The Perfect Circle

Chapter 7

"Gustie can you come over?" Adri whined over the phone. "We're due for some girl to girl time. Please, please, please come over."

I chuckled at her desperation. "Sure, when should I come over?"

She squealed in the phone. "Yes! Thank God. You can come over tomorrow after school then we can go to school together on Monday. Does that sound okay?" She suggested.

"Yeah sure. I'll go pack my stuff."

"Okay, wait are we carpooling tomorrow?"

"Yeah we should. I'll pick you up?"

"Yeah, that can work." I could feel the excitement radiating from her through the phone. I could see why she was so excited, we haven't had a sleepover for a while.

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow Adri. Love you."

"Love you too babe. See ya."

I hang up the phone and walk to my closet to get some clothes packed. I grab my burgundy duffel bag and started to throw some random stuff in there. When I felt satisfied, I zipped the duffle bag and sat it near my bed.

I feel excited for tomorrow, I mean, I do miss how much fun Adri and I used to have. It's all my fault we rarely have sleepovers anymore. I became so isolated when everything had happened, but somehow she understood. She would visit me sometimes and she and Xavier would try to pull me out of the house. They gave up when they saw that even if I did come out of the house, I would be mute and depressed.

The visits then turn into calls but she never gave up on me. I'll forever be grateful to have a best friend like her because when everyone else gave up, she didn't.

It was now sometime after seven and I haven't eaten anything yet, and I'm famished. I walk out of my room deciding to go get something to eat from the kitchen.

I open the cupboard and rummage through it trying to find something that might appease my appetite.

I settled for some Mac and Cheese since its a bit late. I pulled out the ingredients needed and set the pot with the salted water to boil. After I finished cooking it, I share some on a dish and poor myself some milk from the fridge. I proceed to the table and began to eat.

It felt normal nowadays to be sitting at the table by myself. I sometimes wonder if mom ate at all. I rarely see her move around the house.

I think I should ask her if she wants some food to eat.

I quickly finished up and walked to her room.

"Mom?" I called, knocking on her room door. No answer.

"Mom are you in here?" I pushed the door open and step inside the room.

Mom was sitting on the edge of her bed intently watching something on her television. I looked up to see that it was a video of us, the family. I think it was last year when we were on our family vacation, when we went to that hotel. We were on the beach and Dad dared Xavie and I to sing to random passersby. Thinking that it was a stupid but fun idea, Xavie and I did what he asked. That day we had received incredulous, amused and annoyed faces from the people we had sang to. The faces didn't stop Xavie and I from laughing our guts off. The laughter had died down and Xavie and I went for another swim.

In the video I heard Dad ask someone to take a picture of us. The person willing took the other camera dad had and proceeded to take the picture. The picture is the one Xavie has in his room, the one where Dad was smiling down at Mom and Xavie and I were laughing in the water.

The sound of sobbing broke my concentration. I snap my gaze to mom and saw her holding her chest like she was in pain. She held her chest the same as she held it when she first found out about Xavie's sickness. I immediately run to her side.