Everything She Left Behind

Preview

The car pulled into the driveway, making me forget all of the problems of yesterday. I paid the driver, thanking him for helping me get my bags out of the trunk. "Have a nice trip, ma'am." I nodded and turned to face the house. I'm finally home.

I grabbed the handles of my three suitcases, tugging them along with my carry-on and purse on my arm to the front door. It swung open before I could try to knock. "Stefani!" my mother cried, thrilled to see me. I gave her a bright smile.

"Hey, mom," I said as she pulled me into a hug. I heard the dogs bark and got more excited about being home.

"We will bring your bags in, sweetie. Don't worry about them, I don't want that hip of yours getting worse. Besides, I know someone who wants to see you," she told me, grabbing my hand. My mother leads me through the door. Dad sat on the couch holding back both dogs, he smiled at me and let them loose.

"Hey, superstar," he said excitedly, flashing me a big grin.

"Hi, dad, hi babies, Georgie did you miss mommy?" I asked my little black French Bulldog as she ran to me. Georgie jumped at me, licking my face as I bent down to her level. My parents' golden lab, Bowie, joined in the greeting. "Yes, hi, guys."

"You're giving those dogs more attention than me," my dad complained. I laughed and picked up Georgie. I took her with me to sit with my dad.

I kissed his cheek, "I missed you too, dad."

"That's better. Now, I'm going to get your bags before you mother yells at me," he joked. I rolled my eyes and shook my head at him.

"I can get them."

"No, no. Just stay in here, the last thing we want is your mother freaking out on us for that." I laughed, knowing he was right.

The rest of the afternoon was spent catching up, eating a late lunch, and unpacking. I may not live here, but I still have my own room and bathroom while so stay, which is nice. It's going on 8:30 now, Georgie is sitting next to me on the bed. It's been a long day and I'm honestly exhausted. I may have to call it a night already.

My eyes opened slowly, adjusting to the bright light. It wasn't a sunny day, but sun streamed through the clouds and into my room. I grabbed my phone to check the time and the memory of last night's late call surfaced. Thursday, November 17. 11:18 am

At least I got enough sleep to function this morning. Mom had said something about needing to be ready around noon. Who knows what she planned. Georgie sat up, pawing at me to let her out. I stretched getting out of bed. I opened the door and she ran out. Hopefully, someone will let her out so I can shower. I left the door open and went to get clothes. If mom has something planned I should probably dress up and actually do my hair and makeup.

I set my clothes in the bathroom and put a towel outside the shower. I turned the water on and stripped out of my clothes. The warm water felt amazing running down my back. I quickly washed and turned the shower off. I dried off and wrapped the towel around myself. My wet hair hung loosely down my back. I wiped off the steamy mirror with my hand and stood there for a minute, admiring myself.

Sometimes, it's nice to take a minute and realize the beauty you have, inside and out. My brown roots were coming through my dyed blonde hair. I dyed it blonde almost the instant I landed my first good job seven years ago and felt like a slight change after filming this movie so I went platinum. It's calming down now, I didn't go full white platinum to begin with, but it's the color I wanted now. And I like the brown roots coming through, it looks intentional and I might keep it like this.

I just got my eyebrows waxed a couple days ago, they compliment my hair nicely, as I kept them brown. My green eyes seemed to sparkle, although I don't feel like I'm sparkling. That's one of the first things Trevor ever noticed, that my eyes tend to sparkle all the time. I see it now and can appreciate the color. I used to hate having green eyes, I always wanted blue, because I thought it'd look cool with brown hair. Now my hair isn't even brown and I love the green.

Okay, Stef, focus. It's almost 12 and I haven't even put clothes on. Just what I need, my mom yelling at me for not being ready on time. I quickly slipped on my leggings and a beige sweater then plugged in my blow dryer and curling iron. I checked my phone for any texts and the time before pulling out my makeup bag. Deciding I didn't feel like much makeup, I applied some foundation, mascara, and light lipstick. I dried my hair and put it in a semi-messy ponytail, curling a few pieces to make it look better. I'm ready to face the world if that's what's planned. I wouldn't mind going to Starbucks for some coffee, however.