Chapter 2

                Where the hell was it?

                The last time I saw it was just this morning, and now it was gone from my nightstand. I ran my fingers through my hair with frustration, as I went downstairs to where my mother was. She was sitting on one of the seats in the dining room, polishing some of her most treasured vases and China plates. She stared up at me, giving me a light smile, before rubbing a cloth on a plate. “Riley, honey, you’re home.” She paused. “Are you hungry? Do you want me to whip you up something real quick?”

                I shook my head. “I’m good, mom, thanks. You haven’t happened to take anything from my room today, have you?”

                “Oh, right!” she rummaged through her piles of plates carefully, before pulling out the picture frame that I was going crazy looking for. “I forgot to tell you that I took it while you were in school to clean off the dust for you.”

                I sighed with relief, as I took the frame back in my hands. “Thanks.” I said, before turning on my heel.

                “Hey, you looked really happy in that picture with Everett.” She paused. “How come I haven’t seen him here in a while?”

                My heart sank, as I stared at the picture in the frame of Everett and I. The two of us were fourteen in the picture, and we were at the pool that was in his backyard. Back then, he was skinny, but he had signs of muscles and abs showing in the picture. His hair was damp and mess, and was looking at me in the picture. I was laughing at the camera because he had his arm around me, tickling my bare stomach.

                I remember that moment so perfectly, and I would’ve done anything to go back to that day.

                “We aren’t exactly friends anymore.” I muttered.

              My mother’s face fell, as she frowned. “Oh, honey. I was afraid that was the reason why he stopped coming here.” She sighed. “Does the reason have to do with Colette’s death?”

                “Yes.” I whispered.

                My mother stared down at her vases and plates with a sad expression, before she let out a deep breath of air. “God, I miss that woman. She and I were the best of friends since high school, you know?” she wiped away a tear from her eye, before she let out a soft laugh. “I can still hear her voice sometimes.”

                It broke my heart to see my mother this way. “Mom-“ I started off.

                “Oh Lord, I’m sorry honey!” she gave me a weak smile. “I’m going to start on dinner now. Go upstairs and do some homework, okay? I’ll call you down when it’s ready.”

                I stared at my mother for a long moment, before I turned around, and walked upstairs to my room.

                I flopped on my bed, clutching the picture frame closely against my chest. I closed my eyes, as I began to remember all the moments I shared with Colette.

                I first met her when I was five, when my mother finally reunited with her high school best friend. I solely remember Everett watching from behind his mother’s leg, as the two women embraced each other.

                We lived in the same neighborhood, so whenever my mother came over to Colette’s house, I tagged along with her. I would always go off to the backyard and play with Everett when the two mothers would complain about their jobs over coffee and tea.

                One night, we all gathered in Colette’s house. Everett and I were fourteen years old, and we had just begun dating. Colette had prepared a nice chicken dinner for the four of us. Everett and I sat next to each other at the dinner table, like we always did, but this time, we held hands.

                “God, the two of you are just the cutest couple I’ve ever seen.” Colette gushed, holding up a chicken leg.

                I blushed, as I poked on the peas that were on my plate.

                “I told Riley that she wasn’t allowed to date until she was in college, but I made an exception to Everett.” My mother winked at us, as the two women laughed.

                I groaned, as I stared at mother with a frown. “Stop it, mom.” I whined.

                Colette laughed, her cheeks turning dewy and pink. “Okay, Audra.” She glanced over to my mother. “We should stop now. Look how red Riley is turning!”

                Everyone laughed, even Everett. I sank back in my seat, my cheeks turning scarlet red.

                “I swear, Everett,” Colette started off, turning to her son, “if you don’t drop down on one knee for Riley one day, I won’t ever be able to call you my son.”

                Now it was Everett’s turn to blush, and my turn to laugh. Everett gave me a playfully glare, as he squeezed my hand.

*

                “So I was thinking, what if one day, aliens took over the Earth?” Max asked, as he jammed on the keys of his PS3 controller. His eyes were focused on the screen, trying to get past Luigi in Mario Kart.

                I rolled my eyes, as I laid flat on my back on his messily made bed. Taking a bouncy ball from his nightstand, I began to dribble it against the wall, catching it whenever it bounced back into my palms. “You’re an idiot, Max.” I groaned. “Aliens would never take over the Earth. If anything, it would be robots.”

                “But that’s what people have been predicting for hundreds of years now! There’s actually proof of alien existence.” Max said, pumping his fist in the air when he finally got past Luigi on the rainbow track.

                “You actually believe in those lies?” I scoffed. “Any proof relating to aliens is fake.”

                Max glanced over at me, giving me a frown, before focusing all of his attention on his game. “Hey, for your information, I got an A plus on my report about aliens back in the seventh grade.”

                I laughed, rolling over on Max’s bed to shoot him a glare. “I highly doubt that.” I began to twist and play with the silver chained bracelet on my left wrist that had a single heart charm hanging on the center. Max glanced over at me, before pausing his game.

                “You never told me who gave you that.” Max said, pointing at my wrist.

                I immediately dropped my hand down, as I shrugged. “It doesn’t matter who gave it to me. It’s just a bracelet.” I lied right through my teeth, as I began to bounce the ball back on Max’s wall.

                “Well it must matter if you wear it every day.” Max pointed out. “I’ve never seen you take that thing off.”

                I bit down on my lower lip, as I could feel the cold metal of silver chain burning against my skin. “An old friend gave it to me.”

                Max stared at me for a long moment, without saying a word. Finally he let out a deep breath of air. “The bastard gave it to you, didn’t he?”

                I rolled my eyes, my mind spacing out. “Well, he wasn’t a bastard back then.”

                “That doesn’t matter, Riley. He’s a complete dick now.” Max pointed out.

                “Well he has the right to be a dick to me. He’s still healing from his mother’s death.” I snapped. Why was I even defending Everett, after everything he’s done to me? I clenched my fists, as I slammed the bouncy ball against the wall with all of my force. It quickly bounced back, missing my palm, as it knocked over a stack of Max’s books.

                Max gave me a disappointed look, before he shook his head. He returned to his game, and for a long time, he didn’t say anything. Finally, he muttered in a voice so low, “When will you realize that you aren’t the reason why his mother died?”

                Never, I told myself. Not until Everett forgives me, at least.

*

                “Honey?” my mother called me from the kitchen. I was lying lazily on the couch, watching some old cartoon on the television. “Could you go run me an errand?”

                I groaned, as I slowly sat up. I walked over to the kitchen, where my mother was slicing up some juicy red tomatoes on the cutting board. “What is it?” I asked, rubbing my eyes from watching TV too much.

                “Do you think you could go run over to the grocery store and pick me up some peppers and cheese? I need it for tonight’s spaghetti.” My mother gave me a hopeful smile.

                I sighed, as I grabbed my mother’s keys off of the counter table. As I began to leave, I heard my mother calling out to me, “I love you, honey!”

                “Love you too!” I shouted back, before closing the front door.

                I skipped over to my mother’s car, as I started up the engine. I drove to the grocery store that was closest to where I lived, picking myself up a cup of iced coffee from Dunkin Donuts on the way. I would’ve gotten myself a donut or two, but I knew mom was already cooking dinner.

                I parked the car in the grocery store’s parking lot, as I made my way into the air conditioned market. I resisted the urge to go explore the candy aisle, as I pushed myself towards the spices aisle to get my mother some black pepper. As I made my way towards the cheese section to pick up some grated mozzarella cheese, I bumped into someone.

                “Crap, I’m sorry.” I mumbled, secretly thanking God for not making me drop anything.

                I looked up, as I stared into a familiar pair of green eyes. I cleared my throat, as the man stared back at me with just as much shock. “Oh, uh, Mr. Rosenfeld.” My cheeks turned red, as I smiled weakly at Everett’s father. “It’s nice to see you.”

                Mr. Rosenfeld let out a hearty laugh, before pulling me in for a hug. “Riley Monroe! Who would’ve ever thought I’d see you again!” he chuckled, patting my back.

                I gave him a tight smile. “I was just picking up some stuff for my mother. I didn’t mean to crash into you.”

                I haven’t seen Mr. Rosenfeld since Colette’s funeral. And the last time I saw him, was when he was crying over the lost of his wife. I bit down on my lower lip nervously, secretly hoping that Mr. Rosenfeld didn’t blame me, either.

                “I haven’t seen Audra around, either.” I glanced over at Mr. Rosenfeld’s cart, noticing that he had some frozen patties and steaks in his cart. He noticed my eye, as he grinned. “I’m having a barbecue tonight. Everett and all his friends are going to be over. Would you like to come?”

                “Uh, no thanks, Mr. Rosenfeld.” I wondered if Everett had ever told his father that the two of us were no longer dating, or even friends, for that matter.

                “I never see you at our house anymore, though. I tired asking Everett a few times to invite you over, but he always ignores me and walks away.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “Teenage boys these days, huh?”

                I gave him a tight smile. “Yeah, I guess.”

                “Well, our barbecue party is going on all night. If you and your mother want to stop by for my infamous burgers, you’re all welcomed to.” He paused. “Tell her that some of her and Colette’s old high school friends will be there, as well.”

                “Will do.” I nodded, as Mr. Rosenfeld gave me one last smile.

                “I’m hoping to see you two tonight!” he called, before disappearing in the alcohol aisle.

                After picking up my cheese, and even a few sweets to go along with it, I paid and went home. My mother was sitting on the couch when I came home, and perked up when she saw me.

                “Where have you been?” she snapped. “I thought you would be gone for ten minutes, but you ended up taking a whole hour! The pasta got burnt, and now there’s no dinner.”

                “I’m sorry, mom.” I sighed. “I ran into Mr. Rosenfeld at the grocery store, and we had a conversation.”

                Her face softened up, as she gave me a gentle smile. “Really? How is he?”

                “He’s fine, actually. He’s having some barbecue party tonight, and he bought a load of steaks and-“

                “Really?” my mother smiled. “Who’s going to be there?”

                I haven’t seen my mother so eager and excited in years. “Some of your old high school friends.” I paused, as my mother stared down at her hands, looking like she was having a flashback. “He invited us, you know?” I quickly added.

                My mother’s expression immediately brightened, as she grinned. “That’s great! We should go!”

                My eyes widened, as I shook my head. “No mom. You could go, I’ll stay home and invite Max over or something.”

                My mother gave me a warning glare, as she shook her head. “No, Riley. We haven’t seen the Rosenfeld’s in years. I think it would be a sign of respect if we showed up tonight.”

                “But mom-“

                “No buts.” She sternly said. “Whatever conflict you have going on with Everett, I want you two to fix it. He’s a nice boy, you know?”

                I crossed my arms, as I watched my mother make her way upstairs to get dressed for the barbecue over at the Rosenfeld’s. As she disappeared through the railings, as I sighed. I let out a frustrated groan, smacking my palm against my forehead.

                “I don’t hear footsteps, Riley!” my mother called at me from her room. “Get dressed now, because I’m not waiting for you!”

*

                “I haven’t drove by this house in months.” My mother parked her car on the street, staring up at the creamy beige house. She let out a deep breath of air, before turning to me with a smile across her face. “Come on, Riley. I can smell the barbecue from here.”

                We walked up the Rosenfeld’s front steps, as my mother pressed on the doorbell. We waited a short moment, before the door opened wide. Mr. Rosenfeld stood by the doorway, a grin on his face, and a dirty white apron around his neck.

                “Audra and Riley! I’m glad the two of you could make it!” Mr. Rosenfeld grinned, pulling my mother in for a hug.

                My mother let out a short chuckle, before shrugging. “It’s a pleasure to be here, Jeremy.”

               Mr. Rosenfeld gave me a pat on the back. “Your mother and I are going to catch up, if you don’t mind.” He paused, pointing to the door that led out to the backyard. “Everett and a few of his friends are grilling some burgers and hot dogs outside. Feel free to take whatever you want.”

                I blinked, feeling my stomach shake in nervousness. I bit my lower lip, as my mother gave me a little push for encouragement. Soon, she and Mr. Rosenfeld fled off to the kitchen to catch up on things, leaving me in the living room by myself.

                I gulped, taking in a deep breath of air, as I stared at the living room that hadn’t changed since the last time I was here. I smiled when I saw the purple stain that was on the beige couch, from when Everett and I spilt grape juice on it years ago.

                “What the hell are you doing here?” a harsh voice suddenly made me flinch, as I spun around.

I'm really happy with the feedback I got on my last chapter! Thank you guys, and keep it up! :)