CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Remember The Faces
My eyes fluttered open to the brightness pouring in through my window. I yawned as I sat up and stretched in my bed. I loved days like this; when it was sunny in Vancouver and I didn't have to work until 3pm. It gave me time to adjust to the world before I had to work. I smiled to myself as I looked at my reflection in the mirror from across the room. My hair was still in an abundance of curls from last night's party. The party where I officially gained a boyfriend; a boyfriend who is none other than Josh Ramsay.
I rolled out of bed and made my way into the kitchen clicking on the kettle upon my entry. What was I going to do this morning? I shuffled over to the radio on the counter and turned it on. It immediately burst into life. "Alright next song is by the popular local band Marianas Trench!" I smiled as the radio began to play Acadia.
In the house I grew up in
My room in the basement
The hours turning
To years we've spent
Remember Chris in the back yard
Laughing so damn hard
And no one knew why
But the rest is forgotten
Behind me
Sometimes it reminds me
Of when we, we used to
Belong here
Every memory comes on
When I hear that old song
We used to sing
With the words all wrong
I remember the faces
And familiar places
And I sing along
But Acadia is gone
Ran out of gas on the highway
We walked there and I gave
Drunken speeches on sobriety
Now we've all moved away and
Somehow became men
But I remember where it began
Now it's Behind me
Sometimes it reminds me
Of when we, we used to
Belong here
Every memory comes on
When I hear that old song
We used to sing
With the words all wrong
I remember the faces
And familiar places
And I sing along
But Acadia is gone
Remember when
1712 Acadia road fell,
They tore the house down...
Every memory comes on
When I hear that old song
That We used to sing
With the words all wrong
I remember the faces
And familiar places
And I sing along
But Acadia is gone
Acadia is gone
In the house I grew up in
Remember the faces
When Andrew and I wrecked
Each others cars and
Acadia is,
Acadia is gone
I danced around my kitchen embarrassingly during the entire song. I sang the chorus over in my head,
"Every memory comes on when I hear that old song that we used to sing with the words all wrong, I remember the faces and familiar places." Before I could've even finish the chorus my brain become alert with an idea. I could Skype Rose! I checked the clock, because time zones screw everything up. It was 10:45 here so it'd be 1:45 in Toronto. That seemed like a reasonable time to try and reach her.
I fixed myself a tea, plugged in my laptop and made myself comfortable on the couch in the living room. I began frantically typing away leaving Rose a message first.
"Dear Rosie,
I know it's been like forever plus a decade since you last heard from me and I'm sorry. I miss you girl! I was thinking about you and Danny the other day. I wanna catch up! I wanna hear all the little details of your life and then tell you about everything going on in mine. Skype me anytime love! I miss you!
Xoxo Talia."
I clicked send and sat back a little not expecting to hear back right away. I lost myself in memories of my past back in that shitty town in Ontario. Back where Rose, Danny and I were inseparable. Sometimes I almost miss that place for the sweet memories; But the sour taste of the bad ones still drives me away.
All the laughs and ridiculous times spent with Rose and Danny, wrecking havoic on that poor little town.
I wondered if Rose still had her bleach blonde hair and playful smile with the bonus of a go getter attitude. Throughout high school she was always the one out of the three of us that people preferred. Danny and I never took it to heart, but it certainly wasn't fun living in someone else's shadow for years.
I was brought back into the real world by a loud *BLEEP* that rang out from my laptop. I looked down at the glowing screen to find that I had one new message. I smiled brightly and excitedly clicked on it to open it.
"OMG! If it isn't little miss Natalia Renee Wyler! Where have you been!? Danny and I have been going crazy missing you! Can you Skype now!?"
I giggled softly at my best friend's use of my full name. I wasn't sure anyone in this place new my full name yet. I bit my lip suddenly nervous about facing Rose after all this time. I missed her and Danny so much; but I couldn't let her persuade me to go back there. I called her for a Skype chat and sat nervously waiting for a few brief moments.
The screen of my laptop filled suddenly with a beautiful girl with long bleach blonde hair in a tangled mess framing the flawless skin on her cute little face perfectly. The girl had a large crooked smile with pearly white teeth that popped from her dark red lips.
"AHH! Talia! Love, it's been far too long!" The high pitched scream of the girls shrill voice filled my apartment as if she was sitting beside me. Typical of Rose Sharley to be the loudest voice in a room no matter what.
I couldn't help my smile; seeing Rose again was the greatest feeling in the world. I missed her like crazy. "AH! Rosie! I miss you so much! Tell me how's life treating ya!?" I screeched back, sharing equally her excitement. I had so much to tell her in so little time! I wanted to tell her all about Josh and ask all about her and Greg, and if they picked out a wedding date yet. I've just missed so much!
We both managed to compose ourselves and began to use our 'inside voices'. "Sweetheart, the world hates me. I swear it really does!" The usual chipper tone in Rose's voice faded into a grey-lifeless one. My face fell to show my dismay with such a response. That was typically something I would say; I was the depressed girl that thought the world was out to get me, not Rose!
Rose was always that girl that could make you feel better about your problems; always seeing the bright side of every situation. That's one of the reasons I loved her so much. This response just didn't seem like her.
"Don't say that Hun. What's wrong?" I asked. I watched as Rose fiddled with her hands in her lap, biting her lip to hold back sobs. The sight of Rose upset broke my heart. She didn't deserve to be upset about anything. She'd already been through so much! I thought that once she found Greg and they announced their engagement things were finally going to get better for her.
Rose's sad eyes met mine through the screen as she did her best to keep her composure. "Well.... I.. Uh.. G-G-Greg and I-" She broke into an uncontrollable sob and I swear I've never felt more helpless. I wanted to just embrace her in a hug and tell her that whatever was going on was going to get better. I wanted to play with her hair to sooth her hurt. I never wanted to fix something so bad. I just wanted to let her know that she wasn't alone; but it appeared that she really was. I was on the other side of the country, that certainly wasn't being there for her. I didn't even know if Danny was still friends with her or in the same town; maybe he left too.
"Shh.. It'll be okay Rosie. Everything will be fine. Can you tell me what happened?" I hated to baby her this way; but since I couldn't be there and I had no idea what was going on I had to get answers somehow.
Rose tried to control her sobbing just enough to create a single sentence. "G-G-Greg... *snuffle* L-L-Left.. Me." My heart sunk in my chest. I knew how much she had loved Greg. I knew how much she needed someone there. "Awe honey, I'm so sorry. I wish I could be there with you. Where's Danny?" I asked still babying her slightly.
She wiped her tears from her eyes and blew nose loudly into a tissue. I cringed from the disgusting sound and Rose gave a small chuckle in reply. She took a deep breath before saying anything. "Danny took me in after I told him, so that's where I am right now. He's at work currently." I smiled. I was relieved to know that at least one of her best friends was there for her.
There was a new silence that had fallen between the both of us and I bit my lip, deep in thought. Looks like I'm not telling Rose about Josh and the guys now. I thought to myself. That would just crush her.
Rose smiled weakly at me and broke the silence. "What's new and exciting in the adventurous life of Talia?" Shit. I hated lying to Rose; but it was more like I was just not telling her everything than lying this time around. "Oh you know.. Working a lot. I made a few new friends recently. Same old, same old." I shrugged.
"No hotties knocking down your door yet?" Rose giggled. I smirked, well there is.. I just can't tell you about it. "Nope. Notta. Just boring old me." Lies. I hate all these lies. She laughed and gave a little shrug. "Give it time love, he's out there." She said.
I nodded slowly and bit my lip, focusing my eyes on the floor. "I miss you Talia. I miss you a lot." The desperation and sadness in Rose's voice brought tears to my eyes. I missed her too but I still didn't regret leaving. I wish she could come stay here, but I just don't have the money right now.
We talked for about an hour more before Rose had to go. We said our goodbyes and set up another Skype chat for tomorrow morning. There was no way I was falling out of touch now. She had also promised me that Danny would be with her tomorrow. I had to admit I missed him just as much as I had missed Rose.
I closed my laptop and placed it on my coffee table. 30 minutes later I was out the door and on my way to work.
-
I walked through the back door and shrugged off my sweater, placing it carelessly on the back of the closest chair. Entering the kitchen area, I was confused when I didn't see Jack come running over to me. In fact, I didn't see Jack anywhere. I glanced over at the schedule posted on the wall. Sure enough, he was supposed to be working right now; So where is he?
I walked over to where Nicole was standing behind the bar making small talk with one of the customers. I tapped her on the shoulder lightly and she spun around. "Oh hey Talia" she greeted me with a smile.
"Hey, have you seen Jack?" I asked curiously. Nicole's smile flipped into a frown as she nodded her head. "Yeah, he left for Halifax early this morning. His grandfather passed away last night; he'll be taking care of his grandmother for the next 2 months. Poor guy."
"Oh." I felt stupid being his "best friend" and not knowing when his grandfather dies and he moves to the opposite side of the country. I sighed as I turned my back on Nicole and walked back towards the kitchen, pulling out my phone along the way.
"Hey Jack, heard about your grandfather, I'm so sorry honey! I also know that you're in Halifax and I understand. I wish you would've text me! I love you and wish you safety. I'll miss you these next 2 months!"
I hit send and went to work. So much for my great day. Why does everything around me have to be so grey? My phone vibrated in my pocket. I assumed it was Jack so I whipped it out to see what he had to say.
"Hey beautiful :) how's my girl today?"
-Josh
I felt my cheeks immediately heat up. My sunshine just when I need it most. Maybe not everything in my life is gloomy.
---------------------------------------------
Sorry it took so long for me to update!! Exams in school are sorta a piss off and get in the way of everything! Plus this chapter is pretty short; I just needed a way to introduce Rose & Danny, talk a bit about where Talia comes from and take Jack away for a while. But anyway I hope you enjoyed Chapter Thirteen! Song of the day is Shadow Moses by Bring Me The Horizon :)