Alright Chapter 3 is done. It's a bit longer than I had expected. I still have ideas floating around in my head but I think I have the plot figured out a little better now. Also, Paige does make an appearance in this chapter...sort of.

Chapter 3:

I hadn't been to Paige's house since we broke up. It was weird pulling into her drive way. The ride had been silent, but peaceful. The heat was now blasting full force and was making me drowsy. I had started to nod off when I was stirred by the sound of the engine shutting off.

"Alright," Mrs. Michalchuk began, "Let's go inside and you can wash up while I fix you something to eat."

I unbuckled my seatbelt. I didn't have a clue on how to act or what to say. I was completely taken off guard by this generosity.

Mrs. Michalchuck continued, "Then I'll fix up Dylan's bed so you'll have something comfy to sleep on."

At that, I turned to face her. Mrs. Michalchuk's complexion was the same as Paige's. "Thank you." I said as clean as I could. Things like thank you and I'm sorry were difficult for me to say. Maybe because words like that had to be said with emotion and I wasn't the best at showing that. Mrs. Michalchuk met my gaze.

"You're welcome." She said. Her voice calm and smooth. We got out of the car and went into the house. It was almost surreal to be in Paige's house again. The only thing was that Paige wasn't there. She didn't even live here now. This wasn't her home anymore. Though, her presence was still here. All her childhood pictures still decorated the walls and tables and the house still smelled of her. I rubbed my head. The thought of Paige gave me a feeling I could not explain, but those feelings were drowned out by my intense drowsiness.

Mrs. Michalchuk pointed to the stairs, "You know where everything is dear. Help yourself."

I climbed the stairs to the top and made my way to bathroom. Despite the fact I now wanted to sleep more than anything else, a hot shower also sounded so good. The showers at the shelter were terrible. Sometimes the water was hot, but mostly it was like bathing in the Artic Ocean. I turned the knob on the shower and cold water began to poor down. I continued to turn the knob until it reached the hottest water level it could go. Slowly the water became steamy. I grabbed a clean towel from the drawer and started to remove my cloths. I had pretty much been wearing the same outfit for two weeks now, it felt good to be out of them.

I adjusted the water a little and climbed in the shower. It had been months since I had been in a shower this hot. The water felt so good. I closed my eyes for a second and began to nod off. It was so relaxing. After a minute I forced myself to wake up. I quickly washed my body and hair. While I was in the process if cleansing myself I heard a knock on the door. I'm assuming this goes for everyone, but speaking to anyone you're not entirely comfortable around while your in the shower is a very awkward moment. Maybe it was the fact I was naked and she knew I was naked that bothered me. Reluctantly I responded.

"Yea." I yelled over the sound of the steaming water.

I could hear the door crack opened, but I couldn't see from behind the curtain. I heard Mrs. Michalchuck's voice.

"Here are some fresh clean cloths for you to sleep in dear and dinner is ready as soon as you're done."

"Alright, thanks." I replied. I don't know why the whole moment embarrassed me, but my breathing steadied again once I heard the door shut and I was sure she was gone. I was reluctant to shut the water off and get out. The shower had made me feel better than I had in awhile. I didn't want to leave that, but I figured I would be able to shower again tomorrow. I pulled the curtain back and reached for my towel. I dried myself off before putting on the cloths Mrs. Michalchuk had laid out for me. It was a baby blue jogging suit. It was obviously one of Paige's old ones. My heart started to pound a little faster. I couldn't believe I was here again and non the less, wearing her cloths. Something she had left behind, something that wasn't good enough to bring to Banting with her. Or there just wasn't room for it. Paige has millions of cloths. Just can't bring 'em all. I chuckled at the thought of Paige decided which cloths to bring with her. She was probably a joy to pack with.

After I finished combing my hair I went downstairs. Mrs. Michalchuk was in the kitchen cleaning up. I stood there for a few minutes. I didn't know what to say. It felt so awkward being here and my mouth was so dry my throat hurt. She finally turned around and noticed me.

"Hi." I said. My voice was so horse I wondered if she even heard it.

"Well hello there, dear." She said. She was smiling at me. "Well, do you feel better then?"

"Yes." I said. I wasn't sure if should go into detail about my shower. I decided not to.

"Here, I made you a sandwich. It's not a real dinner, I know, but we didn't..."

"No, that's fine." I interrupted. I could see the sandwich on the countertop and I went over to join it. I had eaten a few hours earlier, but the sandwich looked so good. I hadn't had a home cooked meal in awhile. Even if it was just a plain old turkey sandwich, I was actually flattered that Mrs. Michalchuk took the time to make it for me.

"I'm going to get some clean sheets to put on Dylan's bed, so when you're done eating you can go right to sleep." She said.

"Thanks." I replied in between a bite. The sandwich was toasted, which by the way, I do consider a hot meal.

She smiled at me before going up stairs. I finished my sandwich which settled nicely in my stomach. I was beginning to feel tired again and the thought of sleeping on a real bed was sounding so good. I decided to wait in the kitchen for a few moments. I didn't want to risk going upstairs just in case she wasn't finished with the sheets. I knew that would lead to awkwardness. The last few times I had seen Mrs. Michalchuk was when I was with Paige. She was just as caring then as she was now. She was a real mother figure, despite her obvious high taste in fashion. She had made me feel right at home then. Mrs. Michalchuk had never seemed to mind that Paige and I had been dating. Though, Paige and I had never been to publicly affectionate around her. So, I figured Mrs. Michalchuk never took our relationship to seriously. Just girls dealing with teen pressure. Though I never spoke more than I had to when I was in her presences, she never made me feel unwelcomed. Even now, I got the feeling she was enjoying taking care of. Her two children were grown up and gone. What's left for a mother to do?

I got up and washed my plate. I figured it was the least I could do. I then decided to go upstairs. Being alone downstairs was beginning to get to me. I took a moment to look at all the pictures of Paige on the wall. There was one picture in particular. The silver frame was shaped like a school bus and in the middle it had 12 slots for 12 small pictures. Below each slot was listed grades 1 through 12. In each slot was a picture of Paige. Paige in grade 1, grade 2, grade 3, and all the way to grade 12. She was such a cute kid. She looked so happy in each picture. The same smile on her face that she always used when she was posing for pictures. She was wearing something extremely cute in each picture. The fashion obsession started young. In her grade 6 picture she was wearing make-up. I don't know why but I had always preferred Paige without make-up. Perhaps I felt it made her look more real. More human. Despite Paige's inevitable popularity in High School, she had endured a lot. She had never tried to hide her failures either. It's what I liked about her. She would always own up to her faults and her difficulties. Popular people were supposed to be perfect but Paige wasn't and she admitted it. That's what I loved about her so much.

I finished my way to the top of the stairs and walked to Dylan's room. Mrs. Michalchuk had just finished putting the last sheets on and she was now unfolding the blankets.

"I'm almost finished. Come in dear. Come in." She motioned for me.

I walked over to the Dylan's old night stand. I noticed myself in the mirror. God I look ridiculous in this blue outfit. I guess Mrs. Michalchuk was able to read my mind, or my facial expression.

"You look cute, Alex. That shower and dinner did you good."

I folded my arms and smiled. I mouthed "thanks." but I guess I wasn't able to raise my voice to an audible level. I didn't even hear it.

"Well," Mrs. Michalchuk started as she finished putting the blanket on the bed, "I'll let you get some sleep now. Did you need to be up at a certain time tomorrow?"

"Um, no actually. I don't have to work tomorrow."

"Alright then." She walked over to the door. "Night sweetie."

"Good night." I replied. She closed the door on her way out and I could hear her going down the stairs. I took a moment to take in the room. Despite the fact I had been to Paige's house countless times, I had been in Dylan's room only a handful. Even then, I never paid much attention to it. The room itself was painted in a light shade of blue. It was just a little darker than the outfit I had on. The night stand and dresser were white. I thought the room itself was nicely decorated. I walked over to the bed and sat down. It was nirvana. The bed was so comfy. I got under the blankets and wrapped them tightly around me. It was only then that I remembered I left the light on. I gave a soft sigh and got up. I quickly hit the switch and jumped back into bed wrapping myself again in it's warmth.

I didn't fall asleep instantly. I've never been one of those people who can just go into a deep sleep. It always took me awhile. I would fall into a nice state of thought first. My mind started to wonder back to Paige and the school bus pictures. She really had been a cute kid. How long had I known her? I know we had been in the same class since grade 1. I remember in grade 3 we used to play tag in the school yard. It was me, Paige, Elli, and Ashley. We had all been friends then. We even had our own clique for a little while. Then Hazel had made her way into Paige's life and ruined it. They had been best friends ever since. Hazel had taken Paige away. It was only a year later that Paige started acting mean and distant. Not just to me, but everyone who wasn't considered part of the in group. It's funny how things change. When you're a kid, you'll be friends with everyone. Then you grow up and become difficult. It wasn't till grade 5 that I started to become a real social outcast. I had always been shy, but I wasn't a real trouble maker till the day I got in serious trouble for getting made a the yard duty and I stormed off the school grounds. I got suspended from school for a week and beating of a lifetime at home. Life can be a real bitch at times. I thought back to a conversation I had had with Paige. It was right after we started dated and we were talking about grade school and our younger years. She had brought up Heather Sinclair's 13 birthday party.

"Ah, that party was awful." I had said.

"Oh, tell me about it. The only highlight was when Heather Sinclair tried to do a cannon ball into the pull and her top ripped off." Paige had been talking in her chipper gossipy voice. I loved it when she used that voice. That was how I could tell she was enjoying the conversation.

"I remember that!" I chuckled, Heather must have been swimming around the pool for a good 20 minutes before she noticed. Somebody really should have said something." I had joked.

I had Paige laughing so hard she couldn't even respond. I loved to hear her laugh. I loved to know that I had made her laugh. After a moment Paige settled down and her face became straight.

"You know," She started looking a little bit in disbelief, "I don't remember you going to Heather Sinclair's 13 birthday party."

I smiled, thinking of the incident. "Yea, I was there. You don't remember? You cut in front of me for cake. And I quote, 'Losers really should wait their turn', were the exact words to come out of your mouth."

Paige looked away as if she were going to be sick. I could tell she felt bad. She couldn't even face me.

"I can't believe I said that. How awful." She started. Paige took my hand and looked directly into my eyes. "Alex, I'm so sorry."

I shook my head. "Don't worry about it Paige. It was a long time ago." I tried to sound more cheery, but Paige only squeezed my hand tighter.

"No Alex. I was a real bitch to you." Paige had said. Her face was full of remorse. It almost made me feel bad. Paige was upsetting herself over things that I had forgiven a long time ago.

"It was a long time ago. And if I recall correctly, I hadn't been the nicest to you either." I had said trying to make her feel better, but obviously this was a subject Paige wasn't ready to drop.

"Yea, but only in self-defense. Everything I had done or said to you. And with your mom and her boyfriend to deal with. Alex I must have made your life hell."

"And now you make it heaven." I leaned in to kiss her. I had decided to go for the check instead of the lips. I could tell Paige had never realized before just how much of tyrant she had been. Paige knew she was mean, but I guessed she had never really thought about the effects her harsh words and actions actually had on people. As I started to pull back from the kiss, Paige advanced and our lips met.

"I'm going to make this up to you." She had said.

"You don't have to do that." I had told her. "It's fine. Everything is fine." She pulled back.

"No..." She paused. "It's not."

I can still see her face when she said that. Paige had a gift of being able to say more with her facial expression than with any words. Her face was full remorse and love at the same time. Her face was perfect. She was perfect. I freezed her facial expression in my mind and with her already in my dreams; I fell asleep.

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Alright end of Chapter 3. I think I'm going to have Alex socialize a bit more in the next few chapters and have her build some character relationships. Updates might be a little slower because I haven't started Chapter 4 yet. If everything goes well though, I should have it up in a few days.