The door was covered in girly things saying 'Becca's room! KEEP OUT!' They made me feel even worse staying with her, but it was nice to know that she wouldn't be doing any funny business with Adrian. And I'd never realised how immature she was. Stickers on a door.
I went in and found a double bed in the middle of the room, surrounded by dressers that were covered in make-up. There was an en-suite bathroom with the door hanging open and the floor was cluttered with magazines and other crap. I sighed. It wasn't like I could share a bed with Becca. I certainly didn't want to, and I knew she wouldn't let me. This was going to be hard enough as it was. I found her cupboard and pulled out a few old blankets, clearing a space on the floor and spreading them out like a bed. I trudged to the bathroom, placing my few toiletries on the side where they wouldn't take up too much space. I stole a few of Becca's empty hangers to hang up the few clothes I had, before ripping a page out of one of her magazines to make a divider between clothes. Not that she would wear my clothes anyway, but the magazine was a few months old.
I'd almost finished unpacking my pack, when my purse fell out, money tumbling from it and scattered around the floor. I scrambled to the floor, picking up the gold coins with the Queen's head on and a few spare dollars that I would hopefully never have to use again. I placed them back into my purse and was about to close it, when I saw the picture stuffed in the front compartment where the little plastic bit is. It was a picture of Lewis and I taken on one of the warm summer days before the end of year. The sun was reflecting off our hair, turning his golden and highlighting the reddish tinge in mine. We were both grinning at the camera, although I could see that Lewis was distracted by something. Me. His emerald eyes were full of that love and passion I'd grown so used to. I bit my lip and pulled out the photo, only to find a stash of others behind it. The next picture was of Jill and I before one of the few school dances that we went to. Jill's jade eyes were accented by the light dress she wore, and we'd managed to curl her frizzy hair so that it looked more controlled. She was so much taller than me, even though I was five foot five now, and smiled as she held the camera out in front of us. Our faces were slightly cut off by the funny angle and we were both pulling stupid faces. The next picture was of Rose, Dimitri and I before one training. Lewis had snuck up on us with a camera, so Rose was giving Dimitri the gooey eyes. He grinned at her, the only person noticing that I was sneaking up behind her with a mischievous grin on my face. The photo captured the very essence of the moment, just before I leapt into the air and pretended to choke Rose from the back. Dimitri and Lewis had burst into spasms of laughter, giving away hi presence, whilst Rose whipped out her stake and tried to kill me. An entertaining experience at the very least. The next picture reminded me of why I had left. There were four of us: in the edge was Saffi, her golden hair reaching to her knees, laughing hysterically as per usual. She was such a crazy nutjob, but that was why we loved her. Then was Ellen. Her curly hair was pulled back into a neat ponytail, her kilt at her knees, and she was grinning at Saffi and I. I was next, pulling a stupid face at the camera. I remembered previously telling Saffi that I'd yelled obscenities at this teacher (even though I really hadn't-I was just trying to make her laugh for the photo). Leah was beside me, her pale face framed by black hair and those piercing eyes staring me down even through the picture. She looked so much like Christian it was painful. There was also a picture that sent pangs in my heart; my 'Mum' and 'brother' Sam laughing at me behind the camera. I suddenly longed for my mother, to tell me what I'd done wrong. Why it was wrong. I'd had a call from Ellen a couple of weeks back, but I'd told her that I'd run away and she couldn't tell anybody. She hadn't spoken to me since, but I knew it was for the best. If 'Mum' found out, she'd alert the Academy, not like they didn't already know.
I was just stuffing the pictures back when a piece of white poke out from behind them. I hadn't noticed it before and opened it curiously. The page was about A4 sized, folded so many times that crease lines were completely covering it. There were three pictures on it. The first picture, in the top left corner, was the picture of Lewis and I I'd seen earlier. The one in the top right was a picture of us before the same dance that Jill and I had been to in the earlier photo. I was wearing the same red dress I'd been wearing that first dance and my hair had been brushed to perfection-by Jill, obviously. Lewis stood beside me, looking dashing in a black tux suit. We gripped each other's hands and were smiling at each other. The next picture was probably another secret by Jill. Lewis and I were sat on one of the benches around campus. It was almost curfew, so the sun was rising behind us, streaking the sky with colour, and big ball of flame rising higher above our heads and casting a chestnut halo around my head. I looked into Lewis eyes, my face partially obscured by a large lock of hair. He brushing it behind my ear tentatively and leaning forward to me. It was the most beautiful picture I'd ever seen. In the bottom right, there was a scrawly note. I recognised Lewis' handwriting and took a deep breath before reading on.
My lovely Amy,
Our Second First Kiss We dwell on the past, while living the present - Giselle Simental –
But I admit, the past was unpleasant
Full of ups and downs, less pleasure more pain
We wished for the sun, but only got rain
We both made mistakes, put pain in our hearts
But here we are again, promising to never part
Counting our blessings and letting go of the past
Starting all over and making it last
Feelings and memories flow deep in my mind
Of those days our love was genuine and kind
Holding you close, feeling your skin
You look into my eyes and make my head spin
Those feelings are back, but stronger than ever
I know you're the one I wanna hold on to forever
We both smile again, nothing's better than this
Kissing you again was like our second first kiss.
Mon cœur s'ouvre a ta voix
Yours forever,
Lewis
Xxxxx
I hadn't realised I was crying until my tears fell onto the page, making splats. I hurried placed it down beside me and rummaged through my bag until I found what I was looking for. I pulled out the material, more ripped pieces of white than a dress, stained with my blood and tainted by dirt. I held it up in front of me and then buried my face in it, weeping. It smelt like Lewis.
I hope you like this chapter! LOL, today I joined a Russian club!
