Dreams & Other Lost Things {Sequel to B&TBR}

Chapter 2: The Jessie Dilemma.

"I think I'm going to go get dressed real quick, Bea. I'll be back to help you get ready!" Ellie said as she stepped out of my closet. I sat in the middle of my closet floor, staring up at the clothes that I knew wouldn't work for a party like the one we were going to. Knowing Mia, she would want the best party dress I could find, especially since she knew I didn't wear them as often as I used to. I figured I would make her happy at least for her birthday.

And then I remembered that I forgot to get Mia gift. I stood up so fast my head began to spin.

"Ellie!" I called loudly even though she was still standing in my room. She looked up at me and her eyes grew wide at my panicked state.

"What?" She asked.

"I forgot to get a present for Mia! Oh my gosh, how could I be so selfish!" I let my head fall back so I was staring up at the ceiling. I couldn't just show up to her 21st birthday party with a card and some money. Mia was much more important than a card. I looked back at Ellie in hopes she would have a solution. The mischievous smile on her face told me she had an idea already cooked up in that blonde head of hers.

"I've already got you covered, girl!" Ellie squealed as she ran out of my room. My panic slowed as I followed her into her bedroom across the hall. She disappeared into her closet and came out with a wrapped gift box with a bright purple bow to top it off.

"Ellie –" I started, taking the box when she shoved it at me.

"Don't start with I cant's. I kind of had the feeling that if you were meeting your mom you'd be a little more distracted by that. Just take it, it's a dress you said you wanted to buy her a while back," Ellie said. I stared at her and couldn't believe I really had a friend like that.

Ellie had gotten to know Mia because every time Mia came by the dorm Ellie and I shared, we would all hang out. Now that Ellie and I have an apartment together to make living in New York more affordable, Mia has come over and we've been able to more since we aren't staying on campus.

I rushed forward and threw my arms around my best friend. "Thank you, El, I'll pay you back," I told her happily. Ellie, or course, told me not to worry about it, but I definitely would worry about it.

I went back to my bedroom to get ready after our exchange. There was no hope for me now since I wasn't prepared for a party. I didn't do much dressing up nowadays since I really didn't have anyone to impress. But then I remembered I had stuffed a dress – don't ask me why – into the top drawer of my dresser. I walked to my dresser and yanked on the top drawer. Something was holding it back from coming all the way out. I decided that the only way I was going get the over-stuffed drawer open was to jerk it open. I pulled on the handles as hard as I could and it flew open, making me stumble backwards.

There, laying on top of my pile of clothes with a now-ripped cover, was my sketchbook. The tattered book started at me intensely. I picked it up and ran my hands over the corner where the cover had ripped. With all the doodles and writing on the front I almost didn't see it. But I knew it was there so I couldn't avoid the memories that came along with it.

Music blared in my ears. It wasn't an unusual thing for Jessie to have her music so loud that you couldn't think. We had just left our support group, the one where we talk about hating the world so much that we wanted to disappear from it. Thanks to Jessie, I didn't feel that way anymore.

"Hey, Jessie, what happened to my sketchbook?" I asked as I stood up off her bed. It was time for me to leave and the sketchbook that I carried with me everywhere was nowhere to be seen. Jessie continued to paint her nails a shade of pink, leaning her back against her bed.