Piece By Piece | ✓

7 | vanessa

     Honestly, Vanessa didn't care if Tristan thought she was a bitch—she wanted to steer clear of troublesome people who were going to ruin her feat of being invisible at school.

     She served four more customers after Tristan, effortlessly keeping the calm and collected façade and purposely giving Nic the cold shoulder because of his recklessness earlier.

     At exactly one o'clock, Vanessa turned on her heel to exit the counter and untied her apron as she walked towards the back room. She stole a quick glance at the gray couches to check if Tristan was still there—she hadn't noticed if he already left—he wasn't there sipping his coffee anymore, thank God.

     Another one of her coworkers, a brunette wearing braids, emerged from the back room, nodding at Vanessa as she passed by. "Hey, Vanessa," the girl smiled, "TGIF, huh? You're lucky you have weekends as your day off."

     "Yeah, I guess," Vanessa shrugged. "See you later, Gabe."

     "Sure," Gabe said, waving goodbye to her. "Have fun tonight!"

     Truth be told, Vanessa loved working at the coffee shop, despite getting easily pissed off by most people, the homey ambiance and friendly staff usually tamed her evil horns, preventing them from coming out completely.

     The staff here was constantly nice and approachable; and even though she considered herself to be the black sheep, they were considerate enough to tolerate (or ignore, depending on one's perspective) her indifference towards them.

     Vanessa wasn't sure if they were faking it or not, but nonetheless, she was still undeniably grateful for being a part of their team. And besides, this place had both of her unwavering obsessions—books and coffee. Working at Books and Brews was definitely one of the fulfilling things she'd done in her life.

     After changing into a black Nirvana shirt and sweatpants, Vanessa grabbed her backpack from her locker and went out of the back door, running towards the parking lot.

     "Vanessa!"

     She abruptly stopped on her tracks and turned around to face Nic, his gray eyes sad and worn out. "About what happened earlier—"

     Vanessa wanted to scoff at him, but decided against it. She was too tired to be a bitch right now. Instead, she just sighed and shook her head. "It's fine," she waved him off and turned away from him again. "Go back inside, Nic."

     She ignored his desperate apologies and continued walking towards her car. Right now, the only thing that mattered to her was to drive back home so she could let out some steam for a while.

~

     Vanessa yanked the door of her twin sister's bedroom open once she grabbed its keys from her nightstand.

     With shaky legs, she hastily made her way towards the fluffy bed and sat on it with her legs crossed as she took the picture frame in her hands, pressing it against her cheek.

     "Veronica," she whispered, looking down at the photograph of herself and her twin sister with dejected eyes.

     Between the two of them, Veronica was always better with handling social interaction and... boys. She was more likeable, more confident, and definitely friendlier than her; she had every right to be widely known as Miss Congeniality—everyone wanted to be her friend, to be a part of her social circle.

     Vanessa was none of those things—she was the unpopular shadow, the less appreciated younger twin sister. But she didn't mind being invisible at all; she was nowhere near as confident as Veronica, and she didn't even like having the spotlight focused on her.

     Being Veronica's number one solid supporter was more than enough for her. Seeing her twin sister shine brilliantly and succeed effortlessly in her studies meant everything to her. Vanessa was never jealous nor competitive; she was simply happy with every little thing Veronica had accomplished for herself.

     Another round of painfully bittersweet memories flashed through her mind. Vanessa bit her lower lip to keep herself from crying again, but several stray tears spilled down her cheeks.

     "Sorry I'm always crying, Ver," Vanessa sniffed, wiping her tear-stained face with the back of her hand. "So unlike me, I know." She smiled sadly, trying her best to speak without her voice faltering. "But you're not with me anymore... and you—you always make everything better. It's all my fault... I'm sorry, Veronica. I'm so sorry."

     Vanessa's shoulders slumped forward as she stared longingly at her twin sister's smiling face in the picture, the only remembrance she had of Veronica that captured a happy moment in their lives.

     Ever since she had returned from the hospital and found her whole house empty, the very first room she checked was Veronica's—everything looked the same way it before they left for that awful party.

     "I almost punched Nic today," Vanessa confessed, frowning at the memory. "He slung his arm around me, the nerve of that guy!" She groaned in annoyance as she ran a hand through her hair and pulled at the roots lightly. "And get this—the annoying blonde guy I was talking about? Turns out, they're cousins. Damn, Ver, I'm in some weird shit right now."

     She sighed again, then she pressed her forehead against the picture frame and closed her eyes. "They're both exasperating, you know? And, uh, I... I don't know, Ver. I just wanted to let out some steam, I guess. Jack would've had my ass perched on his wall if I punched Nic earlier."

     She shuddered at the thought; it was a good thing she didn't go through with it, or else she would be crying because of getting fired from her job.

     "It sucks," Vanessa whispered. "Not seeing you here in this room, not hearing you snort when you laugh too much. Two years later and I'm still grieving, Ver." She pressed the picture frame against her chest and as if on cue, tears streamed down her face once more. "I wish you were right here with me, telling me how to properly handle these kinds of things. I fucking miss you, Veronica. I'm so sorry for not being strong enough, for not being brave enough to stop you that night."

     The tragic death of her twin sister wasn't just losing a beloved family member—on that dreadful night, as sirens rang loudly and people started crowding the scene of the accident, Vanessa lost herself, too.