn't missing her mom that's for sure because she never knew her. It was the first time she had ever opened up about her family.

The door beside me shuts and I look up. My mom is staring back at me. I don't move because I don't feel the need to hide my emotions from her anymore. She kneels beside me and wipes the tear that just fell on my cheek.

"You, okay?" She asks. I nod. "Looks like she needs you." She points at the door that she just came out from. I nod and get up. She gets up with me.

Valentina is curled up in the bed looking outside the window. She stares outside the window, picking up her thoughts while I stare at her. She doesn't know I'm standing there.

"Hey,"

My voice brings her out of her thoughts and she turns to look at me. "Caleb!" she says and her face wrinkles like paper, "Oh god," she sobs bringing both her hands to her face.

"Hey... Hey," I walk to her and lay beside her taking her with me. She buries her head in my chest and cries. I let her because she needs it.

"You have a cute little nose; did I ever tell you that?" I say to which she shakes her head. She stopped crying a while ago. Her eyes are swollen and her tear-smeared face has turned pink from all the crying. "Well, you do."

"Thank you, Caleb"

"I'll always be there for you, Valentina."

"Thank you."

"Well, stop thanking me now, will you?" I say and she nods. I reach for the lamp next to me and turn it off. Moonlight fills the room. I can't see her face entirely but just enough to know she is staring at me. "Mom says you need rest. You should sleep and get some." I bring my hand to her cheek and rub my thumb across it. She closes her eyes.

"She doesn't mind you being here?" She asks when she opens her eyes.

"Nah... she is cool with it."

"You are so lucky."

"Because I get to be here with you in the middle of the night?" I smile.

"Because you have such good parents." She has a slight smile on her face when she corrects me. At least, I made her smile.

"Yeah, that I am."

She doesn't speak for a while and when she does I don't expect her to say this, "I don't even know if I should wish my mom were alive now. I keep thinking what if she too turned out to be like my father?"

"Not everyone is like him."

"True, but what kind of a person would be married to a man like him? only someone like him!" She was finally opening up about her issues and I didn't want to interrupt her.

"What happened to your mother? How did she die?"

"Who knows?" she shifts so that now she is on her back. I wait for her to continue because today I want her to talk. "I think she died giving birth to me. Or maybe sometime after I was born. I don't have the faintest idea about the real story. I always made stories in my head to tell people around me. He never speaks about her. Well, we don't talk to each other about anything."