"What did you want to be as a child?" She asks, resting her head on the windowsill and looking at me with a lazy smile.
"A painter." I state. It's what I always wanted to be.
"Besides that," she yawns. "Didn't you ever wanted to be like, superman or something?"
I shrug. Superman? He was so bloody generic.
"No." I frown. "Are we done asking each other silly questions?"
"I like it when you say 'silly' in that accent. Say it again."
Her eyes are heavy with sleep but she says she's not tired. It was her idea to play twenty question in the car, and at first it was a way to get me to calm down, and then it just sort of escalated from 'your favourite color.'
"You're tired." I say to her. "Go to sleep."
"One more." She rubs her eyes and leans the other way, closer to me. "It's your turn."
I pretend to think.
"What did it feel like at the hospital?"
She blinks. She wasn't expecting that.
"The first time?" She asks, and I nod.
She pretends to pick at her nails carelessly. "Like my soul was getting sucked out of my body."
"Was it that bad?" I tilt my head. Outside, the fields that have been passing by are slowly morphing into a more urban area, and while there haven't been any high rise buildings yet, I see a bunch of coffee shops and old-style houses.
"Bad?" She splutters. "Your ruined Christmas!"
So the first time I was admitted in the hopital was during Christmas?
Man, sucks to be me.
"What did you get me?" I ask cheekily, trying to liven up her mood.
"Dirt." She replies monotonously.
"I can see why the old Dani liked you." I mutter under my breath.
Don't. I tell myself almost immediately. Don't talk like their are two of you, when you're the same person. Don't differentiate, it won't do you any good.
Her eye catches something in the window. I follow her gaze to an an ancient shop standing in the middle of a cobblestoned pathway.
I read the name. Giovanni's Whisky Shop. It looks like it was constructed in the 60s, and it's a miracle it's still standing.
"The oldest shop in town." Valencia tells me. "Owned by a third generation Giovanni, who turned 70 last year."
"The place looks charming." I observe.
"It is. His wife used to sneak Cayden and I second helpings of double-chocolate cookies as kids." She laughs at the memory. "I'm gonna visit her sometime this week."
"Cayden, that's your brother, right?" All these names were always swirling above my head.
"Yeah." She answers. "You'll meet him soon, he and the others wanted to see you, well, right now."
I look at her suspiciously. "Meet me where?"
"At my house, in," she checks her watch. "Exactly twenty minutes."
I sit back and groan. "Tell me it's not some crazy American welcome-home party."
"It's not, and I had nothing to do with it." She says. "It was all them."
I didn't know whether to be happy or mad. I really wanted to meet everybody, I did, but it was just one of those places where I felt like I didn't belong. It was more old-Dani style.
And there was the comparison. Again.
"High expectations, huh?"
She grins. "Not really. You weren't as exciting before anyways."
Those twenty minutes fly by, and before I know it, the car is wheeling into private property.
Damn. This place is bigger than Gabriella's parents' place, and that's really saying something.
And if her father lives here, what on Earth was she doing staying at our dingy old apartment in Madrid?
This girl was fucķing loaded.
The rented car stops next to the entrance, where a lot of others cars have been parked.
"Gee," I groan. "How many people did you invite?"
"Again, I didn't." She frowns, getting out of the car. "Does Nate know the way to your mother's place?"
I nod, having sent him the address just a half hour ago. In the end of the whole Mason's-staying-with-me drama, Valencia got frustrated and was just about to rent another car for Nate, when Zach forced Gabriella to let Nate come with them.
That must have been one awkward car ride.
But it also meant Valencia and I got the other car to ourselves, and while I wasn't ecstatic, I wasn't that mad either.
I could see why I'd liked her, even though I wouldn't admit it in a hundred years.
Her hand reaches up to push the doorbell, before she abruptly decides against it. "It bet it's open." She murmurs, pushing down on the door handle slightly.
And true, it is.
"C'mon, I wanna surprise them."
"Breaking into your own house?" I tut, shaking my head.
She ignores me completely, choosing to focus on her stealthy footsteps until she reaches the living room.
I hear voices. Lots of them.
"She better not be late." A guy is saying.
"It's Valencia. Of course she wouldn't be late."
I see an older woman turn around and suddenly catch our eye. She opens her mouth, but Valencia puts a finger on her lips, asking her to keep quiet.
"It's Valencia." Another guy says dryly. "Remember the time she and Dani sneaked off to the beach to have that date by the--"
Valencia looks at me from the doorway, her eyes wide.
She suddenly clears her throat, and eight faces simultaneously turn towards us.
They're all just as surprised and shocked.
The first one to recover is a blonde boy, tall and fair. He's wearing a scarf around his neck and immediately gets up and runs towards her.
"VALENCIA!" He exclaims, engulfing her in a hug. "I MISSED YOU SO MUCH MY BABY!"
Valencia chuckles. "I missed you too, Eli."
Two girls get up next. One is blonde, with tanned skin and blue eyes, and the other one is almost a foot shorter, with fiery red hair.
"Hey, Valencia." Says the blonde, hugging her just as tightly.
"Claire," she says. "You're choking me!"
Claire loosens her grip, but doesn't let go.
Meanwhile a dark haired guy around my age comes towards me and gives me a side hug. It's awkward for me since I don't know him, but either he doesn't know, or doesn't care.
Another guy, a little taller and broader, extends his hand towards me. I shake it firmly and he smiles. "It's good to see you up and about, Price." He states.
Valencia smiles. "Dani, this is Liam." She says, motioning to the first boy. I notice he has pierced ears and a cut above his eyebrow.
"And this is Kevin." She points to the second guy.
Liam scratches the back of his neck awkwardly. "Sorry, I forgot about the whole memory-thing."
"Don't worry about it." I say.
The red-haired girl comes forward. "I'm Rosie." She says.
Claire comes towards me and pokes my shoulder. "You don't remember me?" She blinks.
I shake my head. "Am I supposed to?" I'm tempted to say 'who could forget a pretty face like yours?', but I'm not sure about my relationship with her. If she was ever a good friend, then that would have been awkward.
But she does. Have a pretty face I mean.
Her lower lip quivers. "You don't remember the baby?" She whispers dramatically.
My eyes widening, I back away. "What?!"
Valencia rolls her eyes. "Ignore her shenanigans."
"Who says shenanigans anymore, Val?" She asks, swinging an arm around her friend. She looks at me and winks. "Sorry, Dani. Couldn't resist."
"Where's Cayden?" Asks Valencia. The older woman who saw us first comes to her and hugs her. "He's out back, phone call or something. It's good to have you here, Cia."
"I'm happy to be. The homesickness was really getting to me."
Why she didn't mention this before, I wonder. Maybe she did, I can't say I'm a very good listener.
"This is my step-mother, Evie." Valencia tells me.
Evie grins. Like Rosie, she's on the short side, and very thin too. Her light brown locks are up in a bun. "You haven't changed a bit." She says to me.
"Wish I could say the same."
Honestly, how can I not remember these people? They're talking to me as if we'd known each other for decades.
A guy appears from the back door of the kitchen. With his phone in his hand, he looks completely wiped, but his face brightens up as soon as he sees us.
"Hey, sis." He calls to Valencia.
So this must be Cayden. He has the same coloured hair and eyes as Valencia, dark brown, and they're almost the same height too, even though if I remember correctly, Cayden's a year younger.
She ruffles his hair. "How's the first year of uni going?"
"Same old, same old." He says. "Who knew it was a refined idea of high school?"
"With maturer people." Claire flips her hair.
"Babe," Liam dead-pans. "I'm pretty sure somebody your age shouldn't be using the word maturer."
"You make me sound like I'm forty!" She gasps.
"Ever the drama queen." Rosie shakes her head. "Take a seat, Dani, you must be tired from all that travelling."
Finally someone offers. I follow her and Eli to the comfortable looking sofas and take a seat. The living room is big, with soothing pastel colours of furniture and a Turkish carpet in the middle.
"I met your mom last Thursday." Eli says with a nod of his head. "She's doing pretty good."
"Yeah?" I ask. I couldn't wait to see 'ma. She had another meeting today but promised to be home by three.
A deep, male laugh erupts from the hallway. Valencia comes into the living room, followed by a man who looks a lot like her, except with green eyes and graying hair.
"Dani," he says, greeting me with a firm handshake. I don't want to sound rude so I get up, but he ushers me down anyways and takes a seat opposite.
This must be Valencia's dad.
"How are you doing?"
"Good, Mr. um, Morgan. My mother speaks highly of you."
Speaks highly of you? Who says that?
A person who's your mother's current boss, that's who.
"Her work is lovely." Says Mr. Morgan. "So is yours, you know we've displayed two of your paintings in our newest hotel."
"Really?" I think my eyes must have grown as round as saucers. My paintings? In his hotel?
"You sold them to him at an art auction." Valencia says. She's about to continue, but the bell rings.
"I'll get it." Says Evie, her stepmother. Meanwhile, everyone else comes and finds a seat in the living room. Claire and Liam sit cross-legged on the carpet, grinning at each other in their own private conversation.
"Valencia, it's your friend!" Calls Evie from the door. "And Dani, your brother's calling for you."
Ah, that must be my ride. We decided that once Nate reaches, he would pick me up from Valencia's house and take me to the apartment.
I get up. "It was nice meeting you." I say. The corner of my mouth raises in a smile, but it's forced.
"He has a brother?!" Eli exclaims. "I want some of that--" Valencia nudges him, and I bite back a laugh. Nate was going to hear about it.
"And there comes his wife." Says Valencia to Eli when Gabriella shyly comes in, leaving her bags in the hallway.
"WHAT A CUTE BABY!" Claire shrieks when she sees Mason in her arms.
That's my cue. Leave when they're distracted - avoids awkward goodbyes.
"Hey Gabi," I drawl. "Fun ride?"
She narrows her eyes at me. "Screw you."
Instead of making a remark like I would usually do, I make my way to the doorway.
"It was nice meeting you Mrs. Morgan." I say to Evie, who's hoisted by the door.
When she smiles, a wrinkle appears around her mouth. "Same, darling. Come back any time you like."
"Dani!" Someone calls behind me. I whip around to find it being Valencia. "You're going to leave without saying goodbye?" She pouts mockingly.
I'm tempted to roll my eyes. "You're going to see me tomorrow. Probably."
"Tomorrow?" She repeats. "Okay."
I purse my lips impatiently and wait. "Did you want me to say anything else, or should I leave now?" Poor Nate was going to suffocate in the car.
I was being silly, but I wanted to see her smile. The way her mouth curved upwards, and that little dimple on her right cheek, would sort of make my day.
Smile.
She doesn't.
And then she does. Sort of. But it's good enough.
"I'll see you tomorrow." And before she can say anything, I turn my back and leave.
Turns out, Nate is almost dead in the car.
"Worst ride ever." He groans. "She wouldn't even look at me!"
Since the front seats are taken by him and the driver, I climb into the back. "You did become drunk and break in to her--"
"Don't remind me." He snaps. I bet he's either tired or hungry. Probably both. Just like I am.
"Whatever, man. You have 'ma's address?"
He whips out his phone and turns on the GPS. "It's just ten minutes from here."
"Great." I lean back as the driver steps onto the pedal. Houses zoom by and so do various shops, and I delightfully note that we're in the quieter part of town, where honking traffic won't bother us at night or drunk loons shouting at the top of their lungs.
Seriously, it's happened before. Our old neighbour, Safor was an addict. 'I love you, Marie!' He used to wail. Poor guy. Marie neither reciprocated her feelings nor did she appreciate the countless dinners from various foodtrucks over the months.
Once he got so pathetic he sat in the hallway of our building floor for hours. Ma had to chase him back with her broomstick.
I take out my phone and instinct leads me to the picture gallery. I open a random picture and find with some satisfaction, that I can name every single person. Nevermind the fact that it takes a few minutes, or that I have to zoom really really close.
Ten minutes later, our apartment finally arrives. I get out and open the boot, hauling my only bag out. The building is quite decent, freshly painted and bigger than the one back home.
A doorman greets us and asks what floor we're going to. But he seems like he hardly cares, almost expecting us as if ma had told him.
He gives Nate the keys and we take the lift upstairs.
"I'm so hungry I could eat a whale." He states as he finds the door and unlocks in.
By this time, my eyes are almost drowsy with sleep and I decide that my tiredness overpowers my hunger.
"I'm going straight to bed." I murmur.
The door opens and I have my first look.
It's... bigger, definitely neater and so... white.
"Like it?" Asks Nate.
I blink, then look around again. Empty easels and paint bottles lie around, but not paintings. Ma must have cleared them before she left for work. "It's nice." I say, just to humor him.
It's not bad, it's really not. But ma's just tried too hard to clean, and that's not really how I roll.
Nate looks around the apartment and after a minute, he grins. "I think I found your old room!" He yells from one of the bedrooms.
I follow him inside and immediately understand why he thought of me. This was more my style.
Not to mention ceiling of the room. The whole upper part, which must have once been white, is now glittering with stars and galaxies and nebulas.
"I've always wanted to do that." I murmur.
"I know," says Nate. "Terrific work, brother. Make yourself at home."
And with that, he shuts the door and leaves.
I stare up at the painted roof, wanting to touch it. This must have taken days, and how much black and blue paint did I use anyways?
Had Valencia seen it?
With a sigh, I shut the curtains and climb into bed.
My eye catches a spot of dried blood on the carpet and I intake a sharp breath. It was here where I had gone into coma after suffering from internal bleeding.
Guess that bleeding wasn't so internal after all.
I switch to my right and place my hand underneath my pillow.
Willing myself to fall asleep, I don't expect it.
But it comes. Strong and fierce, like a gigantic wave that's pulling me under.
And at first, I have no idea what it is, whether I'm dreaming or having a horrible nightmare.
Then in my subconscious mind, I realize it's an old memory. Or maybe several.