History Doesn't Repeat Itself

Chapter 14

  Willow and I have been texting non-stop, and I think I'm slowly developing another addiction to cooking. Seriously, I've been cooking dishes non-stop since Gale left for work. He said something about arriving late so I had to keep myself busy somehow.

Cook. Give Oofy the Failed batch. Cook again. Repeat.

That has been my routine since the day started.

Mom was at the hospital, performing god knows what type of procedure. Gale had to go and present his project proposal, which I hope gets approved, and Willow was also at the hospital, completing the last year of her residency under the guidance of the woman with the steadiest hands—my mother.

So I took this time to practice a bit of my cooking. The kitchen I used to work in was pretty small. But the kitchen at the house I'm at right now is the exact opposite. I can't believe I used to wake up to this massive kitchen, not noticing the beauty, the absolute wonder, the hidden gems, and any other words I could use to describe how fucking awesome this kitchen is.

I hear Oofy barking at something at the door. None of the people I knew would come to visit me, not even Dave.

I take a step closer to the door and hold my breath.

Oofy follows behind me.

I look through the peephole and see a. . . backpack?

I try to look closer but all I could really see was a black backpack with a baguette keychain hanging on the zipper.

I try to figure out who this person was. . . but then she turns around.

Holy shit. This girl was tall. Very fucking tall.

She had long brown hair with loose strands flowing freely through the cold winds that passed by. She had a thick beanie and her eyes weren't visible through the moisture coming through the peephole.

She knocks again so I crack the door open just a little bit to see better.

"Oh my god! You're so much prettier in person!" She says when she sees me peeking through the narrow opening.

I disregard what she says. "I'm sorry, who are you?"

"Cyder, call me Cyder." She says, taking off her beanie, revealing another beanie underneath. "Beanie?"

"No." I chuckle a little bit. "Like, who who."

She smiles, revealing her dimples "We've never met before, but I'm Velle's sister." She says. "Is he here?"

Velle? I don't remember anyone I knew having the name "Velle."

"Velle?" I finally ask.

She tilts her head and gives me a look, like what I said was ridiculous.

"Velle. Who is Velle?" I press. 

She smiles again. "Is this one of the games he talked to you about? Oh my god, is he behind me right now?" She turns around. "Aw, man. I thought I had him."

I furrow my eyebrows, but I feel them move apart when I feel myself laughing.

A few seconds pass. "You really do have a really cute laugh." She holds her hand up, "I'm Cyder, again. Cyder as in Apple cider, but the I is a Y. Nice to meet you, Christy."

I open my mouth and close it again. Then I open it back up. "I'm. . . Christy? How do you know my name?"

"Hey, it's weird and all, but may I please come in? It's freezing out here."

San Francisco is known for its searing hot weather, so I couldn't blame her. Just standing on the doorjamb, I could already feel the coldness outside.