Chapter 1 - Cherry Strawberry

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Lara's POV

The pain in his eyes was killing me, and when he let me go just like that, I was dying inside. Now that I'm dancing with the man that I'm gonna marry someday, all of the memories that I have with his son haunt me like a ghost. As the music stops, I pull away from his arms to end this dance and see Keith locking arms with a strawberry blonde lady in a backless red dress.

"Who is she?" I ask Kyle.

Kyle is well aware that I'm talking about the unfamiliar lady who's drinking with his son, "The girl with Keith? That's Allison Waller. She used to live in your house."

"She did?"

"Yeah. She lived with the Rogers until she went to college five years ago." He informs me.

"But I bought their house a year ago." I pan my eyes back to Kyle.

"Frank, her uncle moved to South Dakota, and you bought his house three months later." He places his hand on my waist and guides me to get off stage.

"And she never came back? Before the Rogers moved out?" I take his hand and step down the stage carefully.

"Not even once." Kyle responds. "Keith was so brokenhearted."

"What do you mean?" I don't like those words.

"He had a huge crush on her."

Keith lost his crush and lost his mother in a short amount of time. No wonder people said that he changed into a whole new person. What was he really like before? Was he even sweeter than he is now? My eyes keep following him everywhere he goes in this party with that girl, and I notice that he's aware of that. The weird thing is that he doesn't bother to tag me along.

Even Kennedy and Katherine are laughing with them. Was she close with them too? When that girl hugs Julia and Patrick tightly, I get the memo that she was indeed close with this family. She then holds Keaton in her arms and makes him laughing endlessly. Nobody cares about introducing me to her. If I hadn't ask Kyle, I bet that he wouldn't tell me about her. I feel like I'm left alone in my own party because everyone is either talking to her or talking to the guests that I don't know.

I unintentionally sigh on the table. My dad, my grandparents, Michelle, and Dominic are turning their heads to check on me. I quickly put a smile on my face and give the back of my neck a little message to pretend that I'm just tired. Luckily for me, they all buy it. I look back to check on Keith, and our eyes cross path. He raises his eyebrows and give me his best smile, but focuses his attention back to that girl one second later.

"Mish!" I lean closer to Michelle. "Do you think she's that pretty?"

"Who?" Michelle is scanning the whole party.

"That girl who's talking to Keith." I say to her ear.

Michelle narrows her eyes and chuckle, "She's hot as hell!"

"Who is?" Dominic has joined the chat.

"That redhead with Keith." Michelle points at her with her chin.

"She's a blonde." I complain about her hair color.

Dom and Mish snort, "She's a ginger!"

"Strawberry blonde hair is a red hair." Dom adds.

"Do you know her?" Michelle senses my jealousy.

"I don't!" I feel so annoyed.

"That is my friend what I felt when you started hanging out with Victoria in our junior year." Michelle still can't get over it.

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