NEON

26. Boxes

Song for the chapter- Goodnight by Cher Lloyd. I cannot thank you guys enough for making me feel like my writing is actually important. Thank you so much for that

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Kaplan.

"Wait a minute," my dad stopped Booker and me from continuing our journey through the kitchen and to the basement. "When did he get here?" he asked, sipping on his coffee.

"He just got here. I called him over a little while ago." I told my dad.

"And why is he here?"

"I wanted . . . . to spend time with . . . my boo bear." Hold on, let me barf real quick.

Booker snickered and my dad laughed, shaking his head and walking back into the kitchen.

"I love you too boo bear." Booker said once my dad left the room. I elbowed his ribs and continued to walk to the basement.

He followed me down the stairs. I flicked on the light switch and immediately went straight to boxes on the lavender love seat my parents received as a wedding present.

I pulled a box off of the couch and sat it on the floor. Booker grabbed another box and sat on the floor next to me.

I unfolded the cardboard and pulled out papers and random junk that hasn't been acknowledged in the last ten years. I pushed the empty, old box away and crossed my legs to start looking at the papers.

"So tell me why we are randomly going through old boxes again?" Booker asked from beside me.

"My dad wants me to speak at my moms funeral so, by going through her old shit, I can find some stuff out about her that I never knew." I didn't look up to make eye contact with him. I kept looking at old documents and rusty pictures of people I haven't even heard of.

"Wait," Booker stopped me. "Your mom died?" Oh, I guess I didn't tell him. Come to think of it, I haven't told anyone. Cyrus and my dad are the only people who know really.

Wow.

"Yeah." I shrugged and went back to looking at the boxes. I guess I'm a little ADD right now.

"And you're okay?" I sighed and put the papers down again to look at him.

"I'm fine Booker." I huffed and went back to the papers.

"Oh gosh, little Kaplan in a fluffy pink dress. I wouldn't have imagined the day I'd see that." Booker says. I look over at him and see him waving a dusty picture around.

I snatched it from him and looked at it myself, "this was Mother's Day when I was three." I laughed. "My dad put me in the horrid thing, thinking my mom wants a blossomed daughter." Both of us laugh at the memory.

"There was one where I dressed up like Askins, for Father's Day." I giggled and looked around the box he had to see if I can find anymore pictures. I didn't see any so I went back to my papers.

Documents, documents, tax reports, bills, more documents, etc. I also found my birth certificate.

Kaplan Mackenzie Ross, born at 8:03 A.M in the Franks hospital in New York City, New York. I was 7.15 lbs and had light brown hair and brown eyes. My dad signed it at 8:07 AM and my mom didn't sign until 7:32 PM.

My fingertips traced my dad's signature. I smile at the thought of my dad's reaction to my birth. He could have cried or he could have been so excited he passed out.

I fold up the birth certificate and stuff it in my back pocket. I put all of the papers back into the box and close it up, putting it on the side of the couch.

I grab another box and sit back on the floor, opening up the box. I smile at the sight in front of me.

It was a box full of my baby things. The first thing that gave it away was the tiny stuffed cat I called Kenny. I pulled it out and immediately saw the pink nail polish I tried to paint his nails with.

"What's that?" Booker asked, noticing me cuddling an old, torn up, stuffed cat.

"My childhood." I glared at him playfully and he went back to looking in the box.

I pull out another stuffed animal. This one was a bear wearing a nurses outfit. I opened the small heart on its ear to see the line that someone would usually put the name, instead has a billion hearts on it.

this was my mom's old Teddy bear. my grandmother said she was always asking to bring that bear and when she couldn't she cried the entire time she was away from it.

"what's that?" Booker asked.

"my moms old toy." I smiled at the washed out grey toy. I'm guessing it used to be white. "what if I brought it to the funeral? what if I put it in her casket with her?" I was suddenly excited about it . . . which might be the sickest thing ever.

"would you even be able too?" he asked, grabbing the bear from me. he looked at it and ignored the value it used to hold.

"its my mother."

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alright so I just want to let you all know that lifeproof cases bought from eBay kinda suck lol anyways my iphone the one I usually work on this story with, the bottom of half of the screen is dead so I'm doing everything to fix it but it will take time to fix and update. I'm gonna update as much as possible this week/weekend

AND OMG 700+ READS?! THERE AREN'T ENOUGH THANK YOUS IN THE WORLD!!!

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