𝒃𝒂𝒃𝒚 𝒈𝒊𝒓𝒍 ➳ 𝒃.𝒖

thirty four

"Hey, Mel. Do you know what happened to Ashley?" I spoke quietly into the phone. I had just gotten off the plane around a few hours ago, and settled into a random hotel we would stay in for a few nights.

"I'm not sure, actually. She hasn't really spoken to anyone from school as we all left." Melanie says softly, the clicking of keyboard keys in the background.

"Oh."

"So, you're back in Nevada? You must be so happy!"

I smile widely, "I am actually. There's a lot of people I want to see again. And I'm finally thinking of applying to a university."

"I'm glad you're happy, Emma! You've had it really rough the past few months. Do you have any career in mind?" She says kindly.

"English. Definitely. There's some people who've inspired me to do that."

"Really? I think you'd do great doing that. You're really creative and smart so..."

I laugh slightly, "I hope I do. How's your university life going then?"

"It's fine. Michigan isn't as great as I thought it would be. The art courses here aren't that good to be honest, I'm kind of disappointed..."

"Oh! Really? Well I'm sure you'd still do great." I say reassuringly.

"Thanks, Emma. I'd love to chat some more, but I've got to finish some art coursework. I'll Skype you later tonight, though."

"Okay, sure. Bye!" I smile, hanging up.

I glance around my hotel room. It's plain, but still pretty nice. There are white pearl walls, with wooden floors and a large window with some transparent curtains. The bed is neatly made, and looks pretty comfortable.

I hadn't really bother with unpacking that much, I wasn't expecting to do much in the next few days anyway. I'd probably just lounge around in my hotel room, trying to apply to some good universities.

I walk out onto the small balcony, revealing the beautiful scenery. The centre of Las Vegas is so stunning. There are tall building illuminated with bright neon lights, billboards and there's music playing and people are chattering away even though it's at least 11pm. It's very aesthetically pleasing, to be honest, so I snap some photos of it on a Polaroid camera I got for my birthday a month back.

I had a burning desire to call Brendon. To at least tell him I miss him. Or just let him know I'm back in Nevada. I thought I had deleted all of the ways I could possibly contact him, but then it came into my mind. I wrote his
number down.

I scramble around in my suitcase for my white notebook, which I used to put in small Polaroids or small moments or things that meant a lot to me. I began making it a few months back, just after I moved and since then I would slide in a photo or two every so often. I didn't have it for long; I literally hid it in the bottom of my wardrobe a few days before the funeral. I didn't even know if I had took it with me, I didn't even know if I even had it anymore at all.

I throw around my clothes, desperately trying to find it. I usually keep things that have big memories for me, even if I don't plan on using it anymore or if it's useless to me. I take out a small box I managed to fit in at the bottom of my suitcase, finding it filled with Polaroids and and a few cigarettes I used to try and take aesthetic photos with but never use. And luckily, there was the notebook.

I grin, flipping through the endless pages. Each page seemed to hold a different memory for me, and I couldn't help but stop and stare at a few pages for a moment. There was the photo of me and Brendon kissing, and right below it was his phone number.

I squeal in excitement, for some reason, punching the digits into my phone. I hesitate for a moment, however, wondering whether or not I should really make the call. Is this the right thing to do?

Probably not, but fuck it...

"Hello?"