The Way We Were

Chapter 4 //

Dinner had begun to die down. Daphne's parents arrived almost eight hours ago, she hadn't stopped smiling since they arrived. I knew she missed Utah and her family with everything. Unlike me, there was nothing keeping her away from Utah. She was completely ecstatic. I should have been ecstatic too, except that I kept wandering to the fact that I'm home and Jack has no idea. We were only blocks away, but never had I felt so far from him.

Daphne's mom cleared her throat, in attempt to snap me out of my thoughts, before calling out my name.

"So, Lena," she began, "Hunter?" She questioned.

I blushed before responding, "Yeah, he's really great. You guys would love him, really."

"Well, when are we going to meet the lucky fella?" Daphne's dad asked.

"Yeah! He should've came!" my dad chimed in, "Or is he too scared to meet your old man?"

"I'm sure that's the case, Dad." I laughed, "He's just busy with meetings and press and stuff. It's been really hectic ever since we announced our temporary hiatus."

"Damn!" Daphne's mom let out, "You've gotta do press for taking a break?" She sounded so astonished.

"We basically can't do anything without having to do a billion interviews about it." I sighed.

My mother gazed at us, with a proud smile on her face. "Who would've thought that our little Lena and Daphne would have amounted to what they have?"

"Everyone." Michelle answered. "You guys have heard Daphne's guitar skills and Lena's voice. The fame was inevitable."

"You guys are going to make my head big!" Daphne gushed.

"Well, it's this old lady's bed time!" Daphne's mom announced, standing up from her seat, "Are you staying or coming home?" She asked Daphne.

"I think if I left now, I'd have separation anxiety." Daphne admitted, "Is it cool if I stay?" She asked, turning in my direction.

"Of course!" I reassured.

We said our farewells and made our way to my bedroom. It looked just the way I left it, down to the Marilyn Manson poster I had hung when I was fifteen, which was now curling on the corners. It left a nasty taste of nostalgia in my mouth.

"I miss everything. I didn't realize how much I missed everything until now." I frowned.

"Home is where the heart is." She simply said as she jumped into my bed.

We both quickly dozed off into a deep slumber.

I dreamt of Jack, once again. It was a distant memory of our first time at the state fair. It felt like a movie scene, without the forcefulness of having to be in love. If felt the way it should have, like two best friends who happened to be in love, enjoying each others company. I woke up, saddened that that was no longer a reality but found myself falling back asleep within minutes.

Then, I dreamt of Hunter. It was like watching a movie of the first night we had hung out. I looked at my face, and realized how happy he really did make me. It was so easy with him. It felt like I had known him and loved him since the beginning of time. When we were together, I got the impression that in a past life, we might have been Bonnie and Clyde, Romeo and Juliet, or Cleopatra and Mark Antony.

Waking up, slightly in love with the idea that Hunter and I had been together since the beginning of the invention of love, therefore making the decision for me that I would choose him but fully aware that it was never going to be that simple, I made my way to the bathroom.