Timeless - Mal Pugh (Third book to Attached and My Cure)

Chapter 16

Morgana's POV

The craziness that consumed our lives the next few weeks was crazy. 

Because I was leaving for the World Cup in a few weeks, I knew I had a lot of stuff I needed to get done. 

Mal and I started to plan an engagement party the following morning, because the preparations would have to be done fast. We had already planned on a birthday dinner with my family, who were all flying in from Denver on Wednesday night. My birthday is on Thursday and I was told about the roster the roster exactly a week before it. The roster releases to the public the day before my birthday. 

I made arrangements to spend some time with Hatchy next week before I have to leave for camp for the final friendly before we head to Australia and New Zealand. Right after that, I'll fly home and spend two days in Colorado taking care of the boxes Lena left for me. 

It all happened in a blur of anticipation. Everything went by in such a blur sand didn't slow down until I was back at my parent's house, standing in my older sister's old room. 

I think I stood there staring at the boxes in the bottom of the closet for 10 minutes. 

Maybe I shouldn't open them before the World Cup. It might throw me off. Maybe she didn't want me to see any of her stuff. What if I cry? Why did I want to do this alone? Should I have brought Mal? I wouldn't want to upset her though. I miss her. Maybe I should just go back home. 

I was overthinking everything, but something inside of me told me not to leave the room. So I stayed, and I waited as long as I had to until I was ready. 

That waiting took so long that there was a knock on the door.  

"Hey Morg. Can I come in?" Chloe's voice was muffled through the door. 

"Yeah." I replied. 

She walked in slowly and came over to me. 

"Haven't touched anything, I see." 

"Not a thing." 

"Didn't expect much else." 

"Why's it so hard?" I asked, barely holding back my tears. "I don't understand. It's been a year." 

"It'll never be easy." She pulled me into a hug. 

We stood there until I finally asked her the question that I was dying to ask. 

"Can you help me?" 

"Of course." 

We sat down on the ground and I pulled a box out from the bottom of the closet. I opened it up and it was just some clothes. The second and third boxes were the same, so we pushed them behind us. The next box was a collection of picture frames I'd seen when I went to check on her apartment. 

When I'd gone there, It got to a point where I couldn't handle it anymore, and I just left everything there. Chloe and my parents went to go take care of it all. Trinity had gone with me. We tried to get through everything, but at that point, she hadn't known me very long and I was too much of a mess to do anything. I agreed with the landlord to pay the rent until I could clear somebody could clear it out. 

The framed pictures all had me in it. One of us the day she got her license. One of us at my first high school soccer game, us both playing on varsity and both scoring that game. A picture of her and I with her favorite soccer player of all time, Carli Lloyd. A picture of her, her friends and I at her graduation, and one with our family at mine. There was one of all of us the day Hayley was born in the biggest picture frame. 

Other than a few of her personal items, those were the best things in those boxes. We kept most of her clothes, and separated much of the random stuff and put it all back in the closet. 

The room will stay untouched anyway. 

Chloe knew I took the picture frames some of her jewelry with me. She didn't want anything except for a bracelet and a shirt. She felt like she was stealing from me, even though I offered to let her have whatever she wanted. 

"But it's your stuff." She said. "I can't take that." 

"I'm giving it to you." I said. "And plus, it's not mine. It's Lena's."

"Which makes it feel more like stealing." 

"Chloe, take the stuff." I took the shirt and put it in her left hand, then lifted her left wrist and put the bracelet on. "It's yours." 

"Okay." She said, and we walked downstairs. 

I played with Hayley and held both of the twins for about 20 minutes and then Chloe took them home. She didn't speak a word after we came downstairs, and I don't blame her. 

"I'm gonna go take a nap." I told my mom as soon as my sister left. 

"Okay." She said, then proceeded to yap to me in French as I walked up the stairs. 

"Je descendrai plus tard." I sighed, failing to hide my slightly annoyed undertone. 

She left me alone after that. 

On the way to my room, I stopped in front of Lena's and went in there instead.