The week goes by and the weekend rolls in. Jack and Nate, have barely shown up and I have quickly learned that they were the schools bad boys. I'm not surprised. On Saturday I hang out with Sasha, and try to teach her how to skate. Today is Sunday, and we have to go and have lunch with aunt Lucy. I style my hair in a simple bun, I ask my mom if I can just go to lunch in sweats, but the look she gave me didn't need an answer. In the end I settle for a pair of shorts and a simple t-shirt.
"Honey, are you ready?"
"Yes!" I yell at my dad from the top of the stairs. I get a pair of sneakers and run down the stairs, almost tripping and breaking my back in the process. I put on my sneakers and and wait for my parents.
"Here!" My dad throws me the car keys. I grin at him and unlock the Mercedes, I put the keys in the ignition, making the car roar to life. I still haven't got my license, because in Spain you have to be 18 years old, but I know how to drive, it's just, you know, illegal. I drive the car out of the driveway and turn it into the right direction. I move into the passenger seat, my parents come out of the house and get into the car.
We arrive 5 minutes late, I can smell the meat from here.
"I didn't know it was a barbecue!"
"Yes you do, I told you this morning." Oh.
"Oh yeah, I forgot." Lies.
We knock on the front door and wait to be invited in. The door opens and I see uncle Eli.
"Elijah!" My mom hugs my uncle, practically pushing me out of the way. I enter the room without muttering a word. I immediately hear my cousin before I see her. Clara is fighting with aunt Lucy, again. She is 15, with long blonde locks, freckles and green eyes.
If your wondering why she looks so different, it's because she is adopted. Once aunt Lucy found out that she couldn't have kids, she and uncle Eli went to the adoption center, after long and endless discussions they finally decided to adopt a 5 year old Clara, but since Clara was already older than most adopted kids, she never fully acknowledged aunt Lucy and uncle Eli as her parents.
I go out, where their dog Diego rushes and jumps on me. His tail banging against the table with each wag of his tail. I kneel down and grab his face like a toddler.
"Who's a good boy? Who's a pretty boy? It's you that's who!" Diego rolls out his tongue, clearly happy.
Clara storms into the backyard, we make eye contact, I smile at her. No matter how much Clara fought with her parents, we always got along, non of us pretended to be a family, instead, we treated each other like friends.
"Hey Clara. You look good."
"Thanks, you look great Rach." She sits on a chair and starts to stroke Diego. I offer her a coke, she takes it from my hand.
"Rough time?" I ask her, referring to the little screaming match in the kitchen.
"Yeah, I just, I don't know..." I drag my chair and push it next to hers.
"Tell me."
"I don't really feel wanted, you know, I feel like I'm just a broken piece of a puzzle. You don't throw it away, because it completes the puzzle, but it doesn't quite fit in."
I look at her, her eyes glassy, threatening to spill any second.
"I know that Lucy is just trying to help, but she just can't like fix me, you know?" I nod at her. Her words are controlled, but I see that her hands are trembling.
"I just don't understand why my parents didn't love me. Wasn't I good enough?" Her voice, suddenly cracks.
I put my arm around her, "You are always going to be good enough for me, okay Clara? Always."
She finally breaks, as sobs escapes from her mouth, mascara drips down her face. I just hold her, because that all she needs right now, someone to hold her. I gently lead her to the bathroom where I give her a tissue and wash her face with water. The tear stains are etched on her soft cheeks. I rub her back as she cries on her bed. We ignore the calls from our parents, because this is one of those situations where they wouldn't understand.
I go and get us some food from downstairs, I explain the situation to my aunt and mom. They understand and give me food and drinks, I go back to Clara's room.
"Here, we have meat, pasta, and cake. I managed to sneak in some candy though." I wink at her and lift up my shirt, letting the packets of m&ms and skittles fall down. The perks of wearing baggy clothes.
"Thanks Rachel, I really needed this." She smiles at me, we spend the rest of the afternoon eating food and watching Netflix from her laptop.
In the return car, I realize that Clara is right. Tears are the words that the heart can't say, and sometimes, you just need a good cry to release all the hurt that you have build inside.
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Romance"Don't ever try to get inside my head," he snarls, slamming me against the wall. For several beats we stayed there, his grip crushing my wrists. Finally, his mismatched eyes softened. "It's too dark for you." Rachel O'Connell is a 17 year old senio...
