Not All The Same ⭐(Completed)

Chapter 7: My Every First.

For as long as Becky could remember, ever since she was a child, she had always wanted to move to the United States. Not that she didn't love Dublin, her small hometown. After all, it was there that she was born and raised and she had a few good memories associated with Dublin—enough memories to bring a smile to her face whenever she thinks about them. Most of these special memories involve sitting with her large family on Christmas nights and eating a bountiful feast together while the Christmas tree twinkled and glinted in the living room. It also involve sipping warm, delicious tea with her father in the garden as they chat about school and boys. She missed the hearty talks she used to have with her mother, the feel of her mother's fingers skimming through her hair as she gives her advice on school matters and healthy tips for when she finally ushers into puberty. Those had been the good old days, the happy, contented ones that manages to lift her spirits in dark times.

But more of her days in Dublin had been nothing short of problems and misfortunes. In just a month, Annette had lost her job and her source of livelihood. Her father, Kennedy had been diagnosed with lung cancer that had threatened his life. Although she had been just thirteen then, she still remembered the hardships her father went through and all those times he will assure in a voice full of tremor that he was going to be alright. Becky never believed him at that time, no matter how many times her father assured her. Because every time he will try to, she always saw right through him——right through the fear and despair he desperately tries to hide behind a smile. She had seen enough of those smiles on her mother's face when she stumbles into her crying in her bedroom at nights to know they aren't real and everything isn't right.

Annette had grown distant afterwards. Hardly speaking to Becky when she comes home at nights after spending the entire day looking for a job unsuccessfully. She will kiss her on the forehead, tell her she loves her in a tired voice and reheat the leftover food from the previous night for her. Becky never minded eating the leftover foods but what had bothered her at the time was the dark circles around her mother's eyes in the morning and how completely drained she always is after coming home.

They didn't celebrate Christmas that year and the family didn't come by to eat a feast. Becky only talked to her relatives over the phone wishing them a Merry Christmas——one she wished she could have done in person. Her father had been in the hospital receiving treatment, doing everything he could possibly do to get better but the doctor only said his health was getting worse despite the best efforts Kennedy was putting into it. She had maintained a sense of calm for those three months that had rolled by but by the fourth month, the stress finally got to her.

She began slacking in class and failed miserably in Physical Education classes——not that she was ever good in that class but she grew worse and worse each single week. She will spend her nights worrying and crying about her father. The terrible nightmares of her father dying will wake her up in a sweaty mess and sleep hardly came again until dawn which was never enough. Since her mother was barely at home, Becky spent time with her friends instead of going home. Through her friends, she discovered ways to relieve herself of her stress and problems and if it weren't for one cold night she had spent in a police station, Becky would have never come into terms with her mother that she was taking the dark path and move with her to the United States when she finally found a job as a flight attendant.

Shaking her head, Becky cleared her mind of the bad memories of the past and focused on the present. Meeting Seth have been one of the best things to ever happen to her. He helped her in ways he didn't know and couldn't fathom. He helps her focus on things that doesn't lead her on the dark path she once walked. The attention he always showers on her makes her feel loved and appreciated without even having to do anything.

She thought back to the kiss they shared yesterday after coming home from the park. Seth had dragged her away from the park, leaving Josh to whatever fate he might have with the girls. They had raced down the road, hand in hand until Seth had dragged her down an alley, pushing her so roughly against a wall she had screamed. He had kissed her slow and gentle and Becky had savored each and every minute of having his lips on hers. They had kissed for several minutes and would have continued much longer if Becky hadn't pointed out that the sun was setting and they needed to head home before their parents arrived. Seth had groaned against neck, making his displeasure felt but he had kissed her for one last time before smoothing down her wrinkled clothes and messy hair, whispering into her ear how he wouldn't let her go the next time even if she begged him.