All You Had To Do Was Stay | ✓

Chapter 1

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Clare, my neighbour, and I were sitting in my bedroom doing what we do every Friday; reading our favourite books together.

She looked so into her book, but I was distracted. I'm not usually like that when I'm reading. When I'm reading I have no idea about what's going on around me, my eyes are on my book. The words are on the page, but they disappear when my imagination takes over, and a book based show starts to play in my head.

Looking around my bedroom, I decide that I should probably re-decorate next summer. My room walls are stone blue, and all of the furniture is white. To the left of my door, I have a white desk with metallic grey knobs on each of the three drawers. My desk has a white shelf over it, that is filled with books. To the left of my desk, I have a white dresser with metallic grey knobs. The dresser comes to my chest, and I'm five' four. My king sized bed is in the middle of the room and has a white head board. My bedside tables are white too, and they both have two drawers with metallic grey knobs. On top of the bedside table to the left of my bed, is a family picture that was taken in our backyard. It was taken when I was seven. Three years before my mom left.

Across from my bed, is my white dressing table, with all my make-up that I occasionally wear. Beside my dressing table are white french doors, to my walk-in closet. I may have a walk-in closet, but everything in there is a mess. Nobody sees what's in there, so it's fine.

Diagonally from my closet is a very large bay window, with a long seat, that I like to call my couch. Whenever Clare stays over, that's where she sleeps; like right now.

My gaze shifts to Clare. Her blonde hair is up in a bun and she's gazing so intently at her book. One hand is pressing the open book down on the ground, the other hand's thumb is pressed tightly against her lip. She's definitely at the battling part of The Mortal Instruments right now. I recommended Mortal Instruments to her. It's one of my favorite books.

Frustrated at myself, I look back down at my book and begin to read. I get so sucked into the novel that I barely even hear the bell ring.

Ding-dong.

Clare looks up at me, when I don't bother to move.

"What? Dad will get it." I say.

"Okay, whatever you say." She says, her gaze back on the book.

Ding-dong. The bell goes off again. Clare looks up at me again, with a questioning, but annoyed look.

"Oh yeah, Dad said he's going to the store. It's probably Matthew. He usually rings the bell a couple of times, just to bug me, so I can go downstairs and open the door myself. He knows my laziness. Whatever."

Matthew is my best friend in the whole wide world. We were friends since preschool, and he lives right across my house. Which is awesome, because two of my closest friends live literally steps away from my house. When I was eleven, I had a crush on him, that lasted maybe two or three months. I'm over it now. I am sixteen, after all. Well, sort of over it. Okay, not really, but he's the most awesome person I've ever known, and I'm fine by being friend-zoned by him. You see, Matthew back then was a very beautiful guy. Now, there are no words to describe his beauty. Definitely out of my league. Matthew is just like Clare and I. He is into books, loves beaches, forests, and he hates downtown. We all love the same shows. Right now, we're hooked on Once Upon a Time on ABC. We live in BC, Canada, so we get the episodes before the people in America do.

"Well, I'm really into this book," starts Clare, "and I'm not in the mood of being bugged, so if I were you, I would get up and open the door."

"Bossy much." I say, "Nah, I'm too lazy. You go get the door."

"It's your house!"

"Technically, it's my Daddy's."

"Stop being so immature and get the door! I'm older than you, just listen!"

"We're practically the same age! You're just nineteen months older than me!"

Ding-dong. It's the doorbell, for the third time.

"OHMAGAWD! Just go get the damn door, Katie!" Clare whines.

"It's probably Matthew! You know he can barge in the house whenever he wants! In fact that's what he does all the time!"

"Then, how come he isn't doing it now? Katie, just get the door."

"That boy, man! He's always making me do my own work."

Sighing to myself, I put my book, Saving Wishes, down, and get up and walk towards my dressing to make myself look approachable. Now, I look at myself in the mirror, and put my auburn hair in a ponytail, and apply a thin coat of mascara and mulberry purple matte lipstick. It makes my green eyes pop out.

"Getting pretty for Matthew?" Clare says, her eyes sparkling.

"Shut up. If you ever tell him I like him, I will personally kill you with a spoon."

"That's violent. I won't tell, don't worry, I'm practically your older sister. I can keep secrets."

That's true. Clare is practically my older sister. When Mother Nature decided to knock on my door for the first time, I was 12, and I definitely couldn't talk to my dad about it. That would be awkward. So, I went next door and was planning on talking to Mrs. Scott about it, but she wasn't home. Instead, Clare guided me through all those super fun steps. After that, either I was always at her house, or she was always at mine. I introduced her to Matthew about a month after we became friends, and she knew immediately that I had a crush on him. Not because of a typical girl crush where the girl acts shy and giggly around the guy. But because I was apparently too "brotherly" with Matthew. She thought I was trying to be really good friends with him so he wouldn't find out that I had a crush on him. I denied it at that time, but it is definitely true now. I can't lose Clare and Matthew, they're all I have, apart from Dad of course. So yes, Mother Nature did help form a sisterly-bond between me and Clare.

"Do I look good enough?" I ask, facing Clare.

"Shut up. You always look good enough-"

"True. You couldn't be more correct" I interrupt.

"I was going to say that there is no point in looking good for Matthew. He has known you since you were in preschool when you had boogers running down your nose. Plus, it's pretty obvious he likes you too. You both act to brotherly-sisterly towards each other. It's obvious you both are denying the fact that you don't want to lose your friendship." Clare says quickly.

I walk towards my door before replying."No, Clare. If he liked me that way, he would've made his move already."

"This is the twenty-first century, Katie! You make the move. Put it on a banner so he could know how you feel about him. You two are impossible."

Ding-dong, Ding-dong, Ding-dong,

"Matthew really wants to annoy me." I say.

"Kaitlyn Rose Harper. I said this once, twice, and now I'm saying this for the millionth time. GO GET THE DAMN DOOR!" Clare barks at me.

"Fine!"

I lazily stomp my way down the hallway, past the bathroom, Daddy's master bedroom, and our two guest rooms. I go down the stairs and stride through the center of our open-concept living room, dining area and kitchen towards the door.

Yanking it open, I begin, "Matthew, you know you can jusss...."

It's not Matthew.

It's not my dad.

It's the one person, I despise and love at the same time.

It's my mom.

***

Well, that's chapter one for you!

Please don't hesitate that super attractive star, it's begging for your attention.

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