Meant To Be (Sashay | AU)

Chapter 5 Second Meeting

It's 6 AM on a Sunday and Sasha can't wait to start her day. She is a little too excited for the afternoon because of a certain brunette who is coming over. She eagerly got out of bed and went straight to the bathroom. She has been living mostly alone since her parents got divorced. Her dad moved out and hopped on a plane to a different state. Her mom lives with her but is mostly away and would just go home during holidays, or when she feels like going home. They have a house keeper that would come to their house 3x a week to clean, do the laundry and prepare her some meals. Sasha has learned how to be independent as early as 15 years old and she hasn't complained about it, though she wanted to so bad. Her parents still supported her school and gave her everything that she needs, but what she really needs is their presence.

 As Sasha got out of her room and went down the stairs she noticed that Sandy her favorite housekeeper is already at the kitchen cooking breakfast. 

"That smells good Sands," Sasha said.

"Ohhh great you're awake miss. I'm sorry I was not able to come here yesterday. My son was sick and I needed to bring him to the doctor," Sandy said.

"It's okay. I totally understand. I have always told you that you and your son are welcome to stay here. There are spare rooms in this house, and I could really use the company," Sasha said.

"You are too kind, miss. However, that would be too much."

 "It's not. I 'm alone here for like 350 days of the year, mom is rarely home. Plus you have always been good to me. Please consider it."

"Okay miss. I will."

"Thank you, Sands, and please stop calling me miss. I have told you a thousand times, call me Sasha."

"I always forget, I'm sorry," Sandy said with a little laugh.

Sasha slowly sat by the kitchen counter eagerly waiting for her breakfast. She has been eating boxes of Chinese take out and pizza the past 2 days and a good home-cooked meal is really nice to start her day. After she has finished her meal, Sasha bid goodbye to Sandy and headed for her room. She is going to get ready for it will take her hours to have the perfect look for today.

 It's almost 1 PM and Sasha is waiting eagerly for her partner to knock on her front door. Time seems to move slow and the hands of the clock are taking their time, ticking away. Sasha was suddenly brought back to reality when a light tap sounded on her door. She looked at the clock it's exactly 1 PM. She stood up and opened the door with a little smile on her face. 

"Hi. I'm here, right on time," Shay greeted her.

"Yes, you are," Sasha simply said. She opened the door a little wider for her partner to come in. Shay looked around the house and noticed that Sasha is alone again, just like yesterday. She does not know much about the other girl, and she wants to get to know her.

 "Where are your mom and dad?" Shay asked. Sasha was taken a little surprised by the question. No one has asked her about her parents for a long time and she never had to deal with that question, until now. 

"Mom is in France. She is handling the business there. Well, as for my father. Last I heard from him he was in California, and that was 3 years ago.

"Shay softly looked into the blonde's blue eyes. She never thought that the girl she has a crush on is living all alone. She could not imagine a life without her parents and her brother. She can only imagine how Sasha must feel like living by herself in this house.

"Ohhh I see. I'm sorry I asked."

"It's okay. It's not a big deal. I never really talk about them with anyone else, except for Lucy, my best friend."

Shay was glad to know that she is the other person that Sasha opened up about her parents. It made her feel somewhat special.

"Okay. So where do you want to work on our paper?" Shay asked changing the subject.

"We can work in the living room. Sandy, our housekeeper cooked some snacks for us. She makes the best pancakes and brownies, which I love."

"I love pancakes and brownies too." Shay couldn't help but smile. This girl is way different than the one that walks around the school hallway. The one that seemed so proud of herself. Someone who doesn't care about the world and someone who does not give a damn about rules. She knows that Sasha is popular in school because of her tough facade and straight attitude. However, Shay never thought of her as a girl that smiles a lot and a girl that likes pancakes and brownies. 

The two girls started working on their project and everything went smoothly. They laughed about a lot of things and they shared a little about themselves. Shay learned that the reason Sasha lives alone is the divorce of her parents. They have separated when she was 14 and Sasha lived mostly alone in this house since she was 15. Sasha told her that ever since her parents got separated, her mom never stayed in the house longer than 2 days. She thinks that the house has too many memories and her mother couldn't just bare living through that. Shay shared how her family lives in a humble house for 4. Why she joined swimming and why she wants to achieve so much in her life. As the two were sharing funny stories, Sasha's phone started ringing. 

"Sasha here."

"Baby. How are you?"

"Mom? This is a surprise. Why are you calling? You never call me on a Sunday. Is this a new number?"

"Yes, this is new a number. I lost my phone the other day and I just got this new phone this morning. But that is not the reason why I called."

"Why mom? Has something happened?"

"It's about  your dad. He was involved in a car accident. They rushed him to the hospital but he didn't make it. The hospital was trying to contact me on my old phone, but they couldn't reach me. Luckily they contacted the office and their call was forwarded to me. I called you now, to tell you we are flying to Philly for the funeral. I'll meet you there. I am making arrangements for our flight. I'll send you the details later." 

Sasha couldn't absorb every single word her mother has just told her. It has been 3 years since she last heard from her dad. She got used to the silence but, she secretly hopes that one day she will get to see her dad again and spend time with him. This time though it is different. He is gone, he is gone forever. She will never have the chance to see him again. Not on her graduation, not on her wedding day. With all the emotions running through her, she felt silent tears roll down her eyes.

"Baby? Are you still there? Did you hear me?" her mom asked in a worried tone.

"Yeeaah. I heard you mom. I'll wait for your email and I'll see you soon," Sasha whispered.

"It will be okay Sasha. Things will be okay," her mother said trying for her words to bring some sort of comfort to her daughter.

With that, their conversation ended. Shay watched Sasha silently. She knew something was wrong because of the sudden change in Sasha's voice and because of the tears that are now falling from her face. 

"Is everything okay?" she asked. Sasha looked at the brunette with sorrow and pain in her eyes. She just wanted to go to her room and curl up, cry the pain away and just stay there. She closed her eyes and looked back at a treasured memory. Back when she was just 4 years old and her dad was telling her that when people die, they don't really die. They just go to a different place. A better and happy place. She wanted that to be true. That her dad is not really dead and that he is in that better and happy place. 

She slowly opened her eyes and softly uttered: "My dad died." With that, she began to sob.