Over Again | ✓

T a d h a n a

Chapter Nine

❝ the first time someone shows you who they are, believe them ❞
;
Maya Angelou

"Oooh, baby, I love your way, every day."

"Shadows grow so long before my eyes and they're moving across the page." Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce to you, my friends. Will had long accepted his defeat and that we were truly going to Niagara Falls- to a whole new country all together. I know, shocking.

And here we were, stuck in heavy traffic, munching on some granola bars and bored as hell. Alex resorted to shouting at random people and commenting on whatever her restless eyes could see. Poor Dennise was red in the neck and face the whole time.

"Don't fucking wear a turtle neck during summer, you orange face!" I just shook my head, smiling sadly and looked down at Adam who was once again lying down with his head on my lap, an implacable look on his usual smiling face. It was hard to read what exactly his expression was now that we were sitting on the very back.

It was hard. Which one? Everything- life, friendship and this, whatever what this was between Adam and me that I still have yet to understand myself. I barely said anything at all ever since that phone call with mom. Of course, it was easy as it could be, to pretend like everything was fine. With a few smiles here and there, everybody would believe that nothing was wrong the least bit, that I wasn't feeling like the Earth would once again fall down on me with one wrong move.

All of them noticed, though. They would always do. Yet they never tried to ask me what was it about or whether I was okay or fine and for that, I was more than grateful. But sometimes, when I lock myself up in my own room and drowning myself in my sorrows in the depressing quiet of the night with my cold coffee left untouched, I think that maybe they just didn't care enough. It was better to think that way than let them carry my burden, anyway.

A warm voice roused me from my own thoughts. "You okay? You've been quiet since earlier."

"I'm fine." With a deep breath, I leaned my head on the back and closed my eyes.

"Tell me something that's not a lie." I didn't know how to respond to that; didn't have the correct answers to tell him. We were quiet for a while and just listened to the pointless banter of our friends before he spoke, "Have you ever had that feeling where you just felt like you've known someone for such a long time but all that you thought you knew about them was all a lie?"

With my eyes remaining closed, I answered, "Yes, I have."

My dad. I looked up to him to almost everything. He was my hero, my bestfriend and my savior. Through my three year old eyes, I could still the picture vividly of my parents dancing together, hand in hand in a field of daisies with the flower crown I made for mom.

"Mommy! Mommy! Mwe dwance!" Three year old Harper ran to her father's wide open arms, giggling with her beautiful brown hair tied up in a braid.

"Be careful with her, love. She's more than a handful." The mom laid on the picnic mat and took a picture of the scene unfolding in front of her, the polaroid film falling noiselessly on to her awaiting hand.

The dad took toddler Harper's chubby hands in his and placed a loving kiss on her forehead, his stubble light tickling her. "Twickles."

"I love you so much, Harper. You and your mother." The father's warm brown eyes twinkled with raw and pure happiness as if realizing just at that very moment how lucky he was to have these two women in his life. He took toddler Harper in his arms and ran a loving hand down the side of her face. "You look so much like your mother. Beautiful."