Who Can Tell

Happy

I'm with Rachel. We are playing in her room at her mom's house, that was really my Nani's house but she thought of it as her mom's house. My aunt Sheila has been living here since the day that Nani cried. Rachel thinks that her parents just need some space because that's what all the other kids in a situation like this would say, but this isn't the case. Sheila and my uncle Steven are getting divorced. I knew that because of how much my parents talked about it late at night. I would often listen to their conversations about this kind of stuff. I get up from the bed on which me and Rachel were sitting and I go and talk to Nani. She has barely said a word since that day Sheila came. I said,"Nani, are we still a family if they...separate?" She turns to me and says,"Of course. And don't you ever doubt that, missy!" Despite what she said, I doubted it with a passion. I knew what was happening and so did she but Rachel and Becca don't have a clue. "I hope everything turns out ok," I think to myself.

...

Thanks to that idiot-next-door, I had to dream that. Of all things, I had to dream about that. It's Saturday and I finally have some time with my parents. My mom was cooking breakfast while my dad was watching the news. I glance at the calendar and despite myself, I smile. Next week is my birthday. It will land on a Friday too. Even better. I grab my phone off the counter and turn it on only to see a wall of text come shooting off the screen. Xavier blew up my phone, of course. I deleted the texts without even reading them. I didn't want to hear a single word he said. I text Ashlly instead. I told her about what happened even though it hurt my pride. I had already told her about Sandy but I had never told Xavier. My family is at the highest point past 'crazy' that you could get. I didn't want to tell Ashlly either but she was so annoying that I eventually told her. The only thing she didn't know was that little tid-bit of info about Sandy's chemo. I told her that's why we got into an argument but she thought it was because he hit on me and I punched him too hard. That made me smile. The only other person who can do that right now is Rachel, and I haven't seen or heard from her in about four months, Christmas.

(Oh did I forget to mention we moved here at the start of second semester? Whoops, my bad)

Anyway, Ashlly has always found a way to make me smile or laugh when I'm feeling down. I'm grateful for that. I continue on with my day while I texted her and listened to Katy Perry. (My FAVORITE music artist.)

This place finally feels like home, finally.