Better Than This

Chapter 38

Allie got up and got some more water. "Want some coffee?" she asked him.

"No, thank you," he replied, still wondering why Milly wasn't affected. "So, why wasn't Milly affected?"

Allie sat back down and told him, "Well, she's adopted. She had a horrible past and my parents took her in. 11 years old and she was beaten up and abused. My parents said that after Nicole graduated, they were going to give Milly an operation to rid her of her memories of her past. After the accident, they decided to do it sooner. They didn't want her to remember her past and the accident."

"What about you? Did they want you to remember it?" Hunter asked.

Allie drew in a deep breath. "They could hardly afford Milly's operation and the insurance from the accident, and since she was my sister, they decided that I could learn to move one, but you never do. After Milly's surgery, the person she became was horrible, but the doctors said that they can't do it twice on the same person. So I have to deal with who she is, even if it isn't her real self."

"Wow, Allie, I'm so sorry! That's so horrible." Hunter was really starting to tear up. "Have you ever told Milly that who she is, isn't actually her?"

"Not yet, but I know my parents think about it every day. I've always had this feeling that Milly hates me, but then I think about who she could've been. Nicole would've helped her, I know she would've. Nicole was perfect! 4.0 student, star volleyball player, great at art. Anything, she could do anything. And pretty, she was beautiful! Brown hair with natural blonde highlights, brilliant blue eyes, and the prettiest smile! Every time I close my eyes, I see her." Allie picked up her phone and showed Hunter a picture of her.

"Wow, she's beautiful. And that's Josiah?" he asked, pointing to the guy in the picture.

"Yes. Sweetest guy I met when I was little. He had a voice like no other. I miss it, every now and then."

"Maybe that's how you started singing," Hunter wondered.

"Actually, my parents said that when I first heard him sing, I couldn't stop singing that song."

"How'd it go?"

"It's a Blake Shelton song...Every Time I Look At You. Nicole and Josiah dated before, broke up for 2 months then got back together. Like I said, it was fate."

They talked all night and missed rehearsal, leaving Mr. Sherman at the school by himself, wondering what happened.