Song- Empire State of mind by Jay z and Alecia keys.
Even if it ain't all it seems
I got a pocketful of dreams
Baby, I'm from
New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of
There's nothing you can't do
Now you're in New York
These streets will make you feel brand new
The big lights will inspire you
Hear it for New York, New York, New York...
~~
My eyes snapped open when I caught a whiff of a funky smell. I raised my gaze and saw Mr Smelly pits standing over my head and reaching out to get his duffel bag down from the train's cabinet.
Have we arrived ?
The last thing I remember was thinking about my family . I had no idea that I had dozed off completely. Thank goodness that I didn't swallow and choke on the gum I was chewing before I slept off.
At that same moment, Mr Smelly pits turned his attention to me, now with his duffel bag in his right hand . " I thought you would never wake up. You slept all through the journey. You should take your bag . We're in New York."
I then looked around him saw everyone else , moving towards the doors of the train . Mr Smelly Pits wasn't joking . We were really in New York.
" Thanks." I said as I brought out my phone to send a text to Maddie, telling her that I had arrived. From a conversation last night, she was going to be picking me up from the subway station since I didn't know my way around New York. The moment, I switched on my phone , a pop up text notification appeared on my screen and two missed calls from Maddie. I use an old iPhone 8 with the screen cracked in so many places but thankfully, I could still make out the words of the text . Let's not get into the peeling back of the phone which I hid with a phone case I've had for over three years. With all the worries on my mind, the last thing I could afford was a new phone. Besides this phone was working just fine. Well except that my cloud storage was filled up and I needed to buy more space but It was working just fine.
I almost always keep my phone on silent mode so that's probably why I didn't hear it ring when Maddie called. I tapped the screen to show the full message she sent and it was a text from her saying that she was at the subway station waiting for me and telling me that she had left me two missed calls . She sent the text about thirty minutes ago meaning that she must have been waiting at the train station for that long .
I quickly shot her a text saying that I had arrived and I was coming out to meet her right now. Before flinging my phone back into my purse, I turned off silent mode so that I could hear my phone ring if she called again then I stood up to get my duffel bag from the cabinet.
" Do you need help with that?" I heard Mr Smelly Pits ask behind me.
" No!" I snapped subconsciously. I turned around feigning a smile. " I mean, I got it but thanks for offering." I said, more politely. You see, me letting him help me would mean more minutes of me suffering from his odour.
" Okay," he shrugged before walking to the front to join the line. I brought down my duffel bag and joined the line too. Fortunately, there were not a lot of people In front of me so It didn't take long before I got down from the train . There was a giddy feeling at the pit of my stomach and I knew it was because I was so excited to see Maddie. The last time I saw her, she was leaving to New York after college. It had only been about two years but it seemed like we hadn't seen each other in forever.
The minute I stepped on to the platform, the first thing I spotted her shiny blonde hair and model-like body. She was unmistakable. Her eyes met with mine and her smile spread widely across her face .
" Emma!" She yelled .
" Maddie!" I yelled in return as let my duffel bag drop to the floor and we ran to each other, hugging ourselves tightly like long lost lovers.
" Oh, my God. I missed you so much ! You have no idea." Maddie said, when we were finally apart.
" I missed you too, Maddie Moo." I replied happily.
Maddie Walker and I had been best friends for over ten years and ' Maddie Moo' is the name I started calling Maddie from the very first day I met her. It was on Halloween and we were both in the first grade . She was the girl with sandy blonde hair who wore braces and was dressed as a cow . For some reason, other kids were making fun of her for it by 'mooing' at her like a cow does. I wouldn't say that I'm the best human in the world but one thing I hate is people making fun of other people or bullying them . Even as a little girl, it didn't sit right with me so I had to do something about Maddie's situation. I stood up for her and since then we've been best friends. We're were so close that our families became really close as well. In fact, my Mom and Maddie 's Mom became best friends because of us . When we die, we will probably be buried in graves beside each other.
Maddie and I went on to attend the same high school even though her parents were way richer than mine . They had suggested taking to take her to an Ivy League private boarding school but she wouldn't have it. Instead ,we went to the local high school in the town and as horrible as high school was, we made it through together.
Well, high school was horrible for me not Maddie. In high school, Maddie peaked. She stopped using braces , grew taller and her blonde hair was so luster and long that people would literally stare at her as she sashayed through the hallway like she was a goddess. Also, she hit puberty really quickly and you know how teenage boys are with 'boobs'. For me, puberty did me dirty, I only started to grow in the right places when I was in the tenth grade. This, and I was considered a 'nerd' because I would spend all my time at the school's library and after school clubs. This earned me a lot of bullying and name calling from 'the popular posse' led by the meanest person ever ; Allison Reid.
For some reason, high school turned me into someone I never used to be ; A person who couldn't stand up for herself. I guess the reality of my family's situation had dawned on me and I became very insecure especially about my body. So, it was Maddie's turn to stick up for me. She never once treated me differently because of our different social statuses . Also, she stuck by me all through high school even when she had been invited severally to join 'the populars'. This is why I love her.
Boy , was I glad when high school was over. I was even happier when Maddie got into Harvard University to study Journalism and Mass Communication. This also spurred my decision to pick the Harvard scholarship. We breezed through College together and after graduation , the plan was to move to New York together . However, that plan was halted a little bit by my decision to get a Master's Degree.
Although , Maddie was also a grade A student , she didn't see the need for " more fucking stress" like she called getting a Masters Degree . I couldn't blame her. Being a student in Harvard will drain you. Countless text books, research papers , you name it. So, I could totally understand why she didn't want anymore of that.
Maddie moved to New York because she got a job in Vogue Magazine which was always her dream . I , on the other hand went on to do my masters . The next plan of ours was that I would move to New York when I was done with it and everything was coming into place until Dad's incident. Well, I guess the up side of everything is that I get to be with Maddie again.
" You look so good. " I commented on the fact that Maddie looked amazing even though all she was wearing was tank top, high-waist shorts and a cross bag across her body.
This was unusual because the Maddie I know always dresses up unlike me who is good with a pair of jeans and top any day. Maybe it was because of the heat. Spring was leaving soon . The weather was gradually getting hot and humid this time of the year. However, It wasn't just about her outfit, their was something happier and chirpier about her and Maddie is a very chirpy person on a normal day.
" You too." She replied, her bright blue eyes twinkling .
" Stop it, you're just saying that." I knew Maddie was just being nice.
I looked like the very definition of stress. I say this because I literarily didn't get enough sleep last night. I was up for the most part of the night - thinking.
" I'm serious." She smiled, touching some strands of my hair. " You decided to grow your hair out, I love it."
" Really? I don't know. I kinda miss it just laying right at the top of my shoulder ." I replied, subconsciously touching my hair too.
I've never let my hair grow passed my shoulder since I could start going to the hair salon myself and Maddie is always giving me hell for it. But after college, I got the inspiration to let it grow out and now it's almost touching my waist. The longest it has ever been.
" No way," Maddie narrowed her eyes at me. " Your hair is so pretty this way."
Someone cleared their throat behind Maddie. " If you ladies are done with your rekindled romance, we can head to the car anytime now."
It was only then my gaze left Maddie shifted to Ron.
" Oh my God, Ron! You came." I said , getting excited all over again .
Ron is Maddie's boyfriend who she's been dating since freshman year in College. He was also one of the reasons why she was so eager to move to New York. Ron's father is a famous artist with his paintings being showcased in galleries all over the world so of course Ron was a fine art major himself in College . Now, he's the CEO of an Art company that represents amateur artists.
" Well, it's not like I had a choice. Your friend here, forced me." He said, side eyeing Maddie.
Maddie gasped and narrowed her eyes at him , 'Ronnie!"
" I'm kidding. I'm kidding!" Ron laughed as I realized he was just joking.
I sighed with relief deep within myself because I don't like to be a bother to people. In fact, if not that Maddie already offered to come pick me up from the station, I would have readily taken a cab to Maddie's apartment.
" Long time no see, Durson. Give me give a hug."
I hugged him and he roughed my hair up like he always used to do while we were in College which I found very annoying. What was more annoying was that he was a 6ft giant and my 5'7 self couldn't reach the top of his head to do the same to him .
I remembered how much I didn't like Ron the first time I met him. It was one of the few times Maddie had dragged me to a bar so that we could let "off some steam". While we were having a drink by the counter, Ron showed up out of nowhere and struck a conversation with us . Maddie carried the conversation because I was too invested in reading the PDF note for the next class I was going to have on Monday. I remember Ron calling me a Prude for reading class notes at a bar and that immediately made me dislike him . I mean who was he tell me when and where to read ?
Fast forward, Maddie and Ron started hanging out a lot and when she announced that they were dating one day, I was mortified. Still, he made Maddie happy and her happiness came before my ill feelings towards him. Those ill feelings didn't last for long though. Maddie always made me hang out with she and Ron sometimes and slowly , I began to see that his witty nature wasn't all that there was to him. He was actually a lot sweeter than he portrayed that night . Soon , he and I became the best of friends.
" You're still short ." He teased .
" And you're still annoying." I replied , rolling my eyes with a smile on my face . It was good the see Ron again.
" I'm glad you'll be staying Durson. I'll be annoying you a lot more." He winked with an annoying grin on his face as he walked around me and went to pick up my duffel bag . " Come on, let's go get your other suitcases ."
" Oh, you don't have to." I reached out to take the bag but he swung it the other way.
" Stop it." Maddie objected. " You literally just sat for what ? Six hours? You legs must be cramping up so Ron's got the bag , okay?"
Eight hours actually. Eight long and unbearable hours, thanks to Mr Smelly pits.
" Okay." I said, not wanting to argue with her because, one, she was right about my legs cramping up because of how long I sat. My butt was also hurting too. Two, Maddie's forte was talking and winning arguments. There was no doubt she would win this one too.
" Right so let's go." She gestured for us to follow her as she led the way through the crowd of people on the platform.
We got my other suitcases and Ron helped us load them in the trunk of his car. He drove a neat 2018 Mercedes Benz. I knew what car it was because Dad thought me a lot about cars while growing up . We only have an old family SUV back home but Dad was a car enthusiast and always dreamed of buying a Lamborghini if he had the money. This is why I had to keep his dream alive by keeping him alive.
Ron opened the passenger seat for Maddie and the back seat for me while he went round and entered the driver's seat. The moment, I was inside the car, I took a whiff of the car sent. It scented like mint and lavender. The leather on the seats still looked very new meaning that this was probably a new car. I wouldn't doubt if it was. Ron was also a car freak who came to school in different cars in College every other week.
" You're gonna love New York , I promise." Maddie turned her head back to me with a wide smile.
" Once you get settled in , I'll show you around . The statue of liberty, Empire State Building, you name it. We're gonna go everywhere!"
" Can't wait!" I tried to muster up some enthusiasm. The truth is I could care less about sight seeing right now . All I wanted to do was start working and earning money that I could send to my parents.
Maddie faced front and asked Ron a question . Their voices faded as I turned my attention to the window beside me . The reflection of the setting sun on the glass almost blinded me and I had to close my eyes for some seconds and open them again just to clear the effect. I leaned towards the window and noticed that we were surrounded by high rise buildings and the streets were so busy . There were thousands of people everywhere and I'm not even exaggerating . Back in my town , you could count the number of people you saw on the street . But here , it felt like everyone was going somewhere. Car horns blared loudly at each other as they tried to make it passed the traffic lights. It seemed like everyone was rushing to go somewhere or do something here . A complete opposite of the slow life I had lived in Golden Valley, Minnesota.
" We're here!" Maddie's shriek made me jerk up from sleep . " Oh sorry you were sleeping." She whispered apologetically.
" It's fine." I said, admist a yawn.
" Someone's very tired." Ron remarked as he got out of the car .
I stretched to release my stiff bones then I got out of the car as well. " Yeah . I barely got any sleep last night."
" Why? You know how important your beauty sleep is ." Maddie asked as she struggled to pull out one of my suitcases from the trunk. I ignored her question because that would lead me to talk about Dad .
" Babe, don't worry. I got it." Ron said, reaching out to help her.
" No. I can't do it. Shoo!" Maddie declined. She hates having people help her because she thinks people believe that she can't do anything by herself since she grew up in a house with maids and cooks.
" Okay, Okay." Ron raised his hands in the air. " I was just trying to help, babe." Ron turned to me. " Your friend just 'shooed' me."
" Well carry your own suitcase and leave mine alone." Maddie told him as she finally brought the suitcase out of the trunk and placed it on the floor with a heavy breath. That activity definitely took all her strength.
" You two are hilarious." I chuckled, shaking my head . Maddie and Ron always used to have petty quarrels like this in College and this just reminded me of those times.
I went over to carry some of my suitcases but Ron and Maddie wouldn't let me . So, I admired the building in front of me instead. It was a brown-stoned high-rise building which housed Maddie's apartment. Well technically it was supposed to be our apartment.
From our numerous conversations, I knew that Maddie lived in Downtown Manhattan. It was the apartment we had picked together after days of searching on the internet because we were going to be roommates in New York. The pictures of the apartment on the internet were very nice and it had a small balcony view. It was a pretty apartment and one I could afford from my savings , so we decided to pick it. However, when I decided to go for my Masters, Maddie moved into the apartment alone and we decided that I would move in with her when I move to New York a year after.
The doors of the building opened and a man dressed in uniform appeared. He had a bored look on his face as he approached us . " Hello, I'm Steve , the door man and I'll be happy to help you with your suitcases." His tone of voice and demeanor was the complete opposite of the word, " happy" .
I gave Maddie a puzzled look . There were two things on my mind. One , I didn't realize that our apartment building had a doorman and two , aren't doorman's supposed to be cheerful on most days at least?
" He always has that scowl on his face. It's nothing." Maddie whispered to me.
" No kidding." I said as we entered the building. The lobby was well lit and looking fancy. As we walked to the elevator, I started to feel like something wasn't right.
" The apartment is on the 9th floor." She announced as she pressed the button . The elevator started to move up and I had to hold the walls to stop myself from feeling dizzy. I should have just suggested to take the stairs.
" Emma, are you okay?" Maddie moved towards me worriedly.
" Elevator." I barely said as I struggled to swallow my own vomit.
" O.M.G. I'm so sorry. I totally forgot about your fear of heights." She turned to Ron. " We should have taken the stairs."
Unfortunately , one of the things Wonder Woman is most scared of is heights. This also means that I'm scared of being anywhere on the air whether on a plane or anywhere else I have the feeling of going up. This is the reason why I never use air transportation anywhere and would rather endure long hours of train or subway stations.
I wasn't always scared of heights though. Something happened when I was thirteen that spurred my fear. A couple of students from my middle school, that's including me were going on a trip to Washington DC for a mathlete decathlon competition against another other middle schools. I got air sick and threw up on the two girls that were sitting beside me. You can imagine the backlash I got after that. Even when I got to high school, people still remembered the incident. I cringed internally as I remembered that day. It was a very nasty day.
" Sorry ma'am. The stairs are out of bounds for now. One of the neighbor's kids spilled water on all over it so it's getting mopped up by the janitor ." Steve replied.
" It's okay. I'm fine." I replied, shutting my eyes and counting to ten in my head. This usually calmed me down when I was in an elevator. Unfortunately, I can't avoid elevators as much as I can avoid planes.
Ding!
The doors opened and I basically rushed out of the elevator.
" Are you okay now?" Ron asked in a concerned manner.
I took a deep breath and exhaled, " I'm fine. I'm good."
Steve left through the elevator and I raised my head, taking a good look at the apartment. The living room was so large , with a black love seat and three sofas facing the large flat screen TV on the wall. Beside it there was a mini bar filled with assorted wines . Opposite the living room stood the kitchen with the tiny mahogany dining table and chairs beside it . Large floor to ceiling windows surrounded the living room with the transparent white curtains covering the windows. This was certainly not the apartment I was hoping to see.
" Are we in the right apartment?" I turned to Maddie who already had a guilty grin on her face.
" Uh..." she hesitated before moving close to me . " Yeah?"
I shook my head, still waiting for an explanation . " I don't understand what's going on."
" Okay. I guess this is where I take my leave. I have an important work meeting." Ron announced, obviously trying to flee the scene . This made me even more suspicious.
Maddie snapped her head to him. " But babe, you said you would stay to help me explain to her."
Explain what?
He ran his hand through his curly brown hair with a doubtful smile. " Uh you know what? I think it's better you tell her yourself . She's your best friend right? Okay. Bye baby." He placed a quick kiss on her cheek. "See you tonight?"
That question earned him a glare from Maddie.
" Okay. I guess not." He pressed his lips together, meaning that he got the message. " I'll call you tonight." He turned his attention to me . " Welcome to New York Emma."
"Thanks?" I said, still oblivious of what was going on.
" He's so annoying." Maddie growled under her breath. " And who even works on a Sunday ?"
" Maddie?" I asked, letting her know that I was still standing in front of her and waiting for an explanation.
She turned back to me, biting her lip nervously.
" Okay . I'm going to explain but don't get mad at me please. When I moved to New York, I moved into the apartment that we both picked. It was everything we saw in the pictures, it was great but it didn't really suit...my style. So after a while of working at Vogue , I took the real estate course and now I'm a certified real estate agent..."
" Okay..and ?"
" I decided to move to this apartment , because, I mean look at it." She gestured for me to look around. " It's bigger, the balcony has this amazing view of New York , even better than the balcony view of the other apartment and Anna Wintour seems to think it fits my aesthetics as a person who is also a real estate agent. Also, this is the upper east side of New York not Down town."
Maddie has always been interested in real estate since that's what her Mom used to do for a living before she retired so it didn't come as a surprise to me when she informed me few months ago that she took a real estate course.
She had just basically rambled on for the past two minutes but I managed to make out the main point of all she had said . Even though it shouldn't, it stung a little bit. " So basically, you moved from the apartment we decided to get together, without telling me ? Why would you do that? Maddie you know I can't afford this place and the plan was for us to split the rent."
She sighed. " That's exactly why I didn't tell you. I moved just few months ago . It was close to the same time the incident with your Dad occurred." She shook her head. " Emma I knew you were dealing with a lot so I didn't know how to tell you and about the rent..."
" Don't tell me you've covered the rent." I cut her off because I knew Maddie. I knew that was where she was heading and that is exactly what I had been trying to avoid from the very beginning. All my savings, no matter how little , were towards the goal of moving to New York . I knew I could afford the previous apartment especially with the job I had waiting for me. I also remember telling Maddie that she shouldn't even think of paying the rent as we would definitely be splitting the rent. Now, I have more bills to handle and more debts to pay. Even with the job, I have to cut down my costs.
" I'm sorry." She took my hands. " But with your family's situation, I couldn't stand by and let you add additional bills to all you have already. I would never let you handle all of this alone so I covered the rent for a year."
I let my hands lose but softly . Then, I walked some distance, backing Maddie and folded my arms across my chest . " Maddie , you know how much I hate to be pitied . I appreciate your kind gesture . Really , I do but the least you could have done is let me know that you were doing all of this . I don't know , I feel a little bit betrayed ."
Maddie exhaled. " I'm sorry you feel this way but I know you Emma. You're stubborn and strong willed. The moment I suggested that we move into a bigger apartment and I offer to cover the rent, you would have said , ' No' instantly."
" I understand." I replied. Truly, I did. She was just trying to help-as always. I'm not being ungrateful. I would never be ungrateful to Maddie because she has done a lot to help me . Besides she has lived in luxury all her life. It's not like I didn't know that she agreed to go with the former apartment because of me. It's just that sometimes, I wish I could be in a position where I wouldn't need anyone's help anymore.
She appeared in front of me with an apologetic look on her face. " Hey, don't be mad at me please. "
I didn't budge. I just looked above her, with my arms still folded tightly across my chest .
She proceeded to make a puppy dog face.
" Pleaseeeee."
Still didn't budge.
" Okay, I promise you can pick all the Netflix movies for our movie nights, for the next month, including all your documentaries and period dramas." Maddie said the last part with a gag which made me smile. I don't know why Maddie doesn't like Period dramas. They're so real and they tell more realistic love stories than the fantasies Hollywood tries to shove down our throats.
" Three months." I made a counter offer. " And you have to promise that after this year, we'll split the rent 50/50 and that you'll never do something like this again without telling me ."
" 60/40?" She persisted.
I narrowed my eyes at her. " Maddie."
" Fine. It's a deal and I promise not to go behind your back ever again ." She agreed, extending her hand for a handshake. I shook her hand to commemorate the deal.
" Yay!!" She clapped in a light hearted manner.
" Now that's settled. Let me fix you dinner and later on, I'll show you to your room. You can take a tour around the apartment. You'll love it."
" Sure I will." I replied sarcastically. " Wait ." I stopped her . " Did Anna Wintour really say this place fits your aesthetics?"
I don't know a lot of celebrities or keep up with their lifestyle . The few I do know are because of Maddie and Shelly but you would have to be living under a rock if you don't know Anna Wintour.
" Technically , she didn't say it to me personally." Maddie replied thoughtfully. "I've only spoken to her twice since I started working at Vogue but she did tell someone who told someone who told me that she said a new apartment would fit my aesthetics."
" Wow." I nodded my head slowly with sarcasm clearly laced in my voice.
" I know right!" Maddie who obviously didn't notice the sarcasm in my voice responded as she turned around and walked to the kitchen.
" And you know, as a part time real estate agent, I have to live in a place to fit the part."
" I totally understand." I replied.
While Maddie made dinner, I on the other hand , decided to give Mom a call to let her know that I had arrived safely . Apparently she still worries about my safety whenever I'm leaving home. I rummaged through my purse and found my phone . As expected, there were three missed calls displayed on the screen. All from Mom.
I tapped her name to call her and waited as it rang on the other end of the line. She finally picked up.
" Hi , Mom."
" Emma. I called you like three times . Are you in New York yet?" She asked .
" Yeah I am. In fact, I'm with Maddie right now. She and Ron came to pick me up from the station." I informed her.
" Oh , that's so kind of them. Where is Maddie now?"
" She's in the kitchen making dinner."
" How's Dad?" I asked, feeling anxious asking about him.
" He's stable. The doctors say he's responding to treatment for now. I'm glad." Mom replied. For the first time in a long time, I think I heard satisfaction in her voice.
For now
" That's good ." I smiled subconsciously.
" Mom! Dad is calling you! He says he needs your help to go to the bathroom." I heard Shelly say to Mom on the other end of the line.
" Tell him I'll be with him any minute now." Mom replied. " Sweetie, I have to go now. I would have loved to speak to Maddie but duty calls."
" I understand, Mom."
" Wait, is that Emma?" I heard Shelly ask. " I want to talk to her."
" Here." Mom replied and I'm guessing she handed her the phone and left.
" Hey, Emma."
" Hi dweeb." I teased. "How you doing?"
" Don't call me dweeb and I'm okay." She replied. Shelly absolutely hates it when I call her , 'dweeb' but that won't make me stop. " How's New York?"
" It's everything they say it is. It's way busier a than our town that's for sure. Even the air is thicker. I guess I'm a little bit nervous. I start work tomorrow." It was easy to bare myself to Shelly because I feel safe whenever I talk to her. That, and for a fourteen year old, she gives pretty good advice.
" Look Emma." She began . " You're the bravest person I know. If anyone can handle anything life throws at them, it's you. I know you'll do great in New York ."
I took a moment to take what my sister had just said and struggled with my tear ducts ,not to cry.
" Thanks Shelly. This really means a lot."
" Yeah, yeah, you better savour this moment because this is the last time you're going to here me say stuff like this." Now this was the real Shelly.
" Oh puh-lease you know you love me ." I said in a sing-song voice. " Also stay out of my room, I told Mom to tell you."
" Not possible sis. What's mine is yours, remember ?" I couldn't imagine Shelly feigning an innocent face right now.
" I can't with you right now." I chuckled. " Just take care of Dad, okay? And if anything happens..."
" I know, I know. I should call you." She replied like she was saying a mantra. As she should. I made her say it over and over again before I left because it was very important.
" I'm glad you know what to do." I told her , satisfactorily. "Bye, love you."
" Love you too!" She said as she hung up.
I turned to check on Maddie and she was putting a pot on the stove . I decided to tour the apartment like Maddie suggested . I left my luggage in the living room and walked through a hallway , noticing another mural painting on the wall and some artistic vase thing at one corner of the hallway. At the end of the hallway, there were two doors opposite each other. I opened the door at my right out of curiosity.
The room was really large . I mean my room back home could fit in here and there would still be space left. The bed was king size with a large walk through closet and a big dressing table . Judging by the piles of clothes on the bed, this was Maddie's room. She's so indecisive when it comes to picking clothes to wear. My eyes moved from the pile of clothes and rested on a picture frame sitting on the side table.
I walked to the side of the bed, picking up the framed photo and looking at it closely. It was a picture of Ron and Maddie where they were dressed in white, on a yacht and he was behind her holding her by her waist . The picture was taken with her laughing like he had said something really funny. Maddie looked so happy and I was so happy that she was happy again . Apart from her Dad, Ron was the only other man Maddie loved with all her heart.
I wonder what that feels like....
I placed the frame back on the table and left the room. I walked into the other room and it had the same ambiance as Maddie's room . Only that there were no pile of clothes or tons of cosmetics on the dressing table. It was empty. The window was half open so I went over and shut it. I stayed back and looked out the window. There were other high rise buildings surrounding ours. It felt so surreal that I was in New York. Fifteen year old me would be proud. It was just so sad that it was under these circumstances.
" Emma! Dinner's ready!" Maddie called, snapping me out of my thoughts.
" Coming!" I yell as I left the room. " The apartment is pretty." I told Maddie as I got to the kitchen. I couldn't even deny it.
" See? I told you." She responded proudly as she set up two plates of spaghetti and meatball sauce on the dining table. " I actually made the sauce before Ron and I came to the station so I just had to heat it up." She said as she got out two glasses from the bottom cabinet in the kitchen then she walked around to the living room area and brought out a bottle of wine from the bar.
" What are we celebrating?" I asked amusedly.
" You." She replied .
" Right." I nodded as she handed me a glass.
Maddie unscrewed the cork of the wine and the loud pop of the cork coming off made me jerk up a little. She poured some in my glass and some in hers.
" Now, the toast." She said in a dramatic manner.
" To you and me finally being in New York together, with the job of our dreams ."
" To you and me." I repeated as we clinked our glasses and I took a sip from my glass . I set my glass down on the table then I dug into the food. I didn't realize how hungry I was until I started eating. " This is so good." I told Maddie who was also eating.
" Thanks, I learnt from the best." She replied with an eye wink which made me smile. Maddie learnt how to cook from my Mom and I. There was one particular summer in high school where she stayed over at my house for the whole holiday. The summer just before we went for college. She insisted that she wanted to learn how to cook because she said the new chef her parents had employed cooked food that tasted like feet so she wanted to learn how to make her own food. Now, Maddie is a pro cook although the girl will still dine at restaurants every other night if you let her.
We ate in silence for a while before Maddie called my name. I raised my head up . " Yeah?"
" How is your dad really? Is he gonna be okay?" The look of concern on Maddie's face showed that the had been struggling with how to talk about my Dad to me. I couldn't blame her . It was a difficult conversation even I dreaded talking about. The moment anyone brings him up, an image of him lying on the hospital flashes through my mind. This moment was nothing short of the same.
I sighed, my lips feeling heavy. I opened my mouth to speak and closed it . I didn't even know where to begin. I didn't want to go over all the details with Maddie . If I did, I knew I would cry . I just knew I would . So I plastered a smile on my face . " He's gonna be fine . The doctors said he's improving. We're hopeful."
The look on her face showed that she didn't buy my fake optimism but for reasons best known to her she didn't ask more questions about Dad. " That's great I guess ."
She reached across the table and took my hand .
" Emma , I know all of this is eating you up. You're my best friend and I can tell when you're not okay so I'm not even gonna ask because you're gonna put on that fake smile and lie to me . What I'm gonna tell you is that I understand what you're going through. I know how broken I was when my Dad died . I felt like my world was over but you were there for me through it all . I believe that nothing is going to happen to your Dad but for the time being that he's sick , I promise to be there for you too."
I pressed my lips together into a thin line , struggling with my tear ducts not to release any tears. " Thanks Maddie. It really means a lot." I said, with my throat clogged up.
If there is anyone who understands how I feel right now , it's Maddie. Maddie's Dad died of a liver disease during the summer of our second year in College. Needless to say, it broke Maddie because she was so close to her him, just like I am with mine . She's an only child so he always treated her like a princess .It affected her education, social life and every other thing that concerned her including her relationship with Ron. She pushed him away and eventually broke up with him . It took me , assuring her that I wasn't going anywhere even if she pushed me away for her to let me in.
Remembering how she locked herself up in her room and cried from the dawn of morning till night made me wonder what I would do if Dad had died that night. Nothing in my life would ever remain the same again.
After being diagnosed with depression, Maddie was put in therapy and that was what helped her out of the situation. Slowly she started regaining her happy and bubbly self again and naturally she and Ron got back together in our final year in College. Seeing her now , I'm so happy that she's better . Those were very dark days for her .
" Don't mention it." Maddie replied.
I didn't like the gloomy and melancholy feeling that surrounded us so I decided to change the topic.
" How is Diana? My Mom said she hasn't been home in the last year."
" Yeah. Apparently, Mom has been traveling all over the world." Maddie replied as she threw a tiny meatball into her mouth with a fork. " She says she's on a vacation of life . I don't even know what that means. But since Dad died, she's just gone haywire." She paused mid sentence as if a thought just crossed her mind. " You know I think she's seeing someone or a lot of people ."
" Well, maybe that's her way of moving on." I shrugged. " I think she's still adjusting to not having your Dad around. And maybe "seeing someone" might not be a bad thing."
Maddie scoffed. " So you're in support of my Mom sleeping with other people as a way to get over my Dad ? How does that even help?"
" That's not what I'm saying." I laughed at the mortified look on Maddie's face. " I meant that if there's a chance that she could fall in love again then I think you should let her. You and Ron are in love so why shouldn't your Mom be?"
" It's not love when you've had like ten boyfriends in three months ." Maddie retorted. I heard a text notification and Maddie picked up her phone which was laying in front of her on the Island. She rolled her eyes . " Great. Talk of the devil. It's my Mom sending me more pictures from her "vacation" in Italy."
" Let me see" I chuckled as she handed me the phone and downed the rest of the wine in her glass.
It was a picture of Diana in a bathing suit , standing by the sea shore. Her hair was flying in the wind and she wore a huge sun hat . Her eyes were covered with large sunglasses but from the massive smile on her face, anyone could tell that she was happy. Who wouldn't be? It was the beach after all.
" I think she looks gorgeous and happy." I told Maddie as I handed her the phone. Maddie gave me a mock glare as she snatched the phone from my hand . " You're just jealous because she's the one in Italy and you're not."
Maddie looked like she wanted to argue again but she decided against it. " Yeah I think you're actually right." She laughed.
We finished dinner and Maddie helped me take my suitcases inside my room . She stayed to help me set up my room and arrange everything while we caught up on everything she's been up to all the while she's been in New York.
Later on, she left and I took a well deserved hot bath in the tub . When I laid on the bed , I expected sleep to come easily but it didn't. Instead I thought about how my first day at work was going to be tomorrow . I really hoped I would make a good impression to my boss . I had been offered the position of a business manager and I was determined to put in the work and get promotions and bonuses that would help me get money faster .
Admist all the odds , I was determined to make the most of my stay here .
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Hey guys, we've come to the end of the second chapter. Please leave your comments and vote on the chapter by tapping on the star below. Also, please follow me on my Instagram @kiara_dee_
Xoxo kiara❤️❤️