Haley rolled over and hit her alarm, shutting off the chiming music. Staring up at the ceiling, she listened. Past her door, she could hear the tread of footsteps and the gentle patter of the shower, but no voices. Despite herself, she let her shoulders relax. Shoving aside the blankets, she got up.

Her room looked like a library had thrown up on it. Stacks of books lined the walls, crooked and half toppling into the pile beside it. She had requested new bookshelves but wasn't holding her breath. The chances her parents even remembered her asking was slim to none.

Through her open balcony doors, she saw Jace was already awake, a miracle in its own right. He sat on the edge of his bed typing away at his phone. When Haley walked over to close the doors, he looked up. His hair was a tangled mess and it somehow softened his normally overwhelming good looks. It gave him a boyish air.

"Morning, Haley Day," he said, smiling.

Unable to figure out why he sounded so chipper so early in the morning, she said nothing. It was the first time he had ever greeted her that way. She wasn't sure what the reasoning behind it was. Instead of responding, she closed the doors and pulled the curtains shut, blocking his unconcerned grin. Through getting ready she listened, trying to decipher the mood of her family through the silence. It wasn't until she was downstairs that she felt the weight of what wasn't being said.

In the kitchen her mother was getting coffee while her father leaned against the counter, sipping from a mug and looking over emails on his phone. Though they occupied the same space, breathed the same air, Haley felt as if her parents were on two different planets. There wasn't any point in ignoring each other since they couldn't even see the other person.

Feeling as if she hadn't slept at all, Haley joined the distant pair. In a weighted silence that made Haley feel like she might have gone deaf, she got cereal and hurriedly ate it wishing to get away from the amount of words that were being stuffed away. It was only when she was putting her dish in the dishwasher that her mother became aware of her presence.

"Morning, honey," she said, brushing a kiss over Haley's hair.

She was a petite woman in her late forties with flawless chestnut brown hair, subtle makeup, and a smile always at the ready. A result of her job as a real estate agent.

"I have an open house at three and I was wondering if you wanted to help me bake cookies this afternoon when you get back from school?"

The memory of her mother - with her hair in a knot on the top of her head - and her surrounded by pans of hot cookies filled her mind. The sweet scent was always mixed with her mother's warm laughter as they both stole bites of the sticky batter. No matter how meticulous her mother would be both of them would end up with smudges of flour on their faces and clothes. The images felt as if they were from ages ago unable to remember the last time they had baked together.

"Sorry, I have a project I'm working on after school."

Her mother smiled but the smile wasn't as cheery. There was a touch of tiredness around her eyes.

"Alright, maybe another time. Have a good day."

With a light kiss on Haley's cheek, she left the kitchen, giving no notice to her husband.  Haley tried to ignore the tinge of pain in her chest at the complete disregard.

"Dad?" she said.

He gave a hum in response, though he never took his eyes off his phone. He was dressed in a tailored suit and his trimmed brown hair was speckled with gray.

"I was wondering if you could give me a ride home today," she asked.

He glanced up at her and pulled on a regretful expression. "Sorry kiddo, I'm in court until this evening."

Haley nodded like it wasn't a big deal.

"Yeah, it's fine," she said.

The words were barely heard as her father answered his phone.

"Jerry," he said, "did you get Mr. Walter's case file?"

He left the kitchen and Haley let out a breath. She wasn't sure what was heavier, the emptiness of the kitchen before her parents were in it or after. Forcing herself not to dwell on this fact, she moved back to the front door.

The house around her felt staged. Where there had been signs of a family from the imprints in the furniture - from staying there too long - were now spotless upholstery. The vases were empty, no one bothering to refill them from the last time the flowers died. Haley couldn't remember when that had been. Everything was clean as if a new family was going to stop by any minute to check out the house and replace the splintering one that was currently living there.

Matt jogged down the stairs, right as Haley reached them.

"Ready?" he asked.

Haley grabbed her backpack from the bottom of the stairs and followed him out. Around them, quaint two-story houses lined the street. Lawns were mowed and not a single house broke from the spotless uniformity. For a second Haley let herself believe that the families inside those perfect displays were just as screwed up as hers. That way she didn't feel like the only one hiding behind a lie of pastel paint and three inch Kentucky bluegrass.

That illusion was broken when the door to Jace's house opened and he stepped out, followed by a slender, graceful blonde woman who barely looked past thirty. With a bright smile that showcased her perfect teeth and highlighted her blue eyes, she gave Jace a quick kiss on his cheek.

"Stay out of trouble," she said, her lilting voice half stern, half teasing.

Unaware of being watched, Jace smiled. "You say that like I'm prone to getting into trouble."

"You are your father's son, as talented and brilliant as you may be, you still find ways to cause problems."

"I say that comes from being a teenage boy."

Lovingly, she tapped his nose. "Either way don't make me get a call from the principal."

"No promises."

She laughed, a sound which felt foreign to Haley. Picking up his helmet, Jace jumped off his porch. When his gaze fell on Haley a mixture of emotions darted through his face. The sight of them confused her because along with embarrassment she thought she caught guilt, but for what she didn't know.

He gave her a nod as she pulled the car door open and climbed in. Matt was typing away on his phone and looked up as Haley buckled in. The truck rumbled to life and they left the driveway, Jace speeding off in front of them.

The neighborhood darted by, the scene blurring into a mesh of pinks, light blues, yellows, greens, and lavenders. The sky was a cloudless blue and spoke of an unyielding heat to come. The wind whipped through the open window and playfully tossed about Haley's ponytail.

"How did your project thing go?" Matt asked, glancing over at her.

"Fine. How was work?"

"Good."

The conversation fell to its inevitable death. As they drove in silence Haley thought back to a time when the car would have been filled with their constant chatter, their laughter woven through and music they talked over, loving the chaos too much to turn it off. She wondered if this was a reality that would have always come about as Matt drifted further from her, a job, age, and thoughts of college pulling him away.

Part of her wondered if this was the result of having the noisiest person gone. The one person who had sat between them had been a tether between their ages and their lives. Lettie. Haley's best friend and Matt's lovable lab partner. A bubbly voice that seemed to wrap everyone and anyone into it.

In her mind, Haley figured that same friendly voice was connecting different people together just somewhere else. Actually 1,200 miles away to be exact. The image of the mess of black curls piled onto of a heart-shaped face and a mischief brown eyes floated around Haley. The infectious laugh that made you want to be in on the joke. A warm personality that made you forget there had been a time you hadn't known each other.

"Do you ever miss, Lettie?" she asked, not looking at Matt, afraid she would see the ghost of her friend beside her.

"Yeah," he said. "Do you?"

Haley nodded and leaned her head against the window frame.

"Every day."

**********************************************************************

Hey! I found Nemo!

(At the beginning of each author's note I'm going to put these 👉🕳👈 emojis so if you want to drop off any thoughts on the chapter you can!)

Random fact about yours truly, I am a collector of slang. When different trends come along I find the ones I like and use them, even when everyone else has moved on. I'm kind of like a melting pot of slang.

For instance, I use 'oh my' and 'dearie me' like I'm an eighty-five year old lady. The phrases 'straight up' and 'for reals' are some of my main go-to phrases. The words 'bonkers', 'epic', 'cray', and 'legit' will always be with me! Though I know 'savage' is making an exit out of society I have no intention of dropping it, I've grown too attached to it. Also I really want to start using 'jeepers', 'groovy' and 'jinkies' more!

Do you have any odd words or phrases you still use?

I have a couple other ones I use a ton, want to guess what they are?

Hey! You guessed them! Vote, comment, follow!! Watermelon!

Yeah this cat thinks I'm bonkers