The Chrysalis Project | Rewrite (Slow)

8 | The Richer, Prettier You

"Sienna, come here," my dad said as he grabbed my hands. I hesitantly followed, I was fifteen years old, and dad hasn't held my hand in years.

My father's hands were warm and significantly bigger than mine, he carried a wide smile as he guided me to the light. I was a smaller kid when I was fifteen and still hadn't hit my growth spurt yet.

When was the last time I've felt like this? I asked myself.

He eventually guided me to my mother who was holding Scarlet, my newborn baby sister. As she saw us approaching, her tiny baby hands and feet stretched as far she could, her bright green eyes filled with curiosity and her reddish hair proved a great reminder of her name.

"Mom and dad love you both, Sienna. No more than Scarlet, but definitely no less," my mother said and welcomed me with her open arms while Scarlet was now being held by my father.

We were truly a family, we had our happy and sad moments but we were still together. Sadly, the happiness and warmth only lasted for a span of one more year before my parents passed away. It had been six years since and I still wondered if things would have been different if they decided to not go on that business trip.

It certainly would have changed everything, I thought. At least they would still be alive, and we would still be in living in the same house in that small town I once called home. Perhaps I'd have gotten into a more average university since there would have been no need for me to work and study as hard as I did to keep Scarlet and me together and alive. Maybe I would actually have consistent friends and perhaps fall in love with the boy next door.

But that's just wishful thinking, and now that I look back, it was a miracle that Scarlet and I were both still alive and we're actually doing fairly decent.

My train of thought and dream had been interrupted by a violent nudge. I open my eyes immediately and turned around to see Hayden Whitehall's sleepy face looking blanky towards me.

"Had a good dream?" He asked.

"Why even bother asking me if you are just going to ruin it by waking me up," I yawned, still not completely awake.

"Hate to break it to you, but it's actually already eleven in the morning," Hayden explained, "I hope you don't have class."

"W-What day is it?" I asked half-sitting and rubbing my eyes.

"Today is Saturday."

"Then why would I have class?"

"You're right, you have absolutely no class and you're a peasant," Hayden laughed.

Now fully awake, I glared at him for his lame and shitty joke.

"Did you seriously just set me up for that joke?"

"I may or may not have done that."

I glared at him again, this time half rolling my eyes.

Disappointed at my reaction, Hayden said, "not much of a morning person, are you?"

"I'll be a morning person when it's payday," I said, annoyed.

"Okay then grumpy face, it's time to get your butt out of bed. We got stuff to do."

I now fully sat up on the comfy bed and stood next to him.

"Can I at least change and freshen up before we head out? I don't think you appreciate morning breath and maid outfits," I said plainly.

"I'm glad you care about what I think," Hayden smiled, it was almost like he knew what I wanted.

He guided me to the bathroom and instructed me that I could shower and freshen up there. There were already new toothbrushes, towels, shampoo, conditioner, and body wash placed on the bathroom countertop. There were two sets of everything, one looked used and the other brand new, some still in their original packaging.