I'm Here

Chapter 2

"Hey Abella," Jennifer greeted me once I walked into our AP Anatomy class.

"Hey Jenny," I smiled back. Jennifer was the first friend I made freshmen year, she was my dorm mate. We hit it off when we met in psychology class, both wanting to pursue a job as psychiatrists. She really was a great friend, always being there to give you a good laugh just when you need it. I don't really like opening up about my personal business to anyone, but she is one of the only people I can vent my problems to.

"Daniel is having a party this Saturday. You look like you could use a break from studying. You want to go?" she asked me, giving me a wink.

"I don't know. I really need to study," I say, not really interested. Daniel is a boy in my biochemistry class that is your typical classmate that every girl has a major crush on. He really was attractive, and smart too, but everyone is super convinced that he likes me, which I find very hard to believe. Jenny especially, which is why she winked at me. Jenny is a die-hard romantic. She loves chick-flicks and romance stories. She loves playing matchmaker with our fellow classmates, and usually is accurate on who will get together and who is bound to break up soon.

"Ugh, you're no fun. Please just think about it though," she whined. I nodded, chuckling a little. I really do like to hang out with my friends and go to parties, but sometimes I'm just not in the mood. Plus, I have to pass my finals.

Our lecture started shortly after, and I pretty much knew everything our professor was reviewing with us, so I dozed off. I somehow went back to thinking about my family. I haven't talked to my family in a few days, so I made a mental note to call them later.

After class, Jenny and two of our other friends, Matt and Olivia, planned to meet up somewhere for break between classes. Jenny decided to meet up with Matt and Olivia at their class, then meeting me at the coffeeshop a few minutes away from campus. I decided to call my mom on the walk there.

I put my phone to my ear as I heard the ringing tone.

"Hello?" my mom's soft voice said.

"Hi mom," I smiled to myself. My mom's voice always calmed me when I was having a rough day.

"Oh hi baby! How are you?" she asked me.

"I'm good, how are you? How are things going?" I asked. I stopped at a red light, waiting for the crosswalk to turn green.

"Oh I'm fine. Nothing much. Everything's going well. Asher is coming home this week. I'm cleaning the house," she said.

"Oh, he is? How's he been?" I sighed.

"He's doing well. You know, I really think it's time you guys start talking again, Bella. I am getting so tired of not having everyone in this family happy with each other," she scolded.

"I mean he's going home to you this week. You can try to convince him," I sighed again. Asher is my older and only sibling. When we were growing up, he was always super protective of me. He was always well-liked amongst his friends, and was always super happy and active.

Then, my senior year of high school, our grandmother that we were very close to, especially Asher, passed away. He changed into a completely different person. He would not call and talk to us for weeks when he was at college.

When he came back home for the summer a wreck, my parents were very lenient on him, assuming his behavior was because of our grandmother's passing. He would ask for and spend all of our dad's money. I wasn't having it though. We all grieved for a long period of time, but the way that he was treating my parents, me, and the rest of our extended family was not okay.

So I confronted him, a few weeks before I went off to college. We got into this massive argument, saying things to each other that I never would've imagined saying to someone whom I loved and cared about for so long. After that, we were so disgusted with each other that we couldn't even stand being in the same room as each other. Then, I left for college, and we really haven't talked to or seen each other since then, besides a hello or goodbye last Thanksgiving dinner.

"Well, I will definitely try," my mom said through the phone.

"How's dad?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

"He's great. His job is doing great as well," she said happily. My dad owns a bunch of big real estate around town, so money was never a problem for us. We were always blessed with big houses, nice clothes, and cars. When Asher started sporadically spending his money though, it really got to me. Our dad works hard for that money, which is what made me so upset that Asher spent so much money, in which he did not earn himself, on things that had a negative effect on him.

"That's good," I said, relieved.

"Oh, hun, I forgot to tell you. We had Jake's family over the other day for dinner, and he came," she said surprised. I gulped through the phone.

"Oh... How's he been?" I asked, trailing off. I really did not want to hear.

"He's doing fine. He's on Christmas vacation now. He asked about you, even brought you something in this box. He asked me to give it to you," she said. I became wide-eyed.