After ✔

08 | Dani

I watch her brown eyes flick through every picture. She glances at the notes I've made and looks back at me.

"This is really something." She says after a while.

I hated my situation right now. Imagine waking up in a hospital with people telling you you've been sleeping for two years.

Two fucking years.

And let's not forget the added half.

"It's not only about the new people and the new place, is it?" She asks.

I shrug. "Somewhat no." I grab a chair and take a seat. She sits on the edge of the bed, vary of my expression.

"I didn't want to come to America in the first place." I sigh, leaning back. My tone has an edge of frustration to it. "Just last week I remember screaming to my own mother how I didn't want to leave the only life I knew behind. So why the fuck did I--"

"Gee, I know you're angry but could you keep the cursing to a minimum?"

I stop and stare at her. Who was this girl? She was nineteen and she couldn't handle a bunch of swear words.

"Sorry." I mutter.

"Actually you never told me about that." She says. She makes herself comfortable and crosses her legs. Next to my pillow are a couple of strewn pictures. I see her eye them, but she doesn't bother going through them.

"I met you after summer break." She says. "You must have settled well, then."

I ca't believe it. I had promised myself that if she dragged me to that Godforsaken country I would never talk to her again.

I turn to the wall where I had hung everything up with mismatched pieces of tape.

"So I ended up in America." I start from the beginning. "Met you at some party. Then what?"

"We went to the same high school." She says. "We were both seniors."

I had just failed senior year at my old school like three months ago. No. Two years ago.

But I couldn't be blamed. It was my brain's fault.

"Right." I shuffle around. "I'm assuming that's where I met all those weirdos." I point at one of the pictures. I'm standing next to Valencia and a bunch of other people at some beach.

Valencia laughs. It's sweet compared to all the high pitched giggles I usually hear from other girls.

"Yeah." She points to a blonde girl. "That's Claire." And a red-haired one with bright green eyes. "Rosie."

Next to Rosie are two dark-haired boys. "Kevin and Liam." Kevin had her arm wrapped around Rosie, so I'm assuming they are - or they were - dating at the time.

Next are me and Valencia, and next to her is a tall guy with a silk scarf wrapped around his neck. "Eli." She says.

"Are they siblings?" I ask, pointing to Eli and a blonde girl who has the same physical features.

"Twins, actually." She replies. She points to a boy which, on further notice, looks a lot like her. "She used to have a thing for my brother. She's in Germany now, studying law."

I nod once, biting my lip. I don't think I'll ever learn their names.

"Were we on vacation or something?" I ask.

"Getaway." She smiles. "Myrefall was a seaside town, abandoned long ago because of the civil war."

"How...lovely." I say dryly.