Lost and found

chapter 1- Liv: Married?

"Yeah, but you know her, she's not strict with these types of things," I mutter to Casey. 

I'm sure she's already dozed off by now. Powering off my phone I sink deeper into the couch. There are multiple bedrooms upstairs but I feel too lazy to wake Casey up and move up there. One habit that I have before going to bed is debriefing my day in my head. I guess I started to after my dad passed away to cope. I like to separate the good from the bad. 

Bad: Mom's getting re-married, new family, strangers living in our house, stupid party. 

Good: sleepover, painted nails, the stupid party could be fun? Then a thought comes across my mind. What if this mystery man that mom's marrying has a family of his own? Crazy thought, but probably a possibility.

Mom didn't say anything about that when she stormed downstairs to tell me. Here in fact how the conversation went about:

"Honey, do you have any plans for tomorrow night?" Mom demanded.

"Yeah, I and Casey were going to go to that indoor pool party, and what with the attitude mom?"

"Sorry, I'm just nervous. I don't know how to tell you this..." My mother said, lowering her voice.

"Just spill it out! It can't be bad," I practically laughed and looked at Casey while I said this.

"I'm getting married," My mother blurted out. There was a moment of silence.

"Damn," Casey said. 

I don't say anything to my mom after this point. What am I supposed to congratulate her for? She's been hiding this from me! My mom scurries away after that. Thinking back I feel kinda bad, I think I hurt her feelings. I think I should apologize to her. Tomorrow. I need a fresh mindset. Maybe I'll be in a better mood. I move close to Casey, she's like my therapist. Even when I'm around her I feel better. Casey wraps her arms around me and feeling safe and sound I take deep breaths and slowly drift off into my dreams.

                                                                          ⚘⚘⚘⚘

"Morning sunshine," Casey's voice yells in my ear. 

Uh the morning, I HATE MORNINGS. I guess you can say I'm not the early bird who gets the worm. I am a teenager, after all, I need my sleep.

"10 more minutes," I moan, not wanting to open my eyes. 

I know I'm not going to win this battle though. Last night I promised Casey a day of shopping, blowouts, and make-up artists.

"Olivia Delia French, it's 11 am! We have an appointment in 30 minutes at the Salone!" I peep open my eyes, to see her hovering over me. 

She takes off the blanket for me and I slowly hop out of bed. I head upstairs to my room. Casey follows closely behind. My room is on the top floor. When I turned 13 I moved up there. I have LED lights stripped across and vines hanging in all directions. Vibes fall down my walls, as do some fairy lights in the corners of my room. It's a vibe if you ask any one of my friends. Once upstairs I head into my closet, pulling out an oversized hoodie and a pair of sweatpants. Then head to my large mirror checking out how I look. Grunting because I am not appealed to my reflection.

"God! I look like a fucking hot mess," I yelp. 

And it's true, I didn't take off my makeup from last night, mascara dripping down my face. My golden hair is up in a messy bun. There are huge bags under my eyes making me look like a zombie. 

"Tell me about it... You're lucky to have this day now! You should be thanking me!" Casey calls from my bed, she's on her phone doing her streaks or some crap. 

"Thank you, Casey," I roll my eyes at her reflection. 

But hey she's honest with me so that's a plus. Casey and I are like the iconic blonde and brunette duo, like Betty and Veronica. Except my hair isn't naturally blonde, and it's not even considered a blonde color, it's almost golden honey. I started highlighting my hair after Dad passed, another one of my coping mechanisms. Quickly I take off my pajamas and slide the navy sweatshirt over my white sweatpants. Then Casey helps me to a basic layer of makeup and I'm ready to leave.

We head downstairs barely acknowledging my mother watching an episode of Ellen. I then remember the thoughts I had last night and wanting to ask her about her new man.

"Oh mom before I forget, can we talk?" I say sitting down next to her on our large furry black sofa.

"Five min max! We have to leave!" Casey calls from the large front door.

"Of course hun, what do you need?" My mom asks, reaching for my hand. 

Grabbing her hand willingly I realize how much I missed talking to her, seeing her, or even having her presence near me.

"Are you happy?" I ask straight up. Mom squeezes my hand. Her warmth rushing through my veins.

"Yes, I believe so. For the first time since your father," She sighs.

"Well, I'm glad...Does he have a family? Your fiance?" I ask next. 

The next answer will change everything. I may have siblings for the first time. A part of me wants a sibling, but the other part of me wants to stay having all the attention. I know that sounds bad but it's the truth.

"Yes, he does have a lot of kids. I was going to discuss that later..." She responds, lowering her voice. Oh. That's my answer. So I guess I am getting siblings. At least I know my mom will always love me, and I'll always be my mom's favorite.

"And what's his name? I don't think you told me that," Gulping nervously for the next reply.  

In the worst-case scenario, he's one of my teachers, in the best case he's a millionaire. I hope she's marrying my math teacher, I need my marks to go up!

"Frank. Frank Gallagher,". 

Who the fuck is Frank Gallagher. Well, there's only one way to find out.