A New Beginning

Chapter Two

I walked back to Leah’s apartment somewhat content.  Opening the unlocked door, I found Leah sitting on the love seat next to a blond, skinny, and stylish blond who had her hand on Leah’s stomach and was beaming. 

            “I cannot wait until Baby Girl comes!  She is going to be soooooo cute and I will play with her all of the time!”  she was saying, unable to contain her excitement.

            I stepped into the kitchen area, wondering where the heck this clone of my sister came from.  I only needed one Leah in my life, thank you very much!  Leah noticed my presence at that moment and said hello, which made the girl turn around.  I got a better look at her, noticing her long face with high cheekbones. Her make up was perfected; she had just the amount of blush and mascara on to complement her yet not look trashy.  She was wearing a lavender shirt that read “Love Pink” from Victoria’s Secret PINK with yoga pants, which were probably purchased from the same store.  I guessed that this was her “sweats” look, even though it probably still look her a half an hour to get ready, when my sweats look took me five minutes. 

            The girl smiled at me, her pearly whites a mirror image of Bobby’s.  “Hi!  I’m Emelia, but you can call me Em!” she said, holding out her hand.

            I shook it hesitantly, not ready to welcome her overexcited-ness.  “Abrie, nice to meet you.”

            “You have no idea how excited I am to finally meet you!  Leah has told me so much about you, and I can’t wait to help her with you!”

            “Oh, you’re helping Leah too?” I asked, giving Leah a glare.  Her eyes got wider, begging me to behave.

            “Of course!  Oh silly me, you probably have no idea who I am.  I live a few floors down, but I’m over here all the time.”

            “Cool.  I’m glad Leah has had someone there when Bobby isn’t.”

            “Yeah, it’s no prob, Leah is amazing!” she said, smiling at Leah.  Leah looked thoughtfully at Em, obviously touched by her statement.  Geez, they should just go off and be sisters.  What was I doing here again?

            “Dinner’s ready, girls!” Bobby yelled from the kitchen.  It wasn’t until that moment that I realized I was hungry.  I walked to the table and took a seat, very much ready for dinner.  Apparently Em was staying for the meal, because she sat at the table next to me, and Leah sat beside her.  That left good ol’ Bobby to take the seat next to me.  Oh joy. 

            As soon as dinner was on the table, the conversation revolved around Leah.  This was no different than every meal we ever had back at home when Leah lived there.  Everything was always about Leah.  Whether it be about her cheerleading, volleyball, her latest boyfriend, drama with friends, or career plans, Leah loved to talk and my parents loved to listen.  I loved once she finally moved out and suddenly my parents began to notice me.  It was almost as if they said ‘Oh, we have another daughter?  No way!  Well, I suppose we could see what is going on in her boring life.  We’ll just call Leah later.”  I may be overdramatizing this just a little bit, but my family was all about Leah, and I was not blinded by that. 

            So I sat at the dinner table and listened as Leah talked about all she needed to do that week in preparation for the baby.  She needed to go get more diapers since they were on sale at Target.  She would need to get a massage, because it was not healthy for the baby if she was stressed. She also needed to get just a few more onesies, because she would need more even after all of her friends get some at the upcoming baby shower.  While pretending to listen to this conversation, I was screaming inside, knowing that I could not spend the entire summer crawling at Leah’s feet alongside Em, going everywhere with her.  I needed to do something.  Then I thought of it; the next day I would find a job.