[Book One]
Agatha Miller Nash thought she was finally starting to have the perfect life she always dreamed of while growing up.
She had a job that made her feel proud of herself, the man that she would spend the rest of her life with, and a place s...
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T E N
I laid in bed, staring at the ceiling absentmindedly playing with the heart pendant hanging from my necklace. My fingertips traced the engraved words on the cold metal that contain some of my mother's ashes. I could still hear the last words she told me before losing her battle, the same words that explained the meaning behind the delicate sunflower inked on my rib cage.
For as long as I could remember, my mother would call me her little sunshine. I grew up with her telling me that she could be having a terrible and painful day, but as soon as she got home and saw me, I would light up her day. The night she died, she told me that I was always going to be her sunshine and that it was time for me to find another sunflower who's life I will light up. When she told me that I thought that she was high on painkillers, but after losing her, the words she said started to make sense.
I try to live my life as she did, always looking for the light in dark situations, but lately, it has become even harder to find the light. Maybe everything will start to get better once Uncle Bobby finds out if he is clear after being exposed to the radiation.
Christmas was also a few days away, and the closer it got, the more I have been forcing myself to lose all the hope I had of spending the joyful day with my father. Every year since I was a little girl, I would get my hopes up, and every year I would get hurt when I got his call telling me that he would not be able to make it. Anyone would think that I would learn the lesson after twenty-five years, but boy was I far from learning.
It sounded horrible, but luckily for me, no one a the firehouse seemed to have the Christmas spirit. Then again, who could blame them after the full of shit year we all have had.
A knock on my bedroom door made me sigh, "Buckley, just like I have told you a million times before, I promise that I am okay." I admit that the first couple of times that Evan checked on me were kind of sweet, but after the fifth time, it started to get old. The guy could be persistent.
The knock stopped as the door cracked open slowly, Maddie's head popping inside, "Different Buckley this time. Can I come in?"
Sitting up straight on the bed, I rested my back against the headboard. "Oh, hey, Maddie. I didn't know you were here; please come in." I smiled.
Maddie stepped in, closing the door behind her. In the months that I have been living with Evan, I have gotten used to having her around all the time. It was bound to happen since Evan and Maddie were attached to the hip, something I found hard to understand after being an only child. Growing up, I always found myself wishing on birthday candles for a little brother or sister, but it never happened. Moving from place to place made it hard for me to make friends, and having a sibling would've made me feel less alone during those tough times.
"Did Evan sent you?"
"He mentioned that you have been hiding the whole day in the room, but he did not send me," said Maddie sitting on the edge of the bed. "I wanted to tell you that if you ever need anything or anyone to talk to, more specifically, a girl, I'm here for you. I know how it feels to be new in town without many people to talk to."
